Rob Smyth (now) and Daniel Harris (later)
2026-01-22 10:55:00
Key events
Fifty for Kusal Mendis
28th over: Sri Lanka 140-4 (Kusal Mendis 50, Liyanage 5) Kusal Mendis rushes to fifty with back-to-back boundaries off Rehan, a silky extra-cover drive followed by a clump over mid-on. It’s been an excellent innings: 61 balls, eight fours.
Rehan has had a mixed day so far: 6-0-37-1.
28th over: Sri Lanka 130-4 (Kusal Mendis 41, Liyanage 4) Another pitch-thumping over from Overton brings just a single to Kusal Mendis. Liyanage, like many of the Sri Lankan players, wants to take a few deliveries to get used to Overton’s pace and bounce.
27th over: Sri Lanka 129-4 (Kusal Mendis 40, Liyanage 4) The new batter Janith Liyanage charges straight down the pitch to thump Rehan for four.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 124-4 (Asalanka c Brook b Rehan 17)
Another Sri Lankan batter dies by the sweep. Asalanka top-edges a growling legbreak from Rehan Ahmed and has no idea where the ball has gone. It’s behind you! Buttler lost sight of it too but Harry Brook tracked it from leg slip and took an easy catch. Replays show that Asalanka top-edged it onto the helmet, which is why the ball went straight up in the air.
26th over: Sri Lanka 121-3 (Kusal Mendis 39, Asalanka 15) Harry Brook decides it’s time for a change of pace, with Jamie Overton returning to the attack. There’s a change of pace in the scoring, too, with Asalanka edging and slapping his first two balls for four.
Overton keeps charging in and has an LBW appeal against Kusal turned down. It was an off-cutter that kept a bit low, meaning height wasn’t an issue even for Overton, but it would have missed leg stump.
25th over: Sri Lanka 111-3 (Kusal Mendis 38, Asalanka 6)
24th over: Sri Lanka 108-3 (Kusal Mendis 37, Asalanka 4) Kusal jumps on a rare bad ball from Rashid, pulling it crisply for four. With the spinners doing most of the work, England’s over-rate has been phenomenal: 24 overs in just over 90 minutes. Good for the game, not so good for a liveblogger.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 102-3 (Kusal Mendis 32, Asalanka 3) Rehan Ahmed returns to the attack and hurries through a typical middle over: two dot balls, four singles. Next!
22nd over: Sri Lanka 98-3 (Kusal Mendis 30, Asalanka 1)
Asalanka is not out! He was so early on the shot that the ball actually hit the band of his glove. You can’t be LBW off the glove, but had it hit the bare forearm he would probably have been out. Fetch me a cliche, please, and make it the one about fine margins.
England review for LBW! The new batter, the left-handed Charith Asalanka, misses a sweep and is hit on the pad. This looks really close; he may have just got outside the line.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 97-3 (Dhananjaya LBW b Rashid 10)
Dhananjaya tries to sweep a looping delivery from Rashid, misses and is as plumb as plumb can be. He starts to walk even before the umpire’s finger goes up.
21st over: Sri Lanka 97-2 (Kusal Mendis 30, Dhananjaya 10) A canny maiden from Dawson to Kusal Mendis. Apart from that one dodgy over, he has been excellent today: his figures are 6-1-23-0.
“I’m still licking my wounds from backing England and continuing to believe until the bitter end during the Ashes.” writes Tom Van der Gucht. “I’m not fully sure how I feel about McCullum doubling down on his stuttering test team by then re-selecting/promoting them all for his ODI team.
“It reminds me of the Frog ala Peche Peter Cook sketch where he learns from his mistakes and is sure he can repeat them exactly.
“On that subject, I found this article in the BBC fascinating with McCullum’s quote about changing the man, or changing the man…”
I wish they hadn’t changed Ollie Robinson.
20th over: Sri Lanka 96-2 (Kusal Mendis 30, Dhananjaya 9) Kusal Mendis is such a dangerous player – we’ve known that since 2016. He sweeps four more off Rashid to continue Sri Lanka’s counter-punch. Rashid has bowled very well but Mendis, in particular, is manufacturing enough scoring opportunities off him.
19th over: Sri Lanka 90-2 (Kusal Mendis 23, Dhananjaya 9) Dhananjaya almost chips Dawson to short extra cover. That was nice bowling, a much slower delivery from Dawson. A much better over concludes with two deliveries that turn a decemt amount and are defended by Dhananjaya.
Time for drinks. It’s particularly hard to judge a pitch in a day-night game, but it feels like Sri Lanka are slightly on top.
18th over: Sri Lanka 89-2 (Kusal Mendis 23, Dhananjaya 9) Another skilful stroke from Kusal Mendis, who reacts late to jab/steer Rashid very fine on the off side for four. This experienced pair have regrouped impressively.
“Just stuck the telly on, saw he was bowling and thought, ‘Ah, what a relief. Someone who knows what he’s doing’,” writes Phil Harrison. “Like seeing Jimmy marking out his run towards the end. A guarantee of quality.”
Like those Puma tracksuits of the late 1980s.
17th over: Sri Lanka 82-2 (Kusal Mendis 17, Dhananjaya 8) Dawson, on for Rehan, bowls a poor over that goes for 12. That includes five wides down the leg side and a shortish delivery that Mendis steers expertly past short third for four.
Rashid aside, England look a little flat out there.
16th over: Sri Lanka 70-2 (Kusal Mendis 12, Dhananjaya 6) Rashid beats Kusal Mendis with a delicious flighted delivery, the legspinner’s equivalent of the football hard man who takes retribution when his young teammate is clattered by an opponent.
Later in the over, Dhananjaya picks a similar delivery and larrups it back over Rashid’s head for four. Shot!
15th over: Sri Lanka 65-2 (Kusal Mendis 11, Dhananjaya 2) Kusal Mendis glides Rehan Ahmed for successive boundaries. Ten from the over, which is just what Sri Lanka needed after a mini-spell of 6 for 2 from 4 overs.
14th over: Sri Lanka 55-2 (Kusal Mendis 2, Dhananjaya 1) I’m pretty sure Rashid meant that. It was lovely bowling, because he beat Mishara through flight and then turned the googly enough to hit the stumps.
It sounds odd, I know, but I feel like Adil Rashid is still a bit underrated. He’s a wonderful bowler. Ultimately, despite 2019 and 2022, in English cricket we bestow greatness because of performances in Test cricket. But if you zoom out there’s an argument – a polite one, watch your mouth – that Rashid is in the top 10/20/50 greatest England cricketers of all time.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 54-2 (Mishara b Rashid 27)
Bowled him round his legs! The left-handed Mishara tried to sweep a flighted googly outside leg stump, missed and heard the clatter of doom a split-second later.
Did Rashid mean that? Probably, it’s Adil Rashid after all.
13th over: Sri Lanka 53-1 (Mishara 27, Kusal Mendis 1) Rehan Ahmed, bourhg tinto the team at the last minute when Will Jacks was taken ill, replaces Sam Curran. A decade ago it would have been impossible to imagine England bowling legspin at both ends. But here we are, and it’s bloody great.
Rehan, all whirling arms and youthful optimism, starts with an accurate over that costs only two runs.
12th over: Sri Lanka 51-1 (Mishara 26, Kusal Mendis 0) Adil Rashid comes on for Liam Dawson. At 37 he has never bowled better – or with as much mischief. His first over is a bit of a range finder, but with enough variation and accuracy to ensure he concedes only one run.
11th over: Sri Lanka 50-1 (Mishara 25, Kusal Mendis 0)
WICKET! Sri Lanka 50-1 (Nissanka c Dawson b Curran 21)
Sam Curran strikes with the moon ball! Around the wicket, well wide of off stump at around 50mph, and Nissanka drags a lusty heave to mid-on. A beautiful player he may be, but that was pretty ugly.
10th over: Sri Lanka 49-0 (Nissanka 21, Mishara 24) A touch of class from Nissanka, who stands tall to punch Dawson square on the off side for four. Beautiful player this guy, a strong contender for an all-format World XI now that Ben Duckett’s form has gone to seed.
9th over: Sri Lanka 43-0 (Nissanka 16, Mishara 23) Sam Curran replaces Overton and is slugged over midwicket for two by Nissanka. The pitch is maybe a bit two-paced so Sri Lanka are going along quite nicely.
In other news, it gives me great pleasure to report that the commentary team for this series includes the Notorious D. I. G, known in some cultures as David Gower. He’s currently on with another flamboyant left-hander: Aamir Sohail, a man who commentates with the same no-nonsense approach he brought to opening the batting.
8th over: Sri Lanka 39-0 (Nissanka 13, Mishara 22) Another good over from Dawson, who has conceded five from his first two – and that’s in the Powerplay.
7th over: Sri Lanka 37-0 (Nissanka 12, Mishara 21) A short ball from Overton sits up nicely for Mishara, who DiMaggios it over midwicket for six. Have some of that!
6th over: Sri Lanka 29-0 (Nissanka 12, Mishara 13) An early look at Liam Dawson, who should have been in the bloody Ashes squad it was so obvious what the hell were England doing picking a specialist No8 when Dawson could have batted there and bowled proper spin has quickly become a key part of England’s white-ball plans. He almost strikes with the last ball of his first over when Nissanka falls over to the off side and chips just wide of the diving Bethell at midwicket.
Only four runs from the last two overs.
5th over: Sri Lanka 26-0 (Nissanka 12, Mishara 10) Overton, bowling around the wicket, beats Mishara with a spiteful back-of-a-length delivery. When he gets it right, Overton looks thoroughly unpleasant to face. A tall bloke jarring the bat at 90mph: what’s to love?
An excellent over, just one from it – and that came off the edge.
4th over: Sri Lanka 25-0 (Nissanka 12, Mishara 9) A juicy delivery from Curran is punched through extra cover for four by Mishara. The early signs are that this is a very good pitch. Very flipping good.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 20-0 (Nissanka 12, Mishara 4) A loose delivery from Overton flies off the pads of Nissanka for four leg-byes. Overton responds with angry short ball that forces Nissanka to pull his glove off the bat handle.
Those two deliveries sum up England’s start with the ball – a bit of a mixed bag.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 12-0 (Nissanka 8, Mishara 4) Sam Curran takes the new ball, probably his best role if he is going to play in England’s ODI side. A nice inswinger is defended respectfully by Nissanka, who then plays a sumptuous back-foot drive for four. He’s such a classy player; you will probably remember his matchwinning hundred in the Oval Test of 2024.
1st over: Sri Lanka 7-0 (Nissanka 3, Mishara 4) This is the first time Overton has opened the bowling in an ODI. He starts with a short ball that is pulled smoothly for two by Nissanka. A single behind square brings the left-handed Mishara on strike; he’s beaten first ball, chasing a short delivery that snaps away off the seam.
Mishara gets off the mark with a cross-bat edge that lands short of Buttler and bounces through for four.
Jamie Overton will open the bowling to Pathum Nissanka. Let’s get this pyjama party started.
From the archive
Unusual thrashings come no more predictable than Sri Lanka’s demolition of England in the quarter-final of the 1996 World Cup. It was unusual because Sri Lanka had never beaten England in the World Cup and had never qualified for the semi-finals; England had never failed to reach the semi-finals. Yet the buildup to the tournament group stages told us that history was more or less bunk.
Sri Lanka – who were 66-1 outsiders two months before the tournament started – were relatively fresh and in familiar conditions; England were knackered and might as well have been on Mars, so little experience did they have of one-day cricket in Asia. Sri Lanka were playing 21st-century one-day cricket, with pinch hitters and pace off the ball; England’s tactics were straight outta 1985.
Jonathan Liew
There will be consequences. There must be consequences. Perhaps there have already been consequences. Harry Brook is very sorry for getting punched by a bouncer in New Zealand. Rob Key is very sorry for overseeing an Ashes tour that in retrospect could probably have been an email. Brendon McCullum is not sorry, but has promised to “look at things over the next little while”, which is basically the same as an apology, so fine.
In the meantime, the travelling circus of English cricket rolls on. There is a white-ball series in Sri Lanka starting on Thursday morning, for which – consequences, remember – McCullum remains as coach, Key remains as managing director and Brook remains as captain. In addition Zak Crawley returns to open the batting in the 50-over team, a fitting reward for not playing a single 50-over game in the whole of 2024 or 2025. Nature heals.
Perhaps we do, too. Two weeks after the teams left the field in Sydney, the raw emotions awakened by England’s defeat have subsided a little. Sleep and teabags have been replenished. The Twenty20 World Cup starts in a fortnight. Winter nets have already begun. This is the blessing and the curse of cricket: there is always fresh hope around the corner, fresh drifts of snow to cover guilty footprints.
As for McCullum, his contract runs to the end of the 2027 Ashes and according to reports it would cost more than £1m to break it now. Indeed it is possible that this knowledge has informed some of his more obdurate proclamations to the media in Australia, a recognition that in a landscape rich with franchise cash and poor in willing international coaches, he still holds all the cards.
Taha Hashim
A subcontinental World Cup to close an Ashes winter? History tells us this does not end well for England. In 2014 a whitewash in Australia was followed by a group-stage exit at the World T20 with a 45-run defeat to the Netherlands in Chattogram. In 2011 the 50-over side – largely made up of Test regulars – were brutalised by Kevin O’Brien in Bengaluru before exiting with a 10-wicket quarter-final loss to Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Vic Marks, writing for the Observer, wondered beforehand if England had “anything left to give” after so many months on the road.
And so to the Premadasa again, 15 years on, this time without the goodwill of a recent series victory in Australia. The first one-day international against Sri Lanka will begin just two weeks after Alex Carey struck the winning runs at the SCG, and open the second half of England’s winter, with three T20s to follow in Pallekele. They will hope to end it on 8 March, at the final of the T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad, or Colombo should they face Pakistan, such is the geopolitical mess underpinning the upcoming tournament.
The gap between tours has unsurprisingly been populated with discussion of how it all fell apart in Australia, questions of who goes and who stays and, already, Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, outlining that “our focus is on regaining the Ashes in 2027”. The English game’s unhealthy obsession with one series lives on.
The teams
There’s a late change to the England team. Will Jacks is unwell and has been replaced by Rehan Ahmed.
Sri Lanka Nissanka, Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya, Asalanka (c), Liyanage, P Ratnayake, Wellalage, Madushan, Vandersay, Fernando.
England Crawley, Duckett, Root, Bethell, Brook (c), Buttler (wk), S Curran, Rehan Ahmed, J Overton, Dawson, Rashid.
Sri Lanka win the toss and bat
And why not, with a gazillion spin options in their team.
“I’m very excited about today’s match,” writes Nick Parish. “This is my favourite line-up in action again, possibly my favourite of all time. I know there were some dodgy moments in Australia, but I’m confident we’re going to get somebody fabulous entertainment today. But anyway, enough about you and Harris. What do you think of the chancers on the pitch?”
Look, I wrote some shocking sentences during the Ashes but I’ll take the learnings and move forward. Hopefully by never using the word ‘learnings’ again.
England have named their team, which has possibly the shortest tail in English cricket history. There are three changes from the third ODI in New Zealand: Zak Crawley (the very same), Will Jacks and Liam Dawson replace Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer.
England Crawley, Duckett, Root, Bethell, Brook (c), Buttler (wk), Jacks, S Curran, J Overton, Dawson, Rashid.
Edit: Jacks was replaced at the last minute by Rehan Ahmed.
Preamble
Are you over it yet? Nah, me either, but at least we have to some fresh cricket to distract us. A fortnight after the end of the most disappointing Ashes series in living memory, England begin their preparation for the T20 World Cup with – don’t ask – a three-match ODI series.
A lot has changed since England’s last ODI in New Zealand in November. The Ashes dream has gone poof!, Brendon McCullum is fighting for his job. And it’s probably fair to assume Harry Brook had an early night yesterday.
One thing remains the same: if England don’t start winning ODIs soon, they will miss out on automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup. England are currently eighth in the ODI rankings; to qualify automatically, they need to be in the top nine when the music stops in March 2027. If not they will be parachuted into the Cricket World Cup qualifier that summer.
England will surely qualify one way or another. But for a team who were redefining ODI cricket a decade ago, it’s all a bit ignominious.
Today’s match starts at 9am GMT.
