Favourites tag ‘sits well on us’

– England are “very happy” being favourites for the one-day series in Sri Lanka but are aware that past tours have been “tricky”, Jos Buttler said yesterday on the eve of the first match here.

Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal warned meanwhile that conditions were “very different” to England, with some “mystery spinners” who could pose problems for Eoin Morgan’s batsmen.

“Very happy being favourites. It shows we’ve been doing good stuff and I like being favourites,” Buttler told reporters, saying the team were “very confident” and aiming to be “pushing the boundaries”.

The batsman added however: “We’re very aware of Sri Lanka’s qualities in these conditions. They have some experienced players. It’s been tricky in the past for England sides to come here.”

He added that being the No 1ranked one-day side ahead of next year’s World Cup on home soil brought its own pressures.

Underdogs Sri Lanka are still reeling from the axing of captain Angelo Mathews after a dismal run of 30 losses in their last 40 ODIs, including defeats to Bangladesh and Afghanistan in last month’s Asia Cup. –