LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Alastair Cook returns to lead England in the opening game of the One Day international series against Sri Lanka, with live streaming on ESPN3 and WatchESPN, from The Oval.
LIVE STREAM ON WATCHESPN: 1st ODI: England v Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka tour of England and Ireland, 1st ODI (50-over match): Live Scoreboard
England v Sri Lanka at The Oval, May 22, 2014
Sri Lanka, who this week won the lone Twenty20 game on the tour, have won the toss for this game and captain Angelo Mathews he has decided to field first.
Mathews says he opted to bowl first because he thinks there will be some early help for the quicker bowler, something England captain Cook echoed as well.
Meanwhile, England have decided to leave out opener Michael Carberry and all-rounder Chris Woakes for this game, but Ravi Bopara, Gary Balance, Eoin Morgan and Harry Gurney all found places in the playing XI.
This week’s T20 bowling hero Lasith Malinga is among those playing today for Sri Lanka, who have opted to play just one frontline spinner in this contest.
England Team: Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, James Tredwell James Anderson, Harry Gurney
Sri Lanka Team: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachithra Senanayake, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga
