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
7 of 16 won batting first. Since 2019, 60% (3 of 5).
Rain risk
Head to head
- 22 Sept 2026 England won by 89 runs at Riverside Ground
- 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
Jacks has England 1–0 up, but Headingley has not been kind to them
Will Jacks made 46 not out at Chester-le-Street and then took 5 for 22 in seven overs, the second-best ODI figures by an England spinner after Vic Marks's 5 for 20 in 1984. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 176 chasing 265, with 13 overs unused. England lead 1–0, a week after winning the T20Is 3–0, and we make them 71% to win at Headingley and take the series with a game to spare.
Headingley is where that could come unstuck. England were bowled out for 131 in 24.3 overs by South Africa here last September, and for 202 chasing Australia's 270 the year before. First innings here since 2019 have averaged 250, well short of par at 283, so a side batting first does not need a big total. Sri Lanka know it: at the 2019 World Cup they made 232 for 9 and beat England by 20 runs. The forecast is dry and cloudy, about 18°C.
Headingley
Leeds
- ODIs here
- 19, since 2003
- England here
- Won 10, lost 6
- Lowest completed
- 131, England 2025
- Median first innings
- 273 all-time
Last 5 here
- Sept 2025 England 131 (24.3) v South Africa 137/3 (20.5). South Africa won by 7 wickets
- Sept 2024 Australia 270 (44.4) v England 202 (40.2). Australia won by 68 runs
- Jul 2022 South Africa 159/2 (27.4). No result
- Jul 2019 Sri Lanka 264/7 (50) v India 265/3 (43.3). India won by 7 wickets
- Jun 2019 Sri Lanka 232/9 (50) v England 212 (47). Sri Lanka won by 20 runs
The case for England
- Jacks now has 15 ODI wickets, five of them from Tuesday. Two were Asalanka and Mendis, both lbw sweeping, and three more in one over ended the match.
- Going into the series, Root had 625 runs in his last ten ODIs at an average of 104, double his career 50.9, and Archer had 19 wickets in his last ten at 24.8 each.
The case for Sri Lanka
- Kusal Mendis made 42 on Tuesday and Nissanka passed 3,000 ODI runs. Across their ten ODIs before the series they averaged 48.0 and 48.6.
- Theekshana concedes 4.40 runs an over in ODIs, the tightest career economy rate in either XI.
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 | Rehan AhmedLast 9: 99 runs, 12 wkts | 9 | 14.1 | 81 | 12 | 5.32 |
| 9 | Jofra ArcherLast 10: 103 runs, 19 wkts | 37 | 18.6 | 111 | 64 | 5.03 |
| 10 | Liam DawsonLast 10: 133 runs, 9 wkts | 10 | 19.0 | 84 | 9 | 5.43 |
| 11 | Adil RashidLast 10: 15 runs, 14 wkts | 159 | 16.8 | 93 | 234 | 5.63 |
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 | Janith LiyanageLast 10: 311 runs, 1 wkts | 32 | 44.7 | 86 | 3 | 5.18 |
| 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 | Maheesh TheekshanaLast 10: 33 runs, 9 wkts | 51 | 15.8 | 51 | 75 | 4.40 |
| 10 | Dushmantha ChameeraLast 10: 66 runs, 15 wkts | 54 | 11.7 | 60 | 60 | 5.54 |
| 11 | Asitha FernandoLast 10: 3 runs, 16 wkts | 28 | 1.8 | 22 | 34 | 6.03 |