England vs Sri Lanka LIVE: Cricket World Cup result and reaction as Buttler’s men suffer another heavy defeat
Follow all the action from Bengaluru as England seek to keep their slim World Cup hopes alive
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England suffered another embarrassing defeat in the Cricket World Cup to leave them on the brink of an early elimination. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Jos Buttler’s men failed to get any rhythm going. Wickets fell consistently and not even a rearguard defence from Ben Stokes (43) could help England set a decent total as they were skittled for 156.
In reply, Sri Lanka lost two quick wickets as David Willey gave England a glimmer of hope to reduce their opponents 23-2. That was the last moment of joy though as Pathum Nissanka (77*) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (65*) both passed fifty in a partnership worth 137 to earn victory in Bengaluru.
England have now lost four of their five matches in the World Cup and face an early exit with difficult tests against Australia, Pakistan and India still to come.
Relive all the action below:
England win the toss and choose to bat
Jos Buttler has won the toss and decided to bat first.
“It looks a good wicket, a little bit drier than sometimes here, so we’ll hope to put a good score on the board.
“It’s just about putting in a performance today.
“We’ve stayed very level as a group, there’s some frustration about not playing as we’d like to, but we’ve got the quality there.”
England have made three changes and it’s a return to the all-rounders Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone come in with Gus Atkinson and Harry Brook dropped from the last match along with the injured Reece Topley.
England vs Sri Lanka
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell is irked with the nightclub-style light shows that happen in the middle of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 matches.
Maxwell on Wednesday registered the fastest Cricket World Cup century by taking just 40 balls to reach the 100-run mark as Australia thrashed Netherlands by 309 runs, a tournament-record victory.
This was also the second-largest victory in terms of runs in the history of the 50-over format.
Glenn Maxwell hits out at Cricket World Cup organisers over light show
Australia’s star all-rounder registers fastest Cricket World Cup century in match against Netherlands
England vs Sri Lanka
England will hope conditions will be better in Bengaluru than they were in Mumbai for the defeat to South Africa:
Joe Root has revealed that his teammates were struggling to breathe properly during their recent ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against South Africa in Mumbai.
The comments from Root came after air quality in India’s financial capital slipped to “very unhealthy”, leaving players gasping for clean air. It was also hot during Saturday’s match with temperatures reaching 35C in Mumbai during the game.
South Africa defeated England by 229 runs at the city’s Wankhede Stadium on 21 October, marking the world champions’ biggest loss in the 50-over World Cup history.
Joe Root on poor air quality at Cricket World Cup match: ‘It was like eating air’
Joe Root’s comments come as temperatures in Mumbai reached 35C during the match – with smog making matters worse
England vs Sri Lanka
Moeen Ali is planning to bring the fun factor back to England’s World Cup campaign after realising the defending champions have “lost the enjoyment” in India.
Moeen is set to return to the side for Thursday’s must-win match against Sri Lanka after being confined to drinks duties for the past three games, during which time things have gone from bad to worse for the 2019 winners.
“When you sit out sometimes, you can see things that you don’t see when you’re playing,” he said.
“You can see from the outside that we’ve probably lost the enjoyment. We haven’t enjoyed it as a team as much, because we’ve been losing and we’re not playing that well.
“That spark is missing, that thing where they’re enjoying taking bowlers down, enjoying going out to bat.
“I think we’re probably taking it too seriously in certain ways. I think sometimes we can probably get a bit anxious. It’s almost having that carefree kind of attitude - ‘Who cares? It’s a game of cricket’.
“You’re going to make mistakes, you might as well make them doing what you’re good at. We’re making mistakes anyway, so let’s do it with a smile on your face.
“If I get my chance, I’m going to use all that intent that I have. Take it on. I’m going to take the situation out a lot of the time and just enjoy it as much as I can.”
England vs Sri Lanka
Rob Key says Ben Stokes remains entirely focused on representing England for years to come - despite only choosing to sign a one-year deal rather than a multi-season option.
The Test captain had the opportunity to be one of the initial group of players to land a new multiple-season contract, which have been handed out for the first time.
But he has turned it down partially in favour of putting himself in a stronger negotiating position a year from now, when a new round of broadcast rights begins and central contracts could be worth more accordingly.
Managing director Key insisted it was primarily this, rather than any feeling from Stokes that he may not continue to represent England, which was behind the decision.
England sure Stokes remains ‘completely committed’ after short-term deal
Joe Root and Jofra Archer are among those to sign multi-year deals
England vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews knows exactly what it takes to beat England at a World Cup and the veteran batter is promising to “fight fire with fire” when the sides meet in Bengaluru.
Mathews has only been an official part of the squad for 24 hours, called up as an injury replacement for Matheesha Pathirana after being left out of the original line-up, but goes straight into the side on Thursday.
The 35-year-old brings bundles of hard-bitten experience with him, including a few memorable tussles with England over the years.
There have been Test centuries at Lord’s, Headingley and Galle, as well as a brilliant knock in a losing cause in the T20 World Cup of 2016.
But most relevant to the task at hand was the dogged 85 not out in Leeds four years ago, a match-winning effort that threatened to derail what became a triumphant tournament for Eoin Morgan’s men.
Neither team can afford to lose at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this time, leaving Mathews ready for a high-octane affair.
Sri Lanka will fight fire with fire against England – Angelo Mathews
The 35-year-old, who goes straight into the side for Thursday’s World Cup clash, has enjoyed a few memorable tussles with England over the years.
England vs Sri Lanka
Moeen Ali believes former England coach Chris Silverwood will be keen to “prove a point” with his Sri Lanka side in Thursday’s World Cup clash in Bengaluru.
Silverwood was England’s fast bowling coach they won the tournament in 2019 and expected to be the man in charge of the title defence when he was chosen to succeed Trevor Bayliss in the top job.
But his reign came to an ignominious end when he was sacked after the 2021/22 Ashes debacle, with England subsequently opting to split the job between red and white-ball specialists.
Silverwood made a quick return to international cricket with Sri Lanka and faces his old charges in a game that both nations need to win to maintain any realistic chance of reaching the knockout stages.
England have already been bested by one of their own in India, with former batter Jonathan Trott guiding Afghanistan to a shock win in Delhi, and are aware of the extra layer of intrigue created by Silverwood’s appearance in the opposition dugout.
Moeen Ali: Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood will be fired up to face England
Moeen is expected to return to the side after three matches out of the team.
England vs Sri Lanka
England’s star batter Joe Root has revealed that his teammates were struggling to breathe properly during their recent ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against South Africa in Mumbai.
The comments from Root came after air quality in India’s financial capital slipped to “very unhealthy”, leaving players gasping for clean air. It was also hot during Saturday’s match with temperatures reaching 35C in Mumbai during the game.
South Africa defeated England by 229 runs at the city’s Wankhede Stadium on 21 October, marking the world champions’ biggest loss in the 50-over World Cup history.
Root later talked to reporters at a press conference in Bengaluru city about the air quality in Mumbai and said the experience was akin to “eating air”.
Joe Root on poor air quality at Cricket World Cup match: ‘It was like eating air’
Joe Root’s comments come as temperatures in Mumbai reached 35C during the match – with smog making matters worse
England vs Sri Lanka
Are there issues over England’s leadership?
The captain-coach relationship between Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott got off to a roaring start when they won the T20 World Cup together last year just a few months into their time together. But with so much emphasis on the ‘Bazball’ revolution in the Test arena, their job has got trickier. With fewer matches, longer gaps and less availability of big names they have been left to pull things together at the last minute and it simply hasn’t worked.
The decision making has been wanting – from the chopping and changing on the team-sheet to the baffling logic of bowling first in stifling conditions in Mumbai – but the real issues may run deeper and wider than the dressing room alone. Eoin Morgan proved his mettle in the immediate aftermath of the botched 2015 campaign when he led with a strong voice and demanded the players and resources to succeed. If Buttler and Mott are to succeed in the long run they may need assert themselves in similar style.
England vs Sri Lanka
Do England still have a chance?
With the elongated group format, England still have another five games to play between now and November 11 whatever happens. Mathematically speaking there are a few shades of grey in terms of what they need to do, but realistically things are already black and white. England need wins and lots of them. They may well require a perfect run to retain their crown and, with games against the table-topping hosts, rivals Australia and an unpredictable Pakistan, that looks a tough ask.
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