England Beat Sri Lanka, Reset ODI Depth Before World Cup — SkimNews
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- Brendon McCullum said he is trying to arrange 50-over warm-up games for the winter, a notable shift after only one in-house warm-up preceded last winter's Ashes, adding that 'a lot of these guys just haven't played a lot of white-ball cricket.'
- England have won all three of their ODI series in 2025 after losing six of seven between the end of their dismal 2023 World Cup and the end of last year, with the next World Cup roughly a year away and mostly hosted on South African pitches.
- Tom Banton scored his first international century on Sunday while Jacob Bethell hit 91 in the third ODI against India, giving England alternatives to Ben Duckett, who has averaged 27.15 across formats since his 149 against India last summer and posted nine scores below 20 from his other 15 innings.
- Rehan Ahmed was dropped for the series decider after taking 1-46 in the first ODI; replacement Liam Dawson took 3-26 at The Oval and landed 39% of deliveries on a spinner's 'good' length compared to Ahmed's 22% across the first two games, leaving 39-year-old Adil Rashid as important as ever for the World Cup.
- Jordan Cox smashed a 52-ball 76 after replacing the injured Jos Buttler (hamstring), pushing England's 355-7 beyond Sri Lanka and giving England a credible Buttler understudy, while Buttler's injury also underscored his age (36).
- Sonny Baker took a wicket with his second ODI delivery and joins India's Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami, West Indies' Alzarri Joseph, and Australia's Mitchell Starc as the only five bowlers to average more than 85mph with over one degree of swing inside the ODI powerplay.
- Sam Curran's impending return from a groin injury could force England to leave out two of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue and Baker from their first-choice XI, with Phil Tufnell saying England 'might be in with a shout, with a bit of luck on their side.'
Why it matters: England won only one of their past nine ODIs in which neither Harry Brook nor Joe Root made fifty, exposing a brittle spine that a bouncy South African World Cup will test. Cox, Banton, Bethell, Baker and Dawson have all staked selection claims in the same window, meaning McCullum has roughly 20 ODIs to cut a squad with a 39-year-old Rashid, an injury-prone Buttler, and five quicks competing for three slots.
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