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WICKET!! Brook c Liyanage b Pathirana 4 (England 34-4)
Fooled by a slower ball!
Updated at 09.02 EST
5th over: England 28-3 (Buttler 17, Brook 0) Shanaka’s bowling changes keep on working. He turned to spin, brought on Dunith Wellalage, saw him make a good tight start, and got another wicket as Banton picked the wrong ball to try and slog for six. It’s our old friend, an England collapse!
Updated at 09.00 EST
WICKET! Banton b Wellalage 7 (England 28-3)
So much for Banton’s form!
4th over: England 25-2 (Buttler 16, Banton 5) The batters decide that attack is the best form of defence, and it works. Shanaka’s second over begins with Buttler dabbing for four and ends with Banton, still in form from the other night, cover-driving for four more. A few singles in between and, without much effort, they’ve got 11 off the over.
Updated at 08.56 EST
3rd over: England 14-2 (Buttler 10, Banton 0) Chameera’s reward for grabbing an early wicket was to be taken off, but it worked. On came Matheesha Pathirana, Sri Lanka’s slingshot, bearing yorkers. He nearly bowled Buttler and could have broken his toe, before switching to a good length and a wide line to dismiss Bethell. Buttler, deciding that attack is the best form of defence, gets aa streaky four from a Harrow drive. SL well on top.
ShareWICKET! Bethell c Kusal Mendis b Pathirana 3 (England 14-2)
Another one! Pathirana dishes up temptation, well oustide off, and Bethell takes the bait.
2nd over: England 7-1 (Buttler 4, Bethell 2) Dasun Shanaka starts well too – dot dot dot, a single for Buttler, and then two deliveries that beat the bat of Bethell, the first a shout for LBW (pitched outside leg), the second whistling past the outside edge. Even Buttler’s single was mistimed. Advantage Sri Lanka!
Updated at 08.45 EST
1st over: England 6-1 (Buttler 3, Bethell 2) The travelling fans were still singing Jerusalem, at a rather dirge-like tempo, when Ben Duckett faced his first ball. It was a beauty from Dushmantha Chameera, curling back into the left-hander, trapping him on the crease and looking a very plumb plumb. For some reason it wasn’t given on the field, but the review brought up three reds and poor old Duckett had to go. His miserable winter continues.
No such bother for Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell, who pick up a few singles.
Updated at 08.41 EST
WICKET! Duckett LBW b Chameera 0 (England 2-1)
Duckett gets a golden duck!
Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera is mobbed after dismissing Ben Duckett first ball! Photograph: Eranga Jayawardena/APGolden Duckett!! Photograph: Eranga Jayawardena/APShare
Updated at 08.44 EST
Sri Lanka team: no Hasaranga
The Sri Lankans make three changes. After losing Eshan Malinga to a dislocated shoulder, they also have to do without Wanindu Hasaranga, who has gone down with an abscess in the armpit. Painful for him and disappointing for the spectators, who haven’t seen him at his explosive best. His place goes to Maneesh Theekshana, Malinga’s to Dushmantha Chameera. The ODI captain, Charith Asalanka, is rested in favour of Kamindu Mendis, who wasn’t in the original squad for this series. A hat-tip for all these facts to our friends at Cricinfo, as our friends at TNT have been replaying the last match rather than filling us in on this one.
Sri Lanka 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kami Mishara, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Pavan Rathnayeke, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Janith Liyanage, 8 Dunith Wellalage, 9 Mahessh Theekshana, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Matheesha Pathirana.
Updated at 08.26 EST
England team: Duckett in for Salt, Wood for Archer
Phil Salt is ruled out by a sore back, so Ben Duckett sneaks into the XI without having to dislodge Tom Banton. Jofra Archer is rested to keep him fresh for the World Cup, so England’s spare seamer, Luke Wood, gets an overdue outing. He may have been eyeing Jamie Overton’s economy rate and thinking he could do better.
England 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Luke Wood.
ShareEngland win the toss and … bat!
Harry Brook gets his call right for the third time out of three – like Ben Stokes, he seems to be a top-class tosser. He opts to bat first, presumably to give his team some practice at setting a target.
SharePre-match reading
Pakistan’s cricketers have been ordered by their government not to play against India in the T20 World Cup. Our man in the subcontinent, the talented Taha Hashim, looks at the ramifications of this.
Updated at 07.57 EST
Preamble
Afternoon everyone and welcome to something you don’t come across very often: a game that has little riding on it because England’s white-ball team have been playing too well. With their calculated hitting on Sunday, Tom Banton and Harry Brook won the match and spoiled the series.
Sri Lanka played much better in that second game, only to find that the weather was not on their side. If they had won, we’d be looking forward to a fascinating finale today. Instead the main question is whether England are ruthless enough to complete a whitewash or whether the Sri Lankans can give the scoreline the respectability their efforts deserve. There’s a World Cup starting on Saturday and both teams will want to go into it with a win in their sails.
As usual in this game of many layers, there are plenty of sub-plots to keep us interested. Can Banton, brought in as a replacemewnt for the injured Ben Duckett, make that No.4 spot his own? Can Pavan Rathnayeke, who has still faced only 233 balls in his international career, carry on playing like a prince? Can Sri Lanka’s other young guns find a way to cope with England’s elderly spinners, Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson? Can Jamie Overton and Sam Curran go for fewer than ten runs an over? Can Brook refrain from saying something silly? Will Brendon McCullum say anything at all?
You never can tell if a match will be exciting. But it’s unlikely to be as dull as the last day of the transfer window.