Cricket

England vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI Preview & Tips – England's impressive white-ball summer to continue

By Ben Darvill

1 hour ago

Ben Darvill 1 hour ago

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England and Sri Lanka will face-off in three 50 over matches
Sri Lanka have lost two of their last three ODI’s (W1)
Preview, stats & head to head

Joe Root of England (Getty Images)

England vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI Preview & Tips
Head To Head
England Form
Sri Lanka Form

England vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI Preview & Tips

England are aiming to continue an incredibly impressive few months of cricket, with the home side boasting eight consecutive wins across formats.

Sri Lanka will hope their woes in the T20 game do not follow them into the ODI format as they battle to ensure they are not set on a course for successive 3-0 defeats in the limited overs formats against England.

England have won four of their last five in the ODI game (L1)
Joe Root is averaging 248.00 in the ODI game in 2026

Head To Head

England have won six of their last 10 ODI's against Sri Lanka, with the latter managing to win four meetings in this time.

England Form

England have been enjoying an outstanding white-ball summer. Of their 10 outings in the shorter formats, they have won nine times, with seven consecutive wins in the T20 game coming alongside two wins and a single defeat in the 50 over game.

Their only defeat of the summer in the white-ball game came against India, with this loss followed by successive wins over their opponent to win their series 2-1. Considering England had won just three of their previous seven in the 50 over game prior to their series against India, this is a promising return to form. One player that has been crucial to their upturn in form is Joe Root.

Scores of 61, 75, 111 not out, 76 not out, 99 not out and 74 not out have seen Root continually impress in the 50 over game. While he has never been the box-office smasher of a ball, his incredible ability to soak up pressure, rotate the strike, split the field or score with ingenious shots makes him England’s key man, and I back him to impress with the bat yet again.

Sri Lanka have not had the answer with bat, ball or in the field to an England side that have blown them away three times in the T20 game. I predict more of the same in the ODI series as England continue to improve in the 50 over game.

Sri Lanka Form

Sri Lanka's woes across the game of cricket has seen the touring side win just two of their last 10 across formats, with their record of three wins in their last 15 even worse.

In the ODI game, Sri Lanka have lost five of their last seven. While a 2-1 ODI series loss to England back in January was hardly a shock, their 3-0 defeat at the hands of an inconsistent Pakistan back in November of 2025 was a shocking set of results.

Their tour of England has seen their batting unit return scores of 135, 145 and 124. They have also seen England notch a massive 254/4 when batting first in the first T20, with the home side cruising to wins by six wickets with 47 deliveries left in the second T20 and by eight wickets with 62 deliveries remaining in the third T20.

While a change of format may yet bring renewed fortunes, Sri Lanka's inability to score consistent runs or put England under any form of pressure will more than likely hurt them in their ODI series.

Verdict

England v Sri Lanka 1st ODI

I am backing England to beat Sri Lanka once again as Joe Root continues his exceptional run in the 50 over game.

England

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Root 50+ Runs

Batter Milestones

@137.00 - 1 Unit