Sri Lanka v England: Eoin Morgan bemoans lack of spin options

England stand-in captain Eoin Morgan was left to rue the absence of a second specialist spinner after his side lost the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Morgan filled the void left as regular skipper Alastair Cook served a one-match suspension and he almost oversaw a second successive victory in the seven-match series.

But the decision to leave out Kent spinner James Tredwell proved costly as Sri Lanka secured an edgy six-wicket victory with just two balls to spare to extend their series lead to 3-1.

With the options we had, pace off was certainly the right option and it would have been nice to have another spinner.

Sri Lankan spinners accounted for 36 of their side’s 50 overs and picked up nine of the 10 wickets to fall, in contrast to England who only had Moeen Ali and Joe Root to turn to for a spin option.

"With the options we had, pace off was certainly the right option and it would have been nice to have another spinner,” Morgan told Sky Sports News.

"To get it down to the last over was outstanding, our seamers did well. It was alien conditions for them, they had to show different skills to back home."

Cook’s place in the starting line-up went to James Taylor and the Nottinghamshire batsman top-scored with 90.

Morgan smashed 62 off 47 balls, including 18 off the last over, to give his side the chance of victory and he praised Taylor’s contribution.

"James Taylor played outstandingly well, to come in and score runs like he did," added Morgan.

"It was nice for me to get some runs under my belt, that lifted my confidence a bit, and James Taylor was outstanding as well."

Live One-Day International Cricket

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews saw his side to victory with an unbeaten 51 but he paid tribute to experienced pair Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who made 86 and 44 respectively and put on 96 for the third wicket.

"Once again they had a brilliant partnership, without that we were struggling," he said.

"I was a bit nervous (at the end) but tried to stay calm, I knew we had wickets in hand.

"The bowlers bowled brilliantly, especially the spinners. From the start England got, we pulled them back really hard."

Watch the fifth ODI between Sri Lanka and England. Coverage begins this Wednesday at 8:25am on Sky Sports 2HD.