Sri Lanka

12:47 PM ET Madushka Balasuriya Sri Lanka Cricket is likely to completely overhaul the national team’s coaching staff following the side’s upcoming home ODIs against Bangladesh. The move, which had been mooted for some time, was all but confirmed after local media reported that Sri Lanka’s sports minister had demanded the resignation of all members

12:22 PM ET Madushka Balasuriya The talent is there, Sri Lanka are just missing the application. The players need to show more mental toughness in pressure situations. Sri Lanka must ensure there’s better depth of talent going forward, and give their players the confidence to play a fearless brand of cricket… Sri Lanka’s chief selector

11:25 AM ET Going into their final round-robin match, Sri Lanka may be out of semi-final contention, and yet, there is a strong argument they have surpassed expectations at this World Cup. Ranked ninth in ODIs ahead of the tournament, they have won half the matches they’ve played so far, beating England, West Indies and

3:00 AM ET Sri Lanka 338 for 6 (Avishka 104, Kusal Perera 64, Thirimanne 54*, Holder 2-59) beat West Indies 315 for 9 (Pooran 118, Allen 51, Malinga 3-55) by 23 runs As it happened It’s around this time in a World Cup that teams whose campaigns haven’t turned out too well start to consider

11:26 AM ET Softer than marshmallow, slower than a tortoise, Sri Lanka’s middle order has had a poor tournament. Across five team innings, Sri Lanka have five half-centuries, but two each are from openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera. Nos. 4-7, in 20 combined innings, have contributed only one fifty: Angelo Mathews’ unbeaten 85 against

12:27 PM ET In both their wins so far, Sri Lanka’s bowlers have bailed the batsmen out. Defending 187 against Afghanistan, then 233 against England, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep and company sent down intense spells, and prised points out of the closed fists of their opponents. Sri Lanka know, though, that if they are to

Mar 18, 2019 ESPNcricinfo staff England women 188 for 4 (Jones 54, Winfield 44, Beaumont 43, Priyadharshani 3-45) beat Sri Lanka women 187 for 9 (Madavi 42, Hartley 3-36, Shrubsole 2-21, Marsh 2-42) by six wickets England women eased to another comfortable victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Hambantota, chasing down a

3:00 AM ET Sri Lanka 232 for 9 (Mathews 85*, Avishka 49, Kusal Mendis 46, Wood 3-40, Archer 3-52) beat England 212 (Stokes 82*, Root 57, Malinga 4-43, Dhananjaya 3-32) by 20 runs As it happened Lasith Malinga conjured a vintage spell, part-time offspinner Dhananjaya de Silva struck three times in nine balls, Angelo Mathews

1:02 PM ET Alan Gardner in Leeds So far in this World Cup, Sri Lanka have been following the English blueprint. Unfortunately, it is not the one that has made the host nation one of the favourites to lift the trophy; rather, they appear to have channelled the spirit of various England campaigns between 1996

  shares Joe Root celebrates with Chris Woakes after taking the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer © Getty Images Big picture After the deluge of rain, the flood of sixes. This World Cup has had to battle the elements, as well as some lop-sided contests, but England fired things up in Manchester with their record-breaking performance.

12:01 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Sri Lanka team manager Ashantha de Mel has complained to the ICC about the “unfair” pitches he feels Sri Lanka have had to play their matches on, as well as the less-than-ideal training facilities and accommodation. The ICC has strongly denied the accusation that there has been favouritism. Although their

  shares Bangladesh v Sri Lanka Match abandonedAs it happened The Brizzle drizzle has eaten into two full cricket matches this World Cup © IDI via Getty Images For the second-day running, the 2019 World Cup witnessed a no-result that forced Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to walk away with one point each. This is the

  shares Sri Lanka batting coach Jon Lewis talks to the press © AFP Angelo Mathews has batted 11 balls at this World Cup, and made a grand total of zero runs. Kusal Mendis has faced all of three deliveries, getting out to two of those, and hitting a streaky two past slip off the

3:00 AM ET Big picture When Bangladesh and Sri Lanka get to the ground on Tuesday, they will have one eye on the 22 yards, and the other on the skies. Last weekend, Bristol was the venue of the only washout of the World Cup so far, which has meant that Sri Lanka haven’t played

8:25 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Sri Lanka fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep‘s future in this World Cup is in doubt after he suffered a hard blow to his bowling hand at training on Sunday. Pradeep was bowling to Kusal Perera in the nets, when the batsman hit a ball at Pradeep’s head. The bowler put

  shares Shubman Gill steers one through the off side © Getty Images India A 243 for 0 (Gaikwad 125*, Gill 109*) beat Sri Lanka A 242 for 7 (Jayasuriya 101, Jayaratne 79, Dube 2-47, Deshpande 2-51) by 10 wickets India A continued their winning run against Sri Lanka A, romping to a ten-wicket victory

1:00 PM ET Alan Gardner in Bristol Sri Lanka should move Angelo Mathews up the order and get back to playing their cricket on “the front foot”, according to former coach Paul Farbrace. After a washout in their match against Pakistan at Bristol, Sri Lanka find themselves sitting third on the table – for 24

3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff India A 317 for 4 (Gaikwad 187*, Anmolpreet 65, Kishan 45, Lahiru Kumara 3-62) beat Sri Lanka A 269 for 6 (Jayasuriya 108*, Shanaka 44) by 48 runs Maharashtra batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad hit a career-best 187* (off 136 balls) to lead India A to a 48-run win against Sri Lanka

5:21 PM ET Two yorkers from Lasith Malinga crashed into the stumps and had zing bails light up the growing gloom around the Cardiff Wales Stadium and Afghan hearts, but by then Sri Lanka were as good as home. An oxygen-depleted win but a win all the same in their second game of the 2019

1:31 PM ET Jarrod Kimber in Cardiff Sri Lanka quick bowler Lasith Malinga was scathing in his criticism of his team-mates’ attitude, saying that they have moved from one defeat to another in recent times without learning any lessons. Speaking to the Sri Lankan press before their game against Afghanistan in Cardiff on Tuesday, Malinga

3:00 AM ET Big Picture Bookmakers are offering near-equal odds on the Sri Lanka-Afghanistan contest in Cardiff, and although there was no way of calling this four years ago, when Sri Lanka were contenders until being blown away by South Africa in Sydney, things are a little different now, especially after their walloping at New

3:53 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Mahela Jayawardene had been invited to play a role in Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign, but declined largely because he remains disillusioned with Sri Lanka Cricket’s general direction. Now a two-time IPL-winning coach, Jayawardene has in the past produced plans to overhaul Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket system, only for

3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Sri Lanka chose to bowl v South Africa Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl against South Africa in the World Cup warm-up against South Africa in Cardiff. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne felt that there’d be some assistance for his seamers early on, while Faf du Plessis was happy

1:26 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Sri Lanka’s less-heralded players helped ease through the side’s first test in the UK, as they beat Scotland by 35 runs via the DLS method. Opener Avishka Fernando, who had had a poor tour of South Africa earlier this year, produced 74 off 78 balls, while Dimuth Karunaratne, on

3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Toss Scotland chose to bowl v Sri Lanka Scotland have opted to bowl first in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, for whom Dimuth Karunaratne makes his captaincy debut. Rain forced the first match to be abandoned without a ball bowled. Kusal Mendis is set to take the keeping gloves

12:28 PM ET Madushka Balasuriya Sri Lanka’s national spin coach Piyal Wijetunge will be travelling with the A team to India later this month, with new head coach Roy Dias stressing on the need to get frontline spinners Akila Dananjaya and Lakshan Sandakan back and firing. Wijetunge has been working closely with struggling Dananjaya after

3:00 AM ET Big picture On the eve of the World Cup, there’s still time for a tune-up fight or two for a former champion as they gear up for the main event. In one corner, wearing purple and gold trunks, stands the Associate annihilator. Across the ring in the other corner, wearing plaid blue

3:19 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando High-profile coach Avishka Gunawardene has become the latest ex-Sri Lanka cricketer to attract corruption charges, after he was slapped with two counts of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board’s (ECB) Anti-Corruption code. He has been provisionally suspended under the ECB code pending the determination of the charges. Gunawardene’s charges relate

6:53 AM ET The Bangladesh Cricket Board is monitoring the security situation in Sri Lanka, where the national side is scheduled to tour after the World Cup. According to Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB’s chief executive, the board will take advice from various authorities, including Sri Lanka Cricket, before taking a decision. The tour is of

9:27 AM ET Madushka Balasuriya Sri Lanka Cricket believes that coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Ashantha de Mel will have no issues working together in the Sri Lankan dressing room, after the pair is said to have “thrashed things out” prior to the latter’s appointment as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup starting at