Richard Mann is keeping faith with Joe Root in the second ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Headingley on Thursday – read his full preview here.
Cricket tips: England v Sri Lanka
2pts Joe Root to make a fifty at 6/4 (bet365)
It was a case of rinse and repeat in the opening ODI in Durham on Tuesday, as England carried on from where they left off in the T20Is, inflicting an 89-run defeat on Sri Lanka.
Despite suffering a batting collapse of their own, England’s first-innings score of 265 was still way too much for Sri Lanka on a dry pitch which saw 10 wickets fall to spin.
We are talking about late September now, at the end of a long, hot summer, but I still expect Leeds to be a much better surface for batting, with Headingley generally one of the most reliable pitches for runs in the country.
We have seen evidence of that all summer, namely in The Hundred when five of the eight highest totals in the tournament, including the highest, where recorded in Leeds. It was a similar story the T20 Blast.
At the time of writing, the weather looks pretty good, so a big total from England could be in the offing if they again bat first, though I wouldn’t have the same confidence about the visitors who just look outmatched against this calibre of opposition.
That’s one to keep an eye on after the toss, but those doubts about Sri Lanka’s batting means I’m happy to swerve any both teams to score markets.
I will, however, be sticking with JOE ROOT TO SCORE A FITFY, despite his close beat (44) when advised on these pages to reach the milestone in Durham.
That would’ve been Root’s seventh consecutive fifty in ODIs this year, which tells you just how good he has been in this format playing that anchor role for England at number three.
Root is enjoying a stellar year in 50-over cricket, averaging 180.00, with one hundred and five fifties from just seven matches.
Back on his home ground and batting on what promises to be a good wicket, the Sheffield native looks rock-solid.
BOYLE Sports and bet365 go 9/2 about a Root century in the match, but we might not have that many runs to play with should Sri Lanka bat first and bat poorly, so we’ll keep things simple and stick with the fifty bet.
Preview posted at 13:20 BST on 23/09/26
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