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The One Day International series between England and Sri Lanka comes down to this Saturday’s match at Old Trafford.
As things stand, the teams are tied at 2-2 after four matches with England levelling the series with victory at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
Alistair Cook’s men ran out 10-wicket winners, producing a performance of the highest standard to brush past a talented Sri Lanka side.
It was a performance in stark contrast to the previous two games where Sri Lanka had secured victory. A slick England dismissed their opponents for 174 before knocking off the runs without losing a wicket.
Captain Cook was in fine form with the bat too, scoring 95 not out to follow up his century in the previous game. He has silenced a few critics that said he shouldn’t be in the ODI side, that’s for sure.
He will want his captaincy credentials to get recognised too and this will be helped by a series victory over a team as strong as Sri Lanka.
There is therefore a lot at stake in the match at Old Trafford on Saturday. After a narrow win in the test series, England would love victory in the shorter form as they complete the first part of the English summer.
As far as team news is concerned, England are likely to keep the same side that won so convincingly at Trent Bridge. Quite simply, there is no need to change it.
The bowling attack looked excellent in Nottingham, with James Anderson and Tim Bresnan opening things up impressively before Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach followed things up with some tight, wicket-taking bowling.
Then there is the ever reliable Graeme Swann for Cook to turn to, so there is an excellent balance to the side.
England know they are vulnerable in this form of the game though and are just as likely to follow up Wednesday’s victory with a below-par display. They are an inconsistent ODI side.
However, Cook will highlight the importance of the game and ask for more of the same. The Old Trafford crowd will be expecting big things and England need to step up their game once more.
As for Sri Lanka, they will be hopeful of putting Wednesday’s display behind them as quickly as possible. They were a shadow of their former selves and will aim to make a good start to proceedings.
You can watch it all unfold tomorrow morning from 10:45am at Old Trafford.
