Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature 8th over: Sri Lanka 71-1 (Pathum 43, Dhananjaya 9) Rashid is again able to strangle the score – six from the over. 7th over: Sri Lanka 65-1 (Pathum 41, Dhananjaya 4) Fresh from his triumph, Liam Livingstone takes the ball. It’s all relatively quiet for England until the last ball, which Pathan smashes that short boundary and Chris Woakes for a Six I think the answer to that is: magic team alchemy Remind me what stokes are picking, apart from @tjaldred vibes? He is obviously a great cricketer but I can’t see how he is better than Curran, Livingstone or Mo. It looks almost mascot, for dressing room inspiration. — Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) November 5, 2022 6th over: Sri Lanka 54-1 (Pathum 32, Dhananjaya 2) Relief for England as Buttler turns to Adil Rashid and he immediately asserts some control. Just two singles from it. And Mark Wood is back on the pitch. 5th over: Sri Lanka 52-1 (Pathum 31, Dhananjaya 1) Thirteen from Sam Curran’s first over as Pathum starts on, unfazed by the loss of his opening partner: a top over his head for four and another six, just over the stretched Rook, hitting the boundary. 4th over: Sri Lanka 39-1 (Pathum 20, Dhananjaya 0 ) – Mark Wood leaves the field after this busy over – hopefully something and nothing. And the boundary haul continues as Mendis hits at Woakes square for another four. Woakes responds with a big toss over Mendis’s head, and then the breakthrough – spectacular acrobatics from Livingstone, and England needed it.
WIRELESS! Mendis c Livingstone b Woakes 18 (Sri Lanka 39-1)
As Mentis pulls…. a spectacular catch from Liam Livingstone, who runs around the edge of the boundary, slides to his knees and holds on with both hands. An enraged Mentis gives chase. Woakes double fist pumps. 3rd over: Sri Lanka 32-0 (Pathum 18, Mendis 13) Mark Wood, the fastest bowler in the tournament, flashes in. Two people pose dressed as watermelon slices. Wood falls on his follow and Mendis collects three more over midwicket. An upper cut for six all the way through! Right over the leaping head of Liam Livingstone. Nissanka smiles. 2nd over: Sri Lanka 15-0 (Pathum 11, Mendis 3) The camera pans up, outside the stadium, and we see the sun blazing on the horizon. It’s Chris Woakes with the ball, he needs it, the stats flash, just three wickets short of 150 T20 wickets. No boundary, but some smart running from Sri Lanka and an excellent dive from Alex Hales on the edge of the circle. An email, Good morning Daniel Rickard! “I haven’t paid much attention to this competition, apart from looking at the results, but basically we’re in the knockout stages now, so I’m all in… The problem is that when you haven’t done the prep with the wife and kids (2 out of 3 are football only, no cricket) it’s hard for me and my oldest to get gear down for the whole morning. . I’m sure everyone else will be fine. Come England!!!”
I am playing!
1st over: Sri Lanka 9-0 (Pathum 8, Mendis 1) Ben Stokes’ first ball goes safely but Pathum pulls the second effortlessly over short boundary for a six – just 62m out, he’ll be drooling tonight . Here come the players, Pathum Nissanka to strike. Cameras pan around the SCG – it’s not full, but there’s a good number. And my dog barks with perfect timing because she refuses to go through the back door that was left ajar and needs to be opened for her. England, arms around each other’s shoulders, lined up for the National Anthem. Some put it in with a belt, others – Josh Buttler – prefer the letterbox mouth method. And here’s the cute Sri Lankan tune, hands this time strictly below the sides. The SCG is very beautiful, just looking at that lovely green roof in the late afternoon sun. By the way, send me any thoughts, just make a last minute cup of coffee. Back in five. And while you put the kettle on before the game starts, this is a fantastic read: Something to lift Sri Lanka – teams who win first have won all five games at the SCG in this World Cup. But, on the other hand, none of the Sri Lankan team have beaten England in a T20 international.
Team’s
England unchanged again, Sri Lanka make one change, Karunaratne for Pramond Madhusan. England 11: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, David Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Moeen Alli, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Wickes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood. Sri Lanka XI: :Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara. Updated at 07:42 GMT
Sri Lanka will win the toss and bat
Josh Buttler and Dasun Sanaka shake hands – and Buttler says he would have batted first on a used pitch too. It’s a cold old morning here in Manchester but the crowds are gathering at the SCG where England can’t expect much support from the Aussie fans. Australia are in their own backyard unless Sri Lanka can pull off a surprise. And the rain, by the way, is no friend of England. Updated at 07:24 GMT
Preamble
Good morning! So here we are, after three weeks of going around the houses, it’s crunch time. England and Sri Lanka meet in Sydney in a semi-final match. Throw away the calculator – if England win, it’s all over, after Australia failed to beat Afghanistan enough to bring run-rate into the equation. If Sri Lanka win, Australia will join New Zealand as Group One travelers in the knockouts. England are buoyant, fresh from their must-win win over New Zealand, even without that man, busy presenting shirts back home. Sri Lanka can’t go any further in the tournament, but Chris Silverwood’s side are more than capable of making life uncomfortable for England on a second-hand Sydney track with a sausage factory of spinners up their sleeve. They haven’t beaten England since 2014, but their Asian Cup win this autumn shows they have a recent history of turning things around. The game starts at 8 am. GMT, the weather is fine. See you there!
