England dig into last line of defence against luckless Sri Lanka
Cricket
England will enter their clash with Sri Lanka on Oct 26
(Web Desk) - England’s title defence is on the brink of collapsing at the halfway mark of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup but a clash with injury-riddled Sri Lanka presents an opportunity to kickstart their campaign.
Date and Venue
Thursday 26 October, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
England will enter their clash with Sri Lanka barely above the bottom of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup standings with just 0.005 in net run rate separating the 2019 champions and last-placed Bangladesh.
Out of form and now without their leading wicket-taker at the tournament after Reece Topley broke a finger against South Africa, England are already at serious risk of falling out of the race for a semi-final spot.
A fourth loss in the tournament would most likely end their title defence before it truly began, and with India, Australia and Pakistan among those still to come this looms as a must-win fixture for England.
Sri Lanka have the same 1-3 record as England ahead of this high-stakes clash as the luckless outfit continue to be hit hard by injuries.
Star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out before the tournament started, captain Dasun Shanaka has since been injured, and it has now been confirmed that emerging quick Matheesha Pathirana will also remain on the sidelines.
Veteran Angelo Mathews has been called into a squad that was in desperate need of experienced reinforcements and will boost the batting line-up if pulled straight into the starting XI.
Both sides have multiple issues to overcome to keep their faltering semi-final hopes alive, but with this essentially the first in a long stretch of do-or-die battles time is running out to find the form that will be needed for a late surge.
Squads
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes
Sri Lanka squad: Kusal Mendis (c), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Kumara, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne
The England captain will be out to lead by example with little to no margin for error left in their title defence.
But Buttler has barely played a tune at this Cricket World Cup with only 87 runs from four knocks despite being one of the most explosive batters against the white ball when on song.
The right-hander can bat anywhere in the order from opening down to No.6, but might be best served returning to second drop to ensure England have a leader at the crease to steer them to a much-needed victory.
Sri Lanka - Kasun Rajitha
The pacer slipped out of the starting XI after conceding 90 runs against a rampant South Africa in Sri Lanka’s opening match of the Cricket World Cup but was back with a vengeance against Netherlands.
Rajith took the new ball and sparked Sri Lanka with three early wickets during a tireless seven-over spell, then returned at the death to pick up an important fourth scalp when Netherlands were piling on the runs.
Dilshan Madushanka has been superb for Sri Lanka at the tournament with 11 wickets so far, but with Rajith bowling from the other end the 1996 champions have a pace attack that could rattle an already shaky England top order.
