GameDay Squad Cricket Match Preview: England come up against Sri Lanka in the 25th match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Bengaluru on the 26th of October.
England played South Africa in their fourth match of the CWC, and South Africa won by 229 runs. England won the toss and elected to field first and it may have been the incorrect decision. England was off to a good start and dismissed de Kock on the second ball of the innings. South Africa fought back with Hendricks and van der Dussen putting on 121 for the second wicket. England continued to struggle with the conditions and found it hard reducing the South African run rate and picking up wickets. The English bowlers were completely outclassed by Klassen and Jansen in the last 15 overs as they put on 151 runs for the sixth wicket. South Africa scored 399 off their 50 overs. England were off to a quick start over the first two overs but then the wickets started to fall. In the 17th over England were 100/8 before Atkinson and Wood made the South African bowlers really work for the last wicket. Topley was absent due to injury and South Africa bowled England out for 170 in the 22nd over.
The top performers in GDS for England were.
Gus Atkinson – 112 points
Reece Topley – 83 points
Adil Rashid – 71 points
Mark Wood – 67 points
David Willey – 53 points
Sri Lanka played Netherlands in their fourth match of the CWC, and Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets. Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat first. Sri Lanka were off to a great start and picked up the wicket of Singh in the 4th over with the score at 7. The Sri Lanka bowling attack had the Dutch batsmen in all sorts of trouble in the 22nd over with the score at 91/6. The Netherlands then dug in with Engelbrecht and van Beek at the crease and they took the score through to 221 before Engelbrecht was dismissed in the 46th over. Sri Lanka restricted the Netherlands to a total of 262 at the end of their 50 overs. Sri Lanka’s run chase was off to a slow start and they lost the wicket of Perera in the 5th over with the score at 18. Shortly after Mendis fell to Dutt and it was starting to look like the Netherlands were on top. However, Sri Lanka were able to form some solid partnerships and made it through to the target of 263 in the 49th over, only losing five wickets along the way.
The top performers in GDS for Sri Lanka were.
Dilshan Madushanka – 132 points
Kasun Rajitha – 114 points
Sadeera Samarawickrama – 106 points
Pathum Nissanka – 71 points
Charith Asalanka – 60 points
England vs Sri Lanka predicted XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid and Gus Atkinson/Mark Wood
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha/Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I am likely going to start will be Joe Root, Dawid Malan and Pathum Nissanka. Over the CWC these batters average the following points in GDS.
Joe Root – 72 points
Dawid Malan – 61 points
Pathum Nissanka – 54 points
In GDS there are five players combined from England and Sri Lanka that have the batter position designation. Four of these five players are predicted to play, three from England and one from Sri Lanka. Going by how the match played out between Australia and Pakistan at this ground, I’ll be favouring the batters that bat further up the order and this makes Brook the odd man out. The other three batsmen that are predicted to play have also performed better than Brook in the CWC.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining batters for England and Sri Lanka in the following order. Harry Brook.
All-RoundersThe four all-rounders that I am likely going to start will be Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, David Willey and Charith Asalanka. Over the CWC these all-rounders average the following points in GDS.
Ben Stokes – 14 points
Chris Woakes – 46 points
David Willey – 53 points
Charith Asalanka – 48 points
In GDS there are eleven players combined from England and Sri Lanka that have the all-rounder position designation. Seven of these eleven players are predicted to play, four from England and three from Sri Lanka. As you can see by their averages, none of these all-rounders from either team have been having a great CWC. Due to the runs being scored in the previous game at this ground, I tend to favour the batting all-rounders in this match. I’m also favouring seam of spin as all the spin bowlers struggled in the Australia vs Pakistan match except for Zampa.
If you don’t have the suggested four players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining all-rounders for England and Sri Lanka in the following order. Dhanajaya de Silva, Moeen Ali and Dushan Hemantha/Dunith Wellalage.
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I am likely going to start will be Gus Atkinson/Mark Wood, Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka. Over the CWC these bowlers average the following points in GDS.
Gus Atkinson – 112 points
Mark Wood – 60 points
Kasun Rajitha – 111 points
Dilshan Madushanka – 97 points
In GDS there are nine players combined from England and Sri Lanka that have the bowler position designation. Five of these nine players are predicted to play, two from England and three from Sri Lanka. The two Sri Lanka fast men are the pick of the bowlers for me as they are both coming off four wicket hauls against the Netherlands. Like I mentioned above, I’m favouring seam over spin in the match and that makes either Gus Atkinson/Mark Wood my third bowler. Zampa did manage to take four wickets against Pakistan, and this provides great POD appeal for Rashid. I’ll be waiting for the final pitch report and if it seems that spin bowlers may have some success, Rashid might be a late inclusion.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for England and Sri Lanka in the following order. Adil Rashid and Maheesh Theekshana.
Wicket Keeper
The wicket keeper that I am likely going to start will be Kusal Mendis. Over the CWC these wicket keepers average the following points in GDS.
Kusal Perera– 32 points
Kusal Mendis – 80 points
Sadeera Samarawickrama – 75 points
Jonny Bairstow – 38 points
Jos Buttler – 45 points
This has been the hardest position in this match to select a starter for. All five keepers have the potential to score big at this ground but I’m leaning towards the inform Sri Lanka keepers. The only difference between Mendis and Samarawickrama is that Mendis is the one the is the keeper on the ground. Only because of this is Mendis my starting keeper for this match. I believe the wicket keeper position offers the highest variance in this match and all the above keepers offer great POD appeal.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining wicket keepers for England and Sri Lanka in the following order. Sadeera Samarawickrama, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Kusal Perera.