Sri Lanka's one-day form has deserted them with 30 defeats in their last 40 matches
Sunday 30 September 2018 13:12, UK
England's World Cup preparations will take a different turn in Sri Lanka, with turn being the operative word.
The belting, pacey wickets Eoin Morgan's men often encounter at home are likely to be replaced by slow, spin-friendly surfaces in the subcontinent, pitches that have, in the past, proved England's undoing.
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The most notable example of that was their defeat to Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final, when they struggled to 211 on a turgid track in the face of wily seam and spin bowling.
Frailties against spin also arose for England in the opening ODI at home to India in July - the same venue where they had plundered a world record 483 against Australia a month earlier - when Kuldeep Yadav picked up a six-for as the hosts were skittled for 268.
England, though, went on to win that three-match series against India 2-1, with Joe Root negating Kuldeep by playing back in his crease and going on to score match-winning centuries as Morgan's charges triumphed in games that were not run-fests.
A repeat in Sri Lanka - the first of five ODIs is live on Sky Sports Cricket on Wednesday, October 10 - would show England are now a side for all surfaces and perhaps make them even bigger favourites for next summer's World Cup, a tournament, of course, which they are yet to win.
A quick glance at the scores from Sri Lanka's previous ODI assignment at home, a 3-2 loss to South Africa in August, suggests England will have to graft hard for runs - the top total across the five games was 363, with 300 breached on just one other occasion.
Sri Lanka off-break bowler Akila Dananjaya topped the wicket charts, bagging 14 at 17.85, and England could go in with three twirlers on tour with Liam Dawson included in the squad alongside mainstays Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali. It could be trial by spin for both teams.
England were all in a spin on their previous white-ball excursion to Sri Lanka in late 2014, a real low point for the side. The visitors were routed 5-2 in a seven-match series and Alastair Cook axed as captain ahead of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Worse was to come in the form of a group-stage exit at the 50-over showpiece but with the next one now under a year away, it is England, ranked No1 in the format and on a run of eight bilateral ODI series wins on the spin, who look in significantly better shape than Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka, in truth, look in disarray - they have won just four of 16 ODI series since they humbled England four years ago, beating only Ireland, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Windies in that time.
The side lost 12 ODIs in a row in 2017 after being beaten multiple times by Zimbabwe, India and Pakistan, while the recently-concluded Asia Cup in the UAE represented a new nadir as they were shot out for 124 and 158 by Bangladesh and Afghanistan respectively to finish bottom of their group.
Ramifications swiftly followed with Angelo Mathews firstly dumped as captain and then left out altogether from Sri Lanka's squad to face England, with Dinesh Chandimal reinstalled as skipper.
The Lions, a lowly eighth in the ODI rankings after being defeated in 30 of their previous 40 ODIs, are struggling without their now-retired world-class operators Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Lasith Malinga, now 35, remains but his impact is diminishing, even if a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup shows there is still a sprinkling of the old magic.
England's record in Sri Lanka is meagre - six wins in 21 ODIs - and Morgan says to arrest that will be a "massive challenge" but they must be confident of a second series victory in the country, a decade after Paul Collingwood skippered them to a first.
"It's a massive challenge to turn round our record there," Morgan said in an interview with the Daily Mail. "But one change from the last time is that they're missing Dilshan, Jayawardene and Sangakkara. It was difficult to get those guys out in their own conditions.
"[We are also] a completely different team. We're not chasing the pack any more in terms of our style and mentality. We're probably at the forefront of that."
Few questions remain for England ahead of the World Cup, with only one or two spots seemingly up for grabs in the final 15-man squad, predominantly in the bowling department.
Sam Curran will be hoping to press his claims in Sri Lanka with fellow all-rounder and left-arm seamer David Willey not travelling because of a back injury, while uncapped Warwickshire bowler Olly Stone could thrust himself into contention if he bowls the 92mph, stump-bound "rockets" that Bears Sport Director Ashley Giles says he is capable of.
Dawson, too, could boost his chances of being included as Rashid and Ali's back-up if his left-arm spin proves effective - but it's how England bat against spin that makes this series most intriguing.
Watch England's tour of Sri Lanka live on Sky Sports Cricket, starting with the first ODI, in Dambulla, from 9.30am on Wednesday, October 10.
