What's new

England tour of Sri Lanka (2026)

Ball Blazer

Ball Blazer

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 13, 2025
Runs
6,163
England Men to tour Sri Lanka ahead of T20 World Cup

The dates have been set for England Men’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka ahead of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The three-match one-day international series will begin on Thursday 22 January 2026 and end on Tuesday 27 January 2026.

The three-match IT20 series starts on Friday 30 January 2026 before concluding on Tuesday 3 February.

The venues for each match are to be confirmed by Sri Lanka Cricket.

England men – Sri Lanka white-ball tour

  • 1st ODI: England Men v Sri Lanka Men, Thursday 22 January 2026, venue: Colombo
  • 2nd ODI: England Men v Sri Lanka Men, Saturday 24 January 2026, venue: Colombo
  • 3rd ODI: England Men v Sri Lanka Men, Tuesday 27 January 2026, venue: Colombo
  • 1st IT20: England Men v Sri Lanka Men, Friday 30 January 2026, venue: Pallekele
  • 2nd IT20: England Men v Sri Lanka Men, Sunday 1 February 2026, venue: Pallekele
  • 3rd IT20: England Men v Sri Lanka Men, Tuesday 3 February 2026, venue: Pallekele
 
Last edited:
Sri Lanka Cricket has now confirmed venues for the white-ball series announced this morning. The three ODIs will all be staged at the RPICS in Colombo, while all three IT20s are at the PICS in Pallekele.
 
ENGLAND TOUR OF SRI LANKA 2026

The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Panel has selected the following squad to play the ODI series vs. England.

The ODI matches will be played on the 22nd, 24th, and 27th of January 2026 at the RPICS, Colombo.

The Squad 1. Charith Asalanka – Captain 2. Pathum Nissanka 3. Kamil Mishara 4. Kusal Mendis 5. Sadeera Samarawickrama 6. Pavan Rathnayake 7. Dhananjaya De Silva 8. Janith Liyanage 9. Kamindu Mendis 10. Dunith Wellalage 11. Wanindu Hasaranga 12. Jeffrey Vandersay 13. Maheesh Theekshana 14. Milan Rathnayake 15. Asitha Fernando 16. Pramod Madushan 17. Eshan Malinga
 
I dont understand how sri lanka wins the toss always on "screw the opposition while they are chasing" pitches in lanka.They will score 230 and win by handsome margin.i think they won 9 /10 tosses and lost 1 toss. Everything went as per the toss.
 
TBH, these teams should have been playing T20s instead of ODI. So close to the T20 World Cup, why play an ODI?
 
Vikram1989 said:
I dont understand how sri lanka wins the toss always on "screw the opposition while they are chasing" pitches in lanka.They will score 230 and win by handsome margin.i think they won 9 /10 tosses and lost 1 toss. Everything went as per the toss.
Click to expand...
Is it all pitches or mainly just Premadasa that is very difficult to chase on under lights
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Is it all pitches or mainly just Premadasa that is very difficult to chase on under lights
Click to expand...
They are conducting odis only in premadasa now a days i guess.Afaik , once Jayasuriya became the coach all the odis are in premadasa only.India, Aus, Bng odis were in same place.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Is it all pitches or mainly just Premadasa that is very difficult to chase on under lights
Click to expand...
In the past decade, india used to chase 250 to 280 easily. Once sanath came in, he reverted to Aquib, Gambhir strategy and hoping to win the toss.Its strange and ridiculous as the matches are limited formats not atleast test format .
 
Sri Lanka finished their innings at 271/6. Kusal Mendis was the top scorer for the hosts with superb unbeaten knock of 93 runs.
 
Spin is the key here ... if England plays spin well ... they can win this ... need to keep wickets in hand.
 
70 runs partnership so far....... very good for them. Lanka need wickets here to come back in the game.
 
Three down , required rate now over 7.5 now. It may get more tricky if Lanka bowls well here
 
England need 88 runs in 42 balls.

England still have batters who can bat , but the required rate is too high , need some big overs
 
Brook is batting low to make big difference consistently. He should be batting ideally at 3 or at least 4 and bethel at 5. But root is messing up the batting line for them. Root will score consistently without every being a big issue for the opposition. So Eng will have to take a firm call. But their hands are tied as most of their batsman are aggressive sloggers and need to have a proper bat like root somewhere there..
 
SportsWarrior said:
Brook is batting low to make big difference consistently. He should be batting ideally at 3 or at least 4 and bethel at 5. But root is messing up the batting line for them. Root will score consistently without every being a big issue for the opposition. So Eng will have to take a firm call. But their hands are tied as most of their batsman are aggressive sloggers and need to have a proper bat like root somewhere there..
Click to expand...

He is the one who is scoring , if he is not there England will struggle even more.
 
SL seamers proving to be utter rubbish at the death. Barely 5'8" both of them and that's the problem. No bounce, no pace.
 
What a big downfall
===
England have now lost their last 11 men's ODIs away from home 😱

Since the World Cup in 2023, they have lost 19 of 27 matches in the format, including six of their last seven
 
Justcrazy said:
He is the one who is scoring , if he is not there England will struggle even more.
Click to expand...
yeah, he will score consistently. He is one of the greatest ever. But his impact will be minimal. he won't win many matches. That is the dilemma for Eng. They need someone like Root. But root needs to both score and win matches.. scoring at low rate while chasing a decent total just puts too much pressure on everyone else. Brook is too casual in his approach too.. lets see how they in the next match
 
The Bald Eagle said:
What a big downfall
===
England have now lost their last 11 men's ODIs away from home 😱

Since the World Cup in 2023, they have lost 19 of 27 matches in the format, including six of their last seven
Click to expand...
and it will continue to happen until they get some decent bowlers. None of these bowlers instill confidence and they are there as they contribute with bat too. How many batsman do they need, especially when they are consistently failing to either put up a good score or chase down a decent total. Rasheed is decent but unlikely to make much of difference in 2027 WC, Rehan is also not confidence inspiring and mostly there due to him being an allrounder. Sam curran is neither a first choice batsman nor a first choice bowler, overten is till evolving and is already 30+, and less said then better about Dawson.. They need three good bowlers and fourth decent and remaining can be allrounders..
 
Despite changing formats and opponents, England’s struggles continued as they suffered a defeat against Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Colombo, following closely on the heels of their disappointing Ashes campaign.

Just two weeks after their 4-1 series loss in Australia, England were once again undone, this time by Sri Lanka’s spinners on a slow and low surface. Chasing a challenging target of 272, set up largely by an unbeaten 93 from Kusal Mendis, England initially found some stability through Ben Duckett’s much-needed 62 and a typically elegant 61 from Joe Root.

However, both batters fell while attempting sweep shots against the skilled Sri Lankan spin attack, triggering a collapse as the required run rate quickly climbed beyond England’s reach. The visitors lost eight wickets for just 84 runs, with Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell both dismissed stumped.

Jamie Overton provided late resistance with some powerful hitting, leaving England needing 20 runs from the final over. But his mistimed shot to cover ended the chase, and England were bowled out for 252. While the 19-run margin suggested a close contest, Sri Lanka were firmly in control for much of the match.

The loss leaves England trailing 1-0 in the three-match series and extends their poor run away from home, with 11 consecutive ODI defeats on foreign soil. The second match will be played at the same venue on Saturday.
 
Sri Lanka vs England, 2nd ODI

Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to bat

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka(c), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando

England (Playing XI): Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook(c), Jos Buttler(w), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid
 
50 by Root , he is again the key here .... if he gets a hundred England should win this.
 
England has good chance , they have the game under control , Brook needs to just concentrate and rotate strike .
 
On SL pitches are insanely harder to bat on as the game goes on. It is good only for 60 overs or so. After that it gets progressively harder to bat on. Even very average spinner would look threatening
 
England end a run of 11 consecutive away ODI defeats to take the series against Sri Lanka to a decider!


1769287988543.jpg
 
If England can win the series, it would be a great confidence boost.

They haven't had a good time in ODI for the past 3 years (starting from 2023 WC). :inti
 
Today is 3rd ODI. Series is tied at 1-1.

England are doing very well. Looking good for a win.

1769514126555.png
 
England finish at 357/3 after 50 overs.

Massive total. Both Root and Brook scored centuries.

SL need 358 to win and avoid a home series defeat.
 
These two have added 31 runs so far , if they can bat through till 35th over , this can be interesting chase
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BouncerGuy
ICC T20 World Cup (2026): England announced provisional squad
Replies
2
Views
339
Ball Blazer
Ball Blazer
BouncerGuy
[REPORTS] Pakistan to Tour Sri Lanka for 3-Match T20I series in January 2026
Replies
32
Views
2K
shamaan
S
Cricket Warrior
ICC T20 World Cup (2026): Sri Lanka squad announced
Replies
11
Views
414
BouncerGuy
BouncerGuy
BouncerGuy
Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka (2026) [3 T20Is]
Replies
77
Views
4K
Ball Blazer
Ball Blazer
BouncerGuy
Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka (2026): Broadcast Thread
Replies
1
Views
212
BouncerGuy
BouncerGuy
Back
Top