5th over: England 27-0 (Banton 7, Duckett 20) Duckett looking in fine touch after his hundred against Pakistan.
4th over: England 21-0 (Banton 6, Duckett 15) Oooh la la, stylish from Duckett, shimmied through point for four. Beautiful blue sky, hazy like an early morning dream.
3rd over: England 14-0 (Banton 6, Duckett 8) Banton bends his knees and glances around the ground like a wise old owl. He picks up two from a back foot punch off Asitha but is greedy for more, and there it comes from the last ball of the over, a boundary with another smart back-foot jab.
2nd over: England 8-0 (Banton 0, Duckett 8) Madushanka from the other end, a five-fer against Pakistan in his back pocket, long legs. Runs at last as Duckett tonks him off his pads for four. Then top edges a hook for four more.
1st over: England 0-0 (Banton 0, Duckett 0) Banton almost edges Asitha’s very first ball to slip, but it falls short. The ground is full only with empty green seats, as the call to prayer rings out. A maiden to start.
The sun is out, Asitha Fernando has the ball, the drums are rolling.
England’s record in this tri-serie s is played three, won none. A consolation win would pad the flight home.
Sri Lanka XI: Kamindu Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (c/wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka.
England XI: Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jordan Cox (wk), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Henry Crocombe.
Henry Crocombe is chatting to Mark Butcher in a carpet shop: “It has been a very exciting year, my life has changed quite a bit. IT has been a bit of a roller-coaster for me the last few months, couldn’t be happier to make my debut and my family have loved it as well so it has been very exciting.
“A lot of my success this year has been through red-ball cricket so when I got my initial call up for the home series I was a bit surprised but at the end of the day it is cricket. I’m very happy to be here in the white-ball squads.
“I was pretty nervous on Sunday, but it is a good group of lads and they made it easy for me. Once you step on the pitch, the big crowd was very loud, I was bowlingon autopilot a little, and I was very happy. I’m usually quite a quiet celebrator but I couldn’t help it with my first wicket.
“We seemed fairly confident of a win, it seemed pretty comfortable but sometimes someone has a day out - that was some knock and you have to applaud him for it.
“It is my first time properly being away and I’m enjoying the experience, I like to think I’ve got a decent chance of getting some red ball stuff hopefully, if I don’t get it now, there are plenty of opportunities.”
There are 17 ODIs till the next World Cup but some of those clash with the IPL so for some players that will come down for 12, or less. Enough time? We shall see…
Nasser and Mark Wood are in the Sky studio in their autumnal quarter zips. “If you look at conditions in Pakistan they are very different to home series,” says Wood, “when people are in and out it is hard to get that consistency.”
“Adil Rashid would be very useful in the middle overs and at the end, he would probably have got through Haris Rauf last week,” says Nasser. “They obviously think these are one spinner pitches. I think the main issue is the allrounder, they have a spin bowling allrounder in Will Jacks, but not a seam bowling allrounder in these conditions. There is no pace – no Archer, no Wood – and Sam Curran is being smashed about – in those middle over they’re not getting wickets.”
Kusal Mendis calls correctly. “We hope to play a genuine match and will play 100 per cent to prepare for the final.” No changes for Sri Lanka.
Harry Brook in shades, “We hope to adapt to conditions as quickly as we can, we’ve had a lot of learnings, hoping to finish on a high.” Sonny Baker comes in for Jamie Overton, who has a quad strain.
Good morning! The rubber is dead, but plenty of things to chew over here in Lahore. They’re about to toss the coin, so let’s whizz to the middle….
