England’s worrying ODI slump continued as Harry Brook’s side lost the series opener in Colombo to Sri Lanka by 19 runs.
England were 129-1 in 27 overs chasing 272 thanks to a stand of 117 by Ben Duckett (62 off 76 balls) and Joe Root (61 off 90 balls), but LBW dismissals of Duckett and Root followed by Brook (6) and Jacob Bethell (15) slumped to 252 all out for 49.2, including a collapse of 5-35. Stumbled, Sam Curran (5) caught and bowled, all five spinning.
Rehan Ahmed’s enterprising performance made him 27 off 21 to keep his side in the hunt, but Danis Wellerage was brilliantly pouched at long-off, leaving England with 69 with five overs remaining. The game was all but up when Jos Buttler (19 off 20) and Liam Dawson (2) were dismissed after one over, and Jamie Overton’s late cameo was wasted.
Overton (34 off 17), who had conceded 23 runs in the final over of Sri Lanka’s innings, hit four fours and two sixes to reduce England’s requirement to 20 runs with six balls remaining, but he was holed out by Pramod Madhushan (3-39) two innings later.
England lost 11 of their 15 ODIs in 2025, with a crushing 3-0 win in New Zealand in October and November. During the series, Brook got into an altercation with a nightclub bouncer, but this subcontinent tour began just two weeks after the conclusion of the punitive 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia.
England, currently eighth in the ODI rankings but whose automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup is by no means certain, will aim to keep the series alive by winning the second leg in Colombo on Saturday (9am UK), ahead of the final match at the same venue next Tuesday.
Kusal Mendis’ 93 not out off 117 balls underpinned Sri Lanka’s 271-6 win. Adil Rashid, England’s pick of the bowlers, took 3-44 to take 238 wickets in his ODI career, while fellow leg-spinner Ahmed (1-61) came into the eleven late in place of the ailing Will Jacks and was one of three bowlers to score one strike along with Curran (1-40). Dawson (1-31).
Joe Root’s half-century was his 44th one-day international for England.
England decline after Root and Duckett partnership
Duckett and Zac Crawley (6) took the Ashes’ opening partnership to the ODI arena, with the latter selected for his first 50-over international since December 2023, but that partnership lasted less than three overs with Crawley falling behind in the drive.
Duckett looked rough early on, flying a number of reverse sweeps and almost dragging himself into the stumps, but Root was initially more composed of two as he drove, clipped boundaries and hit rotational strikes effectively.
Duckett remained calm, batting over 50 and six for the first time since the Ashes warm-up in November, and hit his max in 42 overs in the Test series loss to Australia, but Sri Lanka’s confidence increased when he and Root fell for the sweep in 28 and 33 overs respectively.
Ben Duckett hit five fours and a six in his 9th ODI fifty for England
Sri Lanka’s spinners kept up the squeeze and were rewarded with Brook slipping past Charice Asaranka’s pass (1-33), Bethel doing the same to Wellaraju (2-41), and Wellaraju taking a sharp catch to Curran (5) off his own bowling.
Wellaledge made a fine grab even deeper, cutting off Ahmed’s boundary-filled knock, clawing the ball and throwing it back into the air before it fell into the ropes, catching it again as he returned to the playing field.
A few minutes later, Buttler was cleaned up by Pramod for a slog and the same bowler had Dawson caught brilliantly by Dhananjaya de Silva at the retreat point.
With nine wickets down and needing 59 from 24 balls, England looked in good form, but Overton gave Sri Lanka some anxiety.
Kusal Mendis’ 93 off 117 balls was his highest ODI score against England, surpassing his 77 at Kier Oval 10 years ago.
Mendis and Rashid impress with bat and ball respectively
England went wicketless through the first 10.2 overs after Pathum Nissanka (21) and Kamil Mishara (27) were asked to bowl, with Pathum Nissanka (21) and Kamil Mishara (27) hitting exactly fifty, but their opening stand was broken when Nissanka hacked Curran’s slow ball to mid-on.
Mishara was unable to get a sweep and was bowled by Rashid, resulting in the loss of two wickets for four runs, while Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya (10th over) and Asaranka (17th over) were also out for a sweep, reducing the score to 124-4 in the middle of the 27th over.
Mendis found a strong ally in Janice Liyanage (46 off 53) and the pair put together a five-wicket partnership of 88 off 98 balls, during which Mendis scored his 35th ODI half-century with one of his 61-ball 11 boundaries, four over Ahmed’s head.
Adil Rashid is England’s second highest wicket-taker after James Anderson in ODI cricket
Liyanage was unable to get past 50, spooning a googly to the spinner before being caught and bowled by Rashid, and though Pavan Rathnayake (12 off 14) was pouched deep off Dawson, Overton’s costly final over saw Sri Lanka surge past 250.
Welerage (25 off 12) accounted for 20 of 23 runs and, after breaking through deep cover in the sixth over, hammered, swept and top edged his way to three consecutive fours, ending the home side’s innings on a really high note.
Player of the Match wasn’t Wellerage’s only important contribution on the day.
England in Sri Lanka – Match results and fixtures
always UK and Ireland
1st ODI (January 22, Colombo) – Sri Lanka won by 19 runs 2nd ODI (Saturday 24th January) – Colombo (9am) 3rd ODI (Tuesday 27th January) – Colombo (9am) 1st T20 (Friday 30th January) – Palekele (1.30pm) 2nd T20 (Sunday 1st February) – Palekele (1.30pm) 3rd T20 (Tuesday 3rd February) – Palekele (1:30pm)
