West Indies face Sri Lanka in Cricket World Cup on Monday
Watch Sri Lanka vs West Indies, live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup (404) from 10am on Monday
Monday 1 July 2019 10:48, UK
Sri Lanka and the West Indies meet at Emirates Riverside in Durham on Monday, in their penultimate game of the Cricket World Cup, with both unable to qualify to the knockout stage.
Sri Lanka could yet pull level with England - who currently occupy the fourth and final semi-final spot - on 10 points, if they win their final two games and the tournament hosts were to lose their last to New Zealand, But, Sri Lanka have earned two of their points through washouts and, therefore, England's greater win tally would see them progress.
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As for the West Indies, they have been long since out of contention, sitting second from bottom in the table with only three points and one win - their opener, an emphatic seven-wicket success over Pakistan - to show for their seven games in the tournament s far.
Barring a third-game washout against South Africa, the West Indies have lost five in a row, well beaten by England, Bangladesh and most recently by India, while they were edged out of close contests by both Australia and New Zealand.
The West Indies are now playing for pride and with their final two fixtures of the World Cup coming against the similarly struggling Sri Lanka and still winless Afghanistan, they at least have the chance to finish the tournament strongly.
For Sri Lanka, expectations were low coming into the tournament, so semi-final spot always seemed unlikely, even after their stunning, 20-run shock win over England at Headingley. They were brought crashing back to earth with a nine-wicket thrashing by South Africa when they last took to the field in Durham on Friday.
TEAM NEWS
Sunil Ambris came in for his first game of the tournament against India, having been flown in as the replacement for the injured Andre Russell. Having top-scored, albeit with only 31, he should keep his spot unless Evin Lewis is fit enough to return at the top of the order. Left-arm spinner Fabian Allen too played his first game of the World Cup against India, and was wicketless through his 10 overs for 52 runs. Will he get another go, or will the West Indies further strengthen their pace attack?
Despite suffering a heavy defeat to South Africa in their latest outing, Sri Lanka are likely to be unchanged.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fast bowling veteran Lasith Malinga continues to be the standout performer for Sri Lanka. He did his best against South Africa - taking 1-47 from his 10 overs - after the batsmen again let the side down to blow their slim semi-final chances, but it was Malinga's sensational display in the win over England (4-43) that even had the struggling Sri Lankans in contention.
It has been a somewhat similar story for the West Indies, with their batting badly misfiring - Carlos Brathwaite's blistering hundred against New Zealand aside - during their run of four straight defeats. Brathwaite's 101 off 82 balls took the team to within one six of victory, only for the big-hitter to perish in the penultimate over at long-on when looking for said match-winning maximum.
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne: "We have the skill to compete with all the teams but we performed only in patches our batting didn't bat as a unit. That's why we are in this position having to depend on other teams for a semi-final place."
West Indies coach Floyd Reifer: "Yes, we are out, but there is still a lot of cricket to play after the World Cup, It's important for us to find the winning ways and find the winning formula going forward.
"We want to create that winning culture. It has to start from somewhere. The guys are still up for it. We're good to go."
Watch every match of the ICC Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup, including Sri Lanka vs West Indies from 10am on Monday.
