Published: Mar 26, 2011, 11:05 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 18, 2014, 01:46 PM (IST)
By Dileep V
Sri Lanka and England meet in the last of the quarter-finals of the 2011 ICC World Cup at Colombo on Saturday. Sri Lanka finished 2nd in the group, behind Pakistan, while England qualified thanks to South Africa winning against Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka passage to the knock-out stages has been smooth, but for their loss against Pakistan. England on the other hand have been the most unpredictable side in this World Cup. They lost against minnows Ireland and Bangladesh, tied with India and defeated South Africa and West Indies.
Head to head
Sri Lanka and England have met in 44 matches in which Sri Lanka has won 21 of them and England 23 games. In Sri Lanka though, they have a 9-4 win-loss record. In the last decade England have lost 14 of the 24 played between the two Nations. In World Cups the two teams have met eight times with England winning six times and Sri Lanka twice. They met at the same stage in the 1996 World Cup, where a Sanath Jayasuriya blitz walloped England out of the tournament
|
Matches |
Sri Lanka win |
England win |
No Result |
|
| Overall |
44 |
21 |
23 |
0 |
| In Sri Lanka |
13 |
9 |
4 |
0 |
| In World Cup |
8 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
| Since 2000 |
24 |
14 |
10 |
0 |
Top order in fine form
The Sri Lankan openers have been giving good starts regularly and aided with captain Kumara Sangakkara’s form have a solid top order to bank upon. Sangakkara is the second highest run scorer in this tournament behind Sachin Tendulkar, while Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga have already forged a World Cup record opening partnership. Mahela Jayawardene got a hundred in the first match against Canada, but has had a quiet World Cup since then.
Sri Lanka batsmen in this World Cup
| Player |
Inns |
Runs |
Avg |
SR |
HS |
100s/50s |
| K Sangakkara |
6 |
363 |
121.00 |
88.75 |
111 |
1/2 |
| T Dilshan |
6 |
286 |
47.66 |
97.27 |
144 |
1/1 |
| U Tharanga |
6 |
261 |
52.20 |
87.29 |
133 |
1/1 |
| M Jayawardene |
6 |
200 |
40.00 |
93.89 |
100 |
1/1 |
Jonathan Trott has been consistent throughout the World Cup going past fifties in four of the six games he has played. Andrew Strauss scored a brilliant 158 against India but the tournament has been a lull for him since. Ian Bell has provided supporting role in couple of matches to bail England out
England batsmen in this World Cup
| Player |
Inns |
Runs |
Avg |
SR |
HS |
100s/50s |
| J Trott |
6 |
336 |
56.00 |
82.55 |
92 |
0/4 |
| A Strauss |
6 |
329 |
54.83 |
97.33 |
158 |
1/1 |
| I Bell |
6 |
220 |
36.66 |
80.00 |
81 |
0/2 |
| R Bopara |
4 |
110 |
36.66 |
70.51 |
60 |
0/1 |
Murali and Swann show
Muttiah Muralitharan has bagged 11 wickets in the five innings he has bowled at an average of 14.18 and an envious economy of 3.54, Lasith Malinga has the second best figures (6 for 38) in the tournament, but has only one more wicket to his tally in the remaining match. Except for Nuwan Kulasekara, all the Sri Lankan bowlers used in the World Cup average in early 20s.
Graeme Swann is not only the leading wicket taker (12) for England this World Cup, but also the go-to man for Strauss to break partnerships. He played key role in wins over South Africa and West Indies. Tim Bresnan has had a good tournament so far scalping nine wickets at less than 30 a wicket, while James Anderson is having a horrendous time with the ball leaking 282 runs in 43 overs at 6.55.
Premadasa poised for a century
This will be the 100th match at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. It’ll be the fourth ground to reach this milestone after Sharjah C.A. Stadium, Sydney Cricket Ground and Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Sri Lanka have played 81 of them winning 49 and losing 26 on this ground. England have played six with a 2-4 win-loss record. Sri Lanka has a 4-1 record against England on this ground.
The average score at this ground is 234 and 238 under floodlights. Batting first the average is 239 and 229 when batting second. The team batting first has won 57 times, while the team chasing has won it 35 times.
(Dileep.V is a Scouser fan, Sports freak, Movie buff, Laggard Quizzer and dreams of setting foot on Anfield one day)
