The ODI cricket Series between Sri Lanka and England that took off on June 23, has invited an adrenaline rush for cricket fans across the world. While England had started off on a strong note by announcing a strong team comprising the likes of Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson, David Willey, and so on, Sri Lanka chose to enter into a temporary contract with the board for this tour, keeping aside its differences with the board over salary structure. Their touring party consists of 24 players who will play six matches across both formats, with Kusal Perera leading the team.

T20 World Cup Sri Lanka Vs. England Schedule (Match Timings and Venues):

Jun 23 – 1st T20I at 10:30 PM IST/5:00PM GMT, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Jun 24 – 2nd T20I at 10:30 PM IST/5:00PM GMT, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Jun 26 – 3rd T20I at 7:00 PM IST/01:30PM GMT, The Rose Bowl, Southampton
Jun 29 – 1st ODI at 3:30 PM IST/10:00AM GMT, Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street
Jul 01 – 2nd ODI at 5:30 PM IST/12:00PM GMT, Kennington Oval, London
Jul 04 – 3rd ODI at 3:30 PM IST/10:00AM GMT, County Ground, Bristol

Players List for England Tour of Sri Lanka, 2021

The England Squad

Batsmen-

• Joe Root (Captain)
• Zak Crawley
• Daniel Lawrence
• Dominic Sibley

All-Rounder-

• Moeen Ali (Batting all-rounder)
• Sam Curran (Bowling all-rounder)
• Chris Woakes (Bowling all-rounder)

Wicket-Keeper-

• Jonny Bairstow (WK-Batsman)
• Jos Buttler (WK-Batsman)
• Ben Foakes (WK-Batsman)

Bowler-

• James Anderson
• Dominic Bess
• Stuart Broad
• Jack Leach
• Olly Stone
• Mark Wood

The Sri Lanka Squad

Batsmen-

• Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain)
• Oshada Fernando
• Ramesh Mendis
• Kusal Mendis
• Lahiru Thirimanne
• Roshen Silva

All-Rounder-

• Angelo Mathews (Batting Allrounder)
• Dasun Shanaka (Batting Allrounder)
• Wanindu Hasaranga (Bowling Allrounder)
• Dilruwan Perera (Bowling Allrounder)

Wicket Keeper-

• Kusal Perera (WK-Batsman)
• Dinesh Chandimal (WK-Batsman)
• Niroshan Dickwella (WK-Batsman)
• Minod Bhanuka (WK-Batsman)

Bowler-

• Lasith Embuldeniya
• Suranga Lakmal
• Lahiru Kumara
• Vishwa Fernando
• Dushmantha Chameera
• Asitha Fernando
• Nuwan Pradeep
• Lakshan Sandakan

Points of Analysis:

This is a short series featuring just three T20 Cricket internationals and three ODIs. This can be seen as a second leg of the tour in which Sri Lanka had played a couple of test matches against England last season. The announcement of this ODI got cricket enthusiasts worldwide superbly thrilled, given that they have really been missing some nail-biting action on the field, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Though England decided to keep its best players fit and fresh for the T20s while they had dropped these players for the Test, but they would need a strong performance to justify this decision. This is also because when England chose to rest its players from its Test side, a lot of criticism was meted out to them.

It is also important to note that the matches in this series will serve as a building block for both teams, whose ultimate target is the T20 World Cup scheduled in the latter half of the year.

Team Previews

England is going all out in almost every way that one can think of. The best part is, their entire squad is available for this season. Besides, given that all players of this team have been playing T20 cricket during the T20 World Cup blast proves that they’re game-ready. One can hardly doubt that England is one of the best white-ball sides of the world. They manifest brilliant depth in every aspect of the game, and England may have a hard time trying to give all its players a chance to show their skills in this series.

The two opening slots will be a close call amongst Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone. Since Livingstone can play in the middle order too, England is unlikely to move away from Roy and Bairstow at the top. The opening match will witness Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, and Sam Curran completing the line-up. This indeed looks like a formidable line-up with potential match-winners at every level. Dawid Malan has, of late, been suffering from the aftermath of a few poor scores in the T20 Blast but fans are still hopeful of him getting an extended run.

Viewers will also be excitedly waiting to see who manages to make the cut as the bowling all-rounder: David Willey or Chris Woakes. This is going to be a close shave since both are pretty good at their game. When it comes to heading the bowling unit, we are left with Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, and Mark Wood. The team is unlikely to show any weakness given that all the players are quite skilled and experienced.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka lost its recent series against Bangladesh, which obviously, put it in a tight spot as far as this ODI cricket is concerned. The new captain Kusal Perera enjoys batting on the flat pitches in England and might end up making a mark. He had missed the T20 Cricket series against West Indies and will be more than eager to showcase his best form.

Avishka Fernando can be an excellent value pick for bettors, provided he plays in the team. He had a lot of runs to his credit in the 2019 World Cup. He also seems to be the kind of player who can make the most of the conditions in England. He has mastered the technique against the short ball, which can work in his favour. However, even though the Sri Lankan batting order seems to be strong on paper, it hasn’t managed to live up to expectations in recent times, especially when it comes to playing under pressure.

That being said, Sri Lanka’s biggest problem isn’t going to be betting but bowling.

Thanks to the impressive performances of Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Dushmanth Chameera in their recent outings, they are all likely to make their way into the line-up. Playing Udana and Hasaranga also boosts the batting depth in the team. The flexibility can encourage Sri Lanka to play Nuwan Pradeep and an extra bowler.

Toss Prediction

The team that wins the toss is likely to want to choose to field first. Out of the six T20 Cricket World Cup internationals that have been played here, four have been won by the team that has fielded first.

Pitch and Conditions

According to an expert’s analysis, the pitch condition should be dry and favourable. That itself is a strong point. Bettors might be aware of the fact that Cardiff is one of the few places in England where T20 scores typically remain middling. Approximately 160-170 should be a pretty good score to defend. If the pitch has a decent degree of bounce and pace, it can help bowlers with the new ball.

Win Big! Bet Now on Fun88!

With this ODI cricket series going on in full swing, brings to you a plethora of exciting stuff such as betting predictions, team and player analysis, live scores, soccer highlights, tips, and other insights. Our goal is to make online cricket betting an insightful and enjoyable experience for you.