England might have come into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as defending champions but they have suffered three defeats from their opening four matches and stand on the brink of elimination.
Jos Buttler’s side were hammered by New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament but briefly looked like they had rebounded against Bangladesh, but two successive defeats against Afghanistan and high-flying South Africa have all but sealed their fate.
More concerningly for England was how shell-shocked the side looked following their 229-run defeat against the Proteas. They were short in every aspect of the game and routinely punished for it, with the match becoming their highest-ever ODI defeat.
England now face a situation where in order to have any hope of qualifying for the semi-finals they have to win all of their remaining group games, starting with Sri Lanka, who will fancy their chances following Buttler’s side’s latest results.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
When is England vs Sri Lanka?
The Cricket World Cup match is on Thursday 26 October with the game starting at 9.30 am BST (2pm local time).
How can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
For those in India, Star Sports will be showing the match in five different languages on TV.
The game can also be streamed online on the Disney+Hotstar app or website.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider.
Team news
England suffered another blow in addition to the defeat against South Africa with the injury to Reece Topley. The fast bowler went to field a ball which caught the end of his finger, fracturing it and ruling him out of the remainder of the tournament.
Brydon Carse has been called up into the squad with Jofra Archer returning to the UK and deemed not ready to be drafted into the competition. It remains to be seen whether Carse will be considered match-fit enough to play.
Predicted line up:
England XI: Bairstow, Malan, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Brook, Ali, Curran, Wood, Rashid, Atkinson
Odds
England 7/20
Sri Lanka 9/4
Prediction
England will still have problems but will bounce back enough to beat Sri Lanka. England to win by 25 runs.
