England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 23 June 2011 / 2

Ed Hawkins previews the only T20 international which takes place at Bristol on Saturday.

England
The home side will be led by their new captain, Stuart Broad who has replaced Paul Collingwood. Broad has been recovering from a heel injury but he should be fit. Craig Kieswetter, the Somerset wicketkeeper, is back in the fold as England's problems with finding a solution to the keeper-batsman issue continue.

If Broad does not recover, Eoin Morgan, the vice-captain, will lead. Kieswetter could open the batting with Michael Lumb.

Sri Lanka
The tourists have a doubt over the fitness of Tillakaratne Dilshan, their captain. Dilshan is still nursing the broken thumb he sustained in the second Test. They have also, bizarrely, recalled Sanath Jayasuriya, who warmed up with 78 against Worcestershire. The three Ms - Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews - are in situ.

Venue and conditions
No rain is forecast for Bristol on Saturday although there does not look like being much sun. Still, Sri Lanka will not mind. They should find the surface to their liking. The County Ground wicket can be slow and low, which suits them more than it does England.

Indeed, in the one T20 international played there, Pakistan beat England by five wickets after the hosts laboured to 144.

The last seven first-innings scores in domestic Twenty20 matches read: 97, 147, 152, 153, 153, 184 and 68. We should not expect a run fest and a total of 160 first up could be more than competitive.

Match odds
England have won eight of their last nine T20 matches, a sequence which includes their world title. Sri Lanka have a record of five wins in their last 10.

On that basis, it is easy to see why England are as short as [1.78]. Still, that doesn't mean we have to back them. Instead Sri Lanka rank the value at [2.26].

They have a habit of teaching England a lesson in limited-overs cricket and, besides, their bowling attack looks far more potent with the lethal Malinga at its spear.

England don't seem to learn from their mistakes and the last time they played at Bristol they read the pitch wrong, going with pacemen like Sajid Mahmood and Darren Gough who were expensive. This time they could plump for Steven Finn.

With the pitch suiting Sri Lanka and Broad an inexperienced leader, back the tourists to register a first defeat of England this summer.

Top England batsman
The opening combination of Kieswetter and Lumb is the one which helped England to world domination. But they are not expected to fire on this surface. Hitters can struggle as they wait for the ball to come on. Lumb and Kieswetter, both at [4.00], are poor wagers.

Indeed, getting against Kieswetter in some fashion could pay dividends. He needs pace on the ball and he won't get that at Bristol, where he averages 20 in List A matches. He is not in the best of touch either having nabbed a pair in the recent Championship match against Warwickshire.

Instead we look to Morgan to make the difference. He is the bet at a standout [4.90].

Top Sri Lanka batsman
Kumar Sangakkara is likely to enjoy favourite status at around [4.00] with Mahela Jayawardene not far behind. Jayasuriya is likely to go off at [5.00] but we wouldn't advise siding with him.

>England runs
Given a first-innings average of 136 in the last domestic games and their poor effort with the bat against Pakistan in the only T20 international at the venue, England look ripe to take on for 160 or more if they bat first.

Best bet: back Sri Lanka @ [2.26]

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(2)

1. kamal Swami | 25 June 2011

   Hawkin, you r right today sure lanka will win.lay england.

2. Anonymous | 14 December 2011

   That was nice. I was hoping to obtain some solid details about the matter. I look ahead to much much more from you. Thanks once more:-)

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