England cricketers Jos Buttler (L) and Moeen Ali take a break while watching other players during a practice session at the P. Sara Oval Cricket Stadium in Colombo on October 4, 2018. AFP / Lakruwan Wanniarachchi
COLOMBO: England are full of confidence at the top of the rankings while a bruised Sri Lanka is at a low point going into their one-day international series, with both teams looking to build some momentum ahead of next year’s World Cup.
England captain Eoin Morgan said yesterday that it is a “nice acknowledgement” to be No. 1 in the ODI rankings, but his team’s focus is on the World Cup.
“It’s been quite a long process; well thought out, well planned and I think to a point well executed,” Morgan said of his team’s journey to the top.
“I still think we have along way to go. It has taken three and a half years to get to where we are now, but we are getting into the most important part of what we have been planning towards.”
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, were eliminated from the recent Asia Cup after losing to Bangladesh and Afghanistan and captain Dinesh Chandimal said his team wants to use the England series as a turning point.
“The players are in a good frame of mind,” he said. “If we can end this series on a winning note it will help us go into the World Cup confidently.”
Sri Lanka is currently ranked eighth in the International Cricket Council rankings.
The five-match series begins next Wednesday at Rangiri Dambulla Stadium in central Sri Lanka. It will be followed by a Twenty20 international and three test matches.
Meanwhile Bairstow said England are ready to “grit it out” against Sri Lanka if the surfaces don’t prove so friendly.
“If you look at the pitches for South Africa they looked like good cricket pitches,” Bairstow told reporters in Colombo. “Whether they change their tactics and produce pitches that are slightly different for us... so be it.
“We’ve got to prepare like that’s the case. Yes, we’d like to play on good pitches and yes, we’d like to have high-scoring games but we’re prepared to guts it out and grit it out if needed.
“Both teams have to bat and bowl on them, whether it’s batting first or bowling first, under lights or through the day,” Bairstow said.
