The sides
England, last 10
WWLWWLLLLW
- 19 Jul 2026 England won by 27 runs v India
- 16 Jul 2026 England won by 4 wickets v India
- 14 Jul 2026 India won by 6 wickets v India
- 27 Jan 2026 England won by 53 runs v Sri Lanka
- 24 Jan 2026 England won by 5 wickets v Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, last 10
WLLWLLLWWW
- 3 Jun 2026 Sri Lanka won by 41 runs v West Indies
- 27 Jan 2026 England won by 53 runs v England
- 24 Jan 2026 England won by 5 wickets v England
- 22 Jan 2026 Sri Lanka won by 19 runs v England
- 16 Nov 2025 Pakistan won by 6 wickets v Pakistan
First innings
Batting first here
6 of 13 won batting first. Since 2019, 60% (3 of 5).
Rain risk
Head to head
- 27 Jan 2026 England won by 53 runs at R Premadasa Stadium
- 24 Jan 2026 England won by 5 wickets at R Premadasa Stadium
- 22 Jan 2026 Sri Lanka won by 19 runs at R Premadasa Stadium
- 26 Oct 2023 Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets at M Chinnaswamy Stadium
Root's run makes England clear favourites at the Riverside
Joe Root's last six ODIs read 61, 75, 111 not out, 76 not out, 99 not out and 74 not out. He has 625 runs in his last ten at an average of 104, more than double his career 50.9, and he brings that form to a series against the side England beat 2–1 in Colombo in January. We make England 73% to win the opener.
The Riverside has become a batting ground. Three of the last five completed first innings here passed 300, and par is 290. England have won nine of their 15 ODIs on it. Sri Lanka hold the ground's highest first innings, 338 for 6 against West Indies at the 2019 World Cup, but their last visit, in 2021, ended in 185 all out and a five-wicket defeat. Their batting barely knows these conditions: Pathum Nissanka has 16 runs from three ODI innings in England, Charith Asalanka three from two, and five of their XI have never batted in an ODI here. They have also played one ODI since January. On a dry afternoon in the low twenties, the side with the deeper batting should set the pace, and that is England.
Riverside Ground
Chester-le-Street
- ODIs here
- 17, since 2004
- England here
- Won 9, lost 5
- Lowest completed
- 101, England 2004
- Median first innings
- 264 all-time
Last 5 here
- Sept 2024 Australia 304/7 (50) v England 254/4 (37.4). England won by 46 runs (DLS)
- Jul 2022 South Africa 333/5 (50) v England 271 (46.5). South Africa won by 62 runs
- Jun 2021 Sri Lanka 185 (42.3) v England 189/5 (34.5). England won by 5 wickets
- Jul 2019 England 305/8 (50) v New Zealand 186 (45). England won by 119 runs
- Jul 2019 Sri Lanka 338/6 (50) v West Indies 315/9 (50). Sri Lanka won by 23 runs
The case for England
- Root has 625 runs in his last ten ODIs at 104.17, and Brook has struck at 118.4 over the same stretch, including 136 not out off 66 balls in Colombo in January.
- Archer has 19 wickets in his last ten ODIs at 24.8 each. Rashid's 234 ODI wickets are more than Hasaranga and Theekshana have between them.
The case for Sri Lanka
- Nissanka (486 runs at 48.6) and Kusal Mendis (432 at 48.0) have both averaged close to 50 across their last ten ODIs.
- Hasaranga has 18 wickets in his last ten ODIs at 22.5, the best average of anyone in either XI with ten wickets in that stretch.
- They beat England by 19 runs in the first ODI in Colombo in January, defending 271 for 6.
Weather, hour by hour
10% chance of rain
England predicted XI
| Order | Player | ODIs | Avg | SR | Wkts | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben DuckettLast 10: 334 runs | 36 | 42.6 | 100 | – | – |
| 2 | Will JacksLast 10: 172 runs, 5 wkts | 26 | 32.3 | 102 | 10 | 6.24 |
| 3 | Joe RootLast 10: 625 runs, 2 wkts | 186 | 50.9 | 87 | 29 | 5.91 |
| 4 | Harry Brook (c)Last 10: 393 runs | 39 | 37.0 | 105 | – | – |
| 5 | Tom BantonLast 7: 172 runs | 7 | 28.7 | 93 | – | – |
| 6 | Jos Buttler †Last 10: 228 runs | 197 | 39.5 | 116 | – | – |
| 7 | Jamie OvertonLast 10: 208 runs, 12 wkts | 12 | 26.7 | 111 | 13 | 5.65 |
| 8 | Liam DawsonLast 10: 133 runs, 9 wkts | 10 | 19.0 | 84 | 9 | 5.43 |
| 9 | Jofra ArcherLast 10: 103 runs, 19 wkts | 37 | 18.6 | 111 | 64 | 5.03 |
| 10 | Adil RashidLast 10: 15 runs, 14 wkts | 159 | 16.8 | 93 | 234 | 5.63 |
| 11 | Josh TongueLast 2: 0 runs, 1 wkts | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.20 |
Sri Lanka predicted XI
| Order | Player | ODIs | Avg | SR | Wkts | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pathum NissankaLast 10: 486 runs | 67 | 36.1 | 85 | – | – |
| 2 | Kamil MisharaLast 6: 148 runs | 6 | 24.7 | 87 | – | – |
| 3 | Kusal Mendis (c) †Last 10: 432 runs | 141 | 35.4 | 87 | – | – |
| 4 | Kamindu MendisLast 10: 190 runs, 4 wkts | 28 | 25.7 | 80 | 6 | 6.52 |
| 5 | Charith AsalankaLast 10: 299 runs, 3 wkts | 73 | 39.7 | 90 | 19 | 4.98 |
| 6 | Pavan RathnayakeLast 5: 218 runs | 5 | 43.6 | 92 | – | – |
| 7 | Dunith WellalageLast 10: 122 runs, 11 wkts | 31 | 18.5 | 81 | 37 | 5.07 |
| 8 | Wanindu HasarangaLast 10: 187 runs, 18 wkts | 63 | 22.4 | 107 | 98 | 5.15 |
| 9 | Dushmantha ChameeraLast 10: 66 runs, 15 wkts | 54 | 11.7 | 60 | 60 | 5.54 |
| 10 | Maheesh TheekshanaLast 10: 33 runs, 9 wkts | 51 | 15.8 | 51 | 75 | 4.40 |
| 11 | Asitha FernandoLast 10: 3 runs, 16 wkts | 28 | 1.8 | 22 | 34 | 6.03 |