England and Sri Lanka Turn to the One Day Series, and Sri Lanka Get Their Captain Back
Three one day internationals from 22 September at Chester le Street, Headingley and The Oval. Kusal Mendis missed the T20Is injured and is expected to lead in this leg.
England and Sri Lanka move to the one day leg of their tour this week, with three matches: the first at the Riverside Ground, Chester le Street, on 22 September, the second at Headingley on 24 September, and the third at The Oval on 27 September.
A captain returns
Kusal Mendis missed the entire T20I leg with an injury carried over from this year's Lanka Premier League, and Charith Asalanka captained in his place. Mendis was named in the one day squad and is expected to lead in this format, which means Sri Lanka will have had two captains inside a fortnight on the same tour.
That is less disruptive than it sounds. Split squads across formats are now normal, and the players moving between them are used to it. It does mean the batting order Sri Lanka used in the T20Is is not the one to expect here.
Different format, different questions
The T20I leg was the last significant white ball cricket before a T20 World Cup, and England picked it that way. The one day matches serve a different purpose for both sides, and the selection usually reflects that: players who are not in T20 plans get a look, and players who are get rested.
For Sri Lanka, the fifty over format has been the steadier of the two in recent years. Their bowling attack is better suited to it, because the wicket taking spin that can be attacked in a twenty over game has ten overs and a quieter middle period to work with.
Conditions in late September
Three grounds in the north and south of England at the end of September is a genuine variable. Chester le Street and Headingley in the last week of the month can offer seam movement in the morning that has largely gone by the afternoon, and a start time of half past twelve makes the toss more consequential than it would be in midsummer.
The Oval on 27 September, starting earlier, is the flattest of the three and the most likely to produce the highest score of the series.
What is not in this piece
Full squads for both sides were announced at the start of September and the T20I leg has already lost two players to injury since. Rather than print a list that may have changed by the time you read this, the fixtures and the captaincy are stated, and the squads are worth checking on the morning of each match.