Each day our exclusive MATCH OF THE DAQ service previews the big match of the day – usually a televised game.

As well as the preview we also bring you the head to head records of the two teams as well as a recommended bet on BETDAQ for the match.


England v Sri Lanka, The Oval
ODI Series, 1st match
Start time: 13:00, Sky Sports 1

HEAD-TO-HEAD

(Max last 10 only)
26 Mar 2011 Colombo (RPS) Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets          
25 Sep 2009 Johannesburg England won by 6 wickets          
13 Oct 2007 Colombo (RPS) Sri Lanka won by 107 runs          
10 Oct 2007 Colombo (RPS) England won by 5 wickets          
07 Oct 2007 Dambulla England won by 2 wickets (D/L Method)          
01 Oct 2007 Dambulla Sri Lanka won by 119 runs          
04 Apr 2007 Sir Viv Richards Stadium Sri Lanka won by 2 runs          
01 Jul 2006 Headingley Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets          
28 Jun 2006 Old Trafford Sri Lanka won by 33 runs          
24 Jun 2006 Chester Le Street Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets    

PREVIEW

Stuart Broad’s debut outing as England T20 captain did not begin well and now it’s time for Alastair Cook to see if he can start the new ODI era with victory against Sri Lanka. The tourists showed just what a strong side they are in the shorter format of the game and the ODI side will be desperate to give Sanath Jayasuriya a winning send-off before retirement.

Cook was omitted from the recent ODI World Cup and needs a solid performance to prove he justifies his place in the starting XI. Much of the criticism aimed at Cook is that his strike rate is not high enough and therefore occupies the crease without adding consistently to the score.

Sri Lanka had an excellent World Cup and eventually lost out to India in the grand finale. The side are packed with attacking batsmen, even without Tillakaratne Dilshan in the line-up. At 41 years old, Jayasuriya has accumulated an impressive 13,428 ODI runs and still has the talent to put up big numbers.

Even with England’s abject World Cup and the fact they were beaten by ten wickets last time out against Sri Lanka – the home side are trading at 1.76. Inconsistencies have been a problem for England and in their past five games; their two triumphs have been followed by defeat.

At around 2.29 on the ‘Daq’, the Sri Lankans represent the better value and are worth backing to hand Cook a debut defeat.

RECOMMENDATION: (1-10 points)
Back Sri Lanka to win at around 2.29: 4 points

Monday’s Return: -3.00 points