Morgan hints at England changes
Eoin Morgan has suggested England will make changes for the final ODI against Sri Lanka having wrapped up the series with a game to spare.
England’s 18-run, DLS victory in Saturday’s fourth fixture secured a ninth bilateral ODI series win on the spin and perhaps boosted the chances of Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett, Sam Curran and Joe Denly - unused by the tourists so far - of getting a game in Colombo on Tuesday (23).
However, with rain impacting on each of the tourists’ matches so far, Morgan also wants to ensure some key members
of his side, such as ViceCaptain Jos Buttler, get further game time.
“I think there’s an opportunity to make some changes, particularly the guys who haven’t played yet,” said Morgan, whose side will also play a solitary T20 match against Sri Lanka next Saturday, in Colombo.
“There’s guys who have played who haven’t really participated yet - Jos has only had one bat - but we have to try and make the most of what is probably a bad situation with the rain.”
England are No 1 in the ICC ODI rankings, with their last defeat in a bilateral ODI series coming in India in January 2017.
But Morgan - whose team’s run of victories has included winning in Australia and New Zealand - says his side have not been at their best in Sri Lanka, despite the one-sided scoreline.
“It’s nice, but I think we have to continue being honest with ourselves,” added Morgan, who has scored 195 runs across the first four ODIS of this series, with a best of 92 in the second fixture in Dambulla.
“We have played some good cricket along the way and the series that probably stand out are India in particular, Australia and New Zealand away. But we haven’t played great cricket so far in this tour.”