Sri Lanka have been plagued by off-field controversy and poor performances in the middle on this tour. Can they turn a corner at the Oval on Thursday?
Sri Lanka were overwhelmed by England’s quicks in the first match and they will need to improve to stay in the series.
England vs Sri Lanka | 1 July 2021 | The Oval, London | 14:00
To Win Match
England 1/10
Tie 25/1
Sri Lanka 6/1
England
England hardly broke a sweat chasing down Sri Lanka’s subpar effort and this series threatens to become another blowout for the tourists.
The hosts didn’t need to flex their considerable batting muscles in the opening match of the series in Durham. England would fancy chasing down most targets with their impressive batting arsenal.
David Willey and Chris Woakes destroyed Sri Lanka in the early going and the pace duo will want to press home the psychological edge with another strong display.
Joe Root provided the steady hand that finished off Sri Lanka and proved his value to England’s white-ball team.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka are staring down the barrel of a winless tour to England and don’t look at likely to change that anytime soon.
Coach Mickey Arthur finds himself under pressure to improve Sri Lanka’s fortunes away from home.
Batting is Sri Lanka’s great weakness right now and they could really use runs from their senior batsmen.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers showed they can be handy in English conditions and could have made things interesting if they had more runs to play with.
Verdict: England 1/10
The hosts are in a strong position.
