Filed under: Cricket, England Cricket, ODIs, Sri Lanka Cricket
ONE DAY INTERNATIONAL: TRENT BRIDGE, WEDNESDAY JULY 6, 2011. START: 1330 BST.When England serenely defeated Sri Lanka in the first ODI of this series last week, Alastair Cook must have felt that being the England captain was the easiest job on the planet.
It is safe to suggest that that opinion has been hastily re-thought in the two matches - and two losses - since then.
That Oval victory gave a frustrating glimpse of what England are capable of but Sri Lanka have subsequently gone on to underline how good they are and how far Cook has to go if England are to match them in the ODI format.
Two comfortable victories for Sri Lanka has exposed some of the flaws in the England side with Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach failing to shine with the ball while Craig Kieswetter has consistently lacked a big score at the top of the innings.
England's woes are perhaps not terminal but Cook knows that his fortunes have to change shortly or the pressure will really grow.
His own century at Lord's in the last ODI was a superb innings and showed his detractors that he can bat positively and quickly in the shorter format but the fact remains that Cook was an unusual choice for the England captaincy.
He was not even selected in England's World Cup squad in March and April yet has now risen to the most important job in the team.
That will inevitably open him to criticism and scrutiny so he knows that a win at Trent Bridge in order to keep the five-match series alive is as absolute must.
TWO TO WATCH:
Eoin Morgan (England):Predictably, Morgan has led the way with the bat for England but just needs a huge score to rubberstamp his dominance. He never truly looks troubled in the shorter format and England will be hoping he can really click into top gear in this encounter.
Dinesh Chandimal (Sri Lanka): A stunning century at Lord's led Sri Lanka to victory in the last ODI on Sunday and he is looking in ominous form. A clean and big hitter of the ball, England will know he can take the game away from them in the blink of an eye if he gets the chance.
FORM GUIDE:
England WLWLL
Sri Lanka WLLWW
England have now lost 11 of their 17 ODI games this year and that is likely to provoke changes in Cook's starting XI.
Sri Lanka are feeling much more comfortable after winning 11 of their last 18 matches although they know they have to keep on winning following their Test series loss.
KEY QUOTE: "We have to aspire to better administration. The administration needs to adopt the same values enshrined by the team over the years: integrity, transparency, commitment and discipline." Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara pulls no punches in his criticism of the Sri Lankan cricket board.
KEY STAT: In just three ODIs so far Mahela Jayawardene has already hit 228 runs with an average of 76 and a strike rate of nearly 96.
THE LOWDOWN:
England:
England's biggest problem is what to do with Broad and whether or not they should drop him.
Since he was forced home early from last winter's Ashes tour, Broad has looked dreadfully out of sorts and is playing with the demeanour of a man who does not know where his next wicket or run is coming from.
This encounter at his home ground may soothe his obvious nerves and frustrations - underlined by his £1500 fine for swearing at umpire Billy Bowden during the second game at Headingley - but Broad knows it is time to start performing and performing quickly.
So far in this series he has taken zero wickets for 154 runs at almost six an over and that has to change rapidly.
Captain Cook told cricinfo.com: "At the moment it's not quite going for Broady, a bit like the Tests, but this what cricket does. If he gets five-for at his home ground next week it will be worth it."
Sri Lanka:
No wonder Sangakkara stood down as Sri Lankan captain after April's World Cup.
The inspirational batsman was chosed to deliver the annual MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture and has used his platform to launch a withering attack on his country's administrators and his honesty could cause him huge personal problems in the future.
Sangakkara is still a massively important player for Sri Lanka yet his brutal honesty about how his country's cricket is run is likely to land him in hot water with his employers and possibly curtail his own career.
The recent re-admission of Sanath Jayasuriya to the Sri Lankan side, aged 41, underlines the political element involved in team selection and it is clear that Sangakkara feels the rest of the world needs to know about those problems.
Sangakkara told the Spirit of Cricket audience: "Players from within the team itself became involved in power games within the board.
"Officials elected to power in this way in turn manipulated player loyalty to achieve their own ends.
"At times board politics would spill over into the team causing rift, ill feeling and distrust.
"Accountability and transparency in administration and credibility of conduct were lost in a mad power struggle that would leave Sri Lankan cricket with no consistent and clear administration.
"It was and still is confusing. Accusations of vote buying and rigging, player interference due to lobbying from each side and even violence at the AGMs, including the brandishing of weapons and ugly fist fights, have characterised cricket board elections for as long as I can remember."
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