Confident England eye hat-trick of wins; Sri Lanka bank on home advantage

Confident England eye hat-trick of wins; Sri Lanka bank on home advantage (AP Photo)

Four-time champions England will look to extend their winning streak while hosts Sri Lanka will bank on familiarity with conditions to log their first win of the tournament when the two teams square off in a Women's ODI World Cup league match here on Saturday.

England are coming off back-to-back wins -- a commanding victory over South Africa followed by a nervy chase against Bangladesh.

Despite losing half their side for 78 while chasing 179, skipper Heather Knight’s unbeaten 79 guided them home.

England's batting depth and experience once again proved decisive in their four-wicket win, though captain Nat Sciver-Brunt admitted that the side would have preferred to get the job done with fewer hiccups.

"We did what we had to do to get over the line. It could have looked a bit better — we would have liked to have done it a few less wickets down, but I suppose that’s the way it went in the end," Sciver-Brunt had said.

England's spin trio of Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean shared seven wickets against Bangladesh, while left-arm spinner Linsey Smith and seamer Lauren Bell also contributed effectively.

With a strong, all-round unit, England will start overwhelming favourites against their Asian opponents.

The only area of concern remains the form of opener Tammy Beaumont, who has struggled to get going.

Her partner Amy Jones, however, looked in good touch with an unbeaten 40 against South Africa, and the pair will be keen to provide a solid foundation.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will hope to make the most of familiar conditions after their second match was washed out.

In their opener against India, the hosts struggled to convert starts into big scores, with nine batters reaching double digits but none pushing on as they folded for 211.

Captain Chamari Athapaththu remains the key to Sri Lanka's chances.

The southpaw, who famously scored an unbeaten 178 off 143 balls against Australia in the 2017 World Cup, will once again shoulder the bulk of the batting responsibility.

Sri Lanka's young talents -- Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne and Kavisha Dilhari -- have shown promise, while experienced bowlers Inoka Ranaweera and Udeshika Prabodhani will need greater support from the rest of the attack.

With rain having played spoilsport in their previous game at the R Premadasa Stadium, both teams will also be keeping a close eye on the weather forecast.

Teams (from): ========== England: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (captain), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Imesha Dulani, Dewmi Vihanga, Piumi Wathsala, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodani, Malki Madara, Achini Kulasuriya.

The match starts at 3 pm.