England Vs Sri Lanka 2021 Series Review. The #1 ranked team in the ODI Super League against the #11 team—a lopsided predictable series.
As we speak, England’s second string team is dominating Pakistan in an ODI series, but England found young guns in the Sri Lanka series as well. Liam Livingstone & Sam Billings progressed their case in the middle order, Dawid Malan & Eoin Morgan silenced their critics, and Joe Root & Jos Buttler did what they usually do. On the bowling front, Sam Curran, David Willey, Chris Woakes, and Tom Curran came to the party.
For Sri Lanka, the story goes from bad to worse. Apart from Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Dasun Shanaka, there was nothing much of note. Scores of 129, 111, and 91 in the T20Is along with 185, 241, & 166 in the ODIs shows how much ground the Lankans have lost in the last decade.
Add to that, the bio-bubble suspension of Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilika, and Niroshan Dickwella, contract struggles, Thisara Perera’s retirement at 32, Angelo Mathews’ retirement consideration, numerous captaincy changes, and COVID induced India-Sri Lanka series, Sri Lanka have hit absolute rock-bottom.
Also Read: Top 50 England Cricket Team Players, West Indies Vs Sri Lanka 2021 Series Review
Results, Scorecards, & Video Highlights
T20I Series – England Won 3-0
- England won by 8 wickets (17 balls remaining) *Jos Buttler
- SL 129/7 – Dasun Shanaka 50 (51), Adil Rashid (4-0-17-2)
- Eng 130/2 – Jos Buttler 68* (55), Dushmantha Chameera (3.1-0-24-1)
- Video Highlights
- England won by 5 wickets (11 balls remaining)*Liam Livingstone
- SL 111/7 (18 overs) – Kusal Mendis 39 (39), Mark Wood (4-0-8-2)
- Eng 108/5 (Target 103) – Liam Livingstone 29 (26), Wanindu Hasaranga (4-0-20-2)
- Video Highlights
- England won by 89 runs*Dawid Malan
- Eng 180/6 – Dawid Malan 76 (48), Dushmantha Chameera (4-0-17-4)
- SL 91/10 – Binura Fernando 29 (14), David Willey (4-0-27-3)
- Video Highlights
*Player of the Match
| Player of the Series | England Sam Curran | Sri Lanka |
| Most Runs | Dawid Malan – 87 Runs (Best of 76, 29.00 average, 129.85 SR) | Dasun Shanaka – 65 Runs (Best of 50, 21.66 average, 89.04 SR) |
| Most Wickets | Sam Curran – 5 wickets (Best – 2/14, 9.40 average, 5.22 Economy) | Dushmantha Chameera – 6 wickets (Best – 4/17, 11.66 average, 6.26 Economy) |
ODI Series – England Won 2-0
- England won by 5 wickets (with 91 balls remaining)*Chris Woakes
- SL 185/10 Kusal Perera 73 (81), Chris Woakes (10-5-18-4)
- Eng 189/5 Joe Root 79* (87), Dushmantha Chameera (8-0-50-3)
- Video Highlights
- England won by 8 wickets (with 42 balls remaining)*Sam Curran
- SL 241/9 Dhananjaya de Silva 91 (91), Sam Curran (10-1-48-5)
- Eng 244/2 Eoin Morgan 75*(83), Chamika Karunaratne (6-0-34-1)
- Video Highlights
- No Result
- SL 166/100 (41.1 overs) Dasun Shanaka 48* (65), Tom Curran (10-0-35-4)
- Video Highlights
Series Stats
| Player of the Series | England David Willey | Sri Lanka |
| Most Runs | Joe Root – 147 Runs (Best of 79*, 84.48 SR, 50s-2, Not dismissed) | Wanindu Hasaranga – 100 Runs (Best of 54, 33.33 average, 68.02 SR) |
| Most Wickets | David Willey – 9 Wickets (Best – 4/64, 16.00 average, 5.33 Economy) | Dushmantha Chameera – 3 Wickets (Best – 3/50, 32.00 average, 5.64 Economy) |
Highlights
England
- Chris Woakes: 3-0-14-1 (1st T20I), Rested, 4-0-9-1 (3rd T20I), 10-5-18-4 (1st ODI), Rested, 10-3-28-2. Dream figures. Playing his first T20I since 2015/16 season, you would expect him to get a consistent run. Yet he has only played 3 T20Is, 6 Tests, and 7 ODIs over the last two years. Yes, England do play lots of cricket and have tough competition for spots, but Woakes at 32, is in his prime and is bowling beautifully. Resting him after 3 over spells just does not make sense (unless the England team management are hiding something).
- David Willey & Sam Curran were the pick of the bowlers in the ODI series. In the 2nd ODI, they combined for 9 wickets together. Curran’s opening spell – reducing SL to 21/4 within 7 overs was especially spectacular. Willey has had a stop-start career and has always taken his opportunity. It is time he gets a consistent run. Was unlucky to miss out on the 2019 WC spot due to the Jofra Archer’s emergence.
- Silencing the critics feat Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, and Tom Curran.
- Tom Curran produced a 10-0-35-4 in the final ODI after a couple of expensive years.
- One criticism is that since his record-breaking innings against Afghanistan, he hasn’t had much of note. Performance with KKR in the IPL? Not that great either. Meanwhile, Alex Hales is making runs for fun in the various T20 leagues. Dropping Morgan and picking Hales gained some traction in social media recently. Hence match-winning partnership with Joe Root in the 2nd ODI was timely.
- Malan, the #1 ranked T20I batter, was under the hammer for below-par performances in slow subcontinent tracks. An exhilarating 76 in the 3rd T20I should solidify his case for the T20I World Cup.
Also Read: Why The World Needs Sam Curran: Calm, Charismatic, Courageous
Sri Lanka
- Dushmantha Chameera has been the only positive for Sri Lanka fast bowling over the last year. He was the best bowler for Sri Lanka this tour in 3 out of 5 matches. Bowls with good pace, hits the deck—he has all the elements to be a Sri Lankan great.
- Wanindu Hasaranga has been the find for Sri Lanka since the West Indies tour earlier this year. He is currently averaging 15.76 at 6.75 economy and is now unleashing his all-round potential. In this England series, he batted in the middle order with handy knocks of 54, 26, & 20.
- Dhananjaya de Silva played a gem of a counterattacking knock in the 2nd ODI, scoring 91 runs. Pure timing and a great catch as well. Unfortunate to miss that century.
Also Read: Lasith Malinga: The Slinga, Slayer, and SuperStar
| Awards | England | Sri Lanka |
| Emerging Player | Liam Livingstone | Dushmantha Chameera |
| Comeback Kid | Eoin Morgan | SL’s Administrative Struggles |
| Surprise Package | Rotation of Chris Woakes | Dhananjaya de Silva |
| Broken Cricket Dream | International Career Over For Alex Hales? | Bio Bubble Breach |
T20I World Cup Squad Predictions
We look forward to early T20 World Cup 23-player squad prediction as of this series. Who knows how many changes we will get to see with Sri Lanka.
- Jason Roy, 2. Jos Buttler (WK), 3. Dawid Malan, 4. Jonny Bairstow, 5. Eoin Morgan*, 6. Ben Stokes, 7. Sam Curran, 8. Moeen Ali, 9. Jofra Archer, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Mark Wood
Squad: 12. Sam Billings, 13. Liam Livingstone, 14. Tom Curran, 15. Chris Jordan, 16. Saqib Mahmood, 17. James Vince, 18. Tom Banton, 19. Joe Root, 20. Reece Topley, 21. Liam Dawson, 22. Matt Parkinson, 23. Phil Salt
Sri Lanka
- Kusal Perera, 2. Pathum Nissanka, 3. Dhananjaya de Silva, 4. Dinesh Chandimal, 5. Avishka Fernando, 6. Wanindu Hasaranga, 7. Dasun Shanaka*, 8. Akila Dananjaya, 9. Isuru Udana, 10. Dushmantha Chameera, 11. Lakshan Sandakan
Squad: 12. Ashen Bandara, 13. Asitha Fernando, 14. Nuwan Pradeep, 15. Oshada Fernando, 16. Suranga Lakmal, 17. Ramesh Mendis, 18. Kamindu Mendis, 19. Dilshan Madushanka, 20. Suranga Lakmal, 21. Dimuth Karunaratne, 22. Praveen Jayawickrama, 23. Lasith Malinga
Upcoming Fixtures – England Vs Sri Lanka 2021
England’s camp was hit by COVID so an entire new squad, captained by Ben Stokes, was picked for the Pakistan series. No Alex Hales picked.
Apart from the Hundred in July, England & Sri Lanka have lots of game time for the two T20 World Cups.
- England are currently hosting Pakistan for 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is until July 20th.
- Sri Lanka hosts India for 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is (18th-29th July)
- England host India for 5 Tests (4th August-14th September)
- The Ashes in Australia 5 Tests (7th December-18th January)
- England tour of West Indies for 5 T20Is & 3 Tests (28th January-28th March)
- Sri Lanka tour of Australia for 5 T20Is (11th-19th February)
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Copyright: @Nitesh Mathur, Broken Cricket Dreams, 7/10/2021. Email at bcd@brokencricketdreams.com to get in touch with us.
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