England travel to Sri Lanka to play an ODI series with a World Cup looming on the horizon. In one sense, history is repeating itself. The last time England toured Sri Lanka was in 2014 for a seven match series that formed part of their build-up for the 2015 World Cup.

However, that is where the similarities between that tour and this one end. Eoin Morgan’s side is a very different beast to the uncertain, unsettled and unravelling outfit that meekly surrendered to a 5-2 loss four years ago. Back then, Alastair Cook was captain for what would turn out to be his final series in international limited-overs cricket and England were sleepwalking towards a humiliating exit from the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Since the World Cup, Stokes has batted 35 of his 42 ODI innings at No.5 and the other seven at No.6. His role is clearly defined as a middle-order batsman capable of bowling his full allocation of overs when required. Stokes’ improvement as a batsman has been well-documented but there is a chicken-and-egg-style debate to be had over how and why that has happened. England have given him licence to bat in the top five and he has repaid that faith, evolving into one of England’s key men with the bat.

Stokes’ rise to England’s premier batting all-rounder can be seen as a microcosm of England’s change in fortunes in the 50-over format. The turmoil and uncertainty that blighted both the aftermath of the tour and the series itself in 2014 have been replaced by a clarity of thought and an understanding of what direction the team is heading towards. England have never whitewashed Sri Lanka in an ODI series; they have surely never had a better opportunity than now.