Very little was expected of Sri Lanka before they touched down on these shores and after five successive losses across both the T20 and ODI formats, heavy defeats too, those expectations have been sadly realised.
If there is a silver lining to the cricketing cloud that Sri Lanka are under, then there will be no added pressure from the outside on their shoulders going into the final match, as England will be expected to complete a clean sweep.
This of course is reflected in the betting with Eoin Morgan’s men heavy favourites at 1/12 to repeat their T20 whitewash in the 50-over series, while Sri Lanka are on offer at a huge 23/4 to salvage some pride in the finale.
Sri Lanka Outplayed in All Departments
The off-field problems that the tourists are going through is hardly helping matters but they look out-matched by England in all departments and it is difficult to see much changing in the third ODI, despite the temptations of a massive price.
England have seemingly had an advantage bowling first in the first two ODIs, restricting Sri Lanka to modest totals with their powerful batting line-up able to chase down the targets with relative ease.
Morgan has not opted to switch things around in the finale and bat first to test out his troops after winning the toss, while Sri Lanka will hope their fragile batting line-up can finally post a competitive total.
A bit of rain in the air may also help the bowlers’ cause and it is worth remembering that the tourists had reduced England to 80-4 in the first ODI, before they reached the victory target of a mere 186 for the loss of just one further wicket.
Jason Roy missed that first ODI but has found some form of late and made 60 in the second, although Joe Root has been the Three Lions standout batsman so far, making unbeaten scores of 79 and 68 to steer England home, and he is 13/5 to top score for the home side.
Despite a busy summer he has not been rested for this one, while both Tom Banton and Liam Livingstone have missed out, with Jonny Bairstow heading the betting at 12/5.
Woakes Can Make His Mark Again
On the bowling side, it may seem ridiculous to some observers that Chris Woakes was rested for the second ODI – having starred with figures of 4-18 in the opener – given his sparse recent involvement with England.
However, he will be chomping at the bit to get back into the fray and given both his wicket-taking threat, as well as his miserly economy rate, he looks a good shout at 11/4 to finish as England’s top wicket-taker.
*All odds correct at time of writing
