Malan is the man for England and Morgan

After two low scores, a continuation of a run of poor form which had seeped from domestic cricket into his work in an England shirt, the doubters were circling again, only for Dawid Malan, as he is wont to do, to silence them with an excellent half-century in the third game. In a way, the innings didn’t prove anything one way or the other; Malan’s ability to kick on from a slow start is something his detractors acknowledge. Perhaps more relevant was another fulsome backing of the No.3 by England captain Eoin Morgan at the toss in the third game, with his support seemingly unwavering. Whatever the debate over Malan in the media is, it appears clear which camp Morgan is in.

Liam Livingstone moves up England’s pecking order

Liam Livingstone shouldn’t really have been Player of the Match in the second T20I – Mark Wood’s 2-18 did much more to win England the game than his unbeaten 29* – but it was a good innings nonetheless, and his brand of off-cum-leg-spin proved useful too. Livingstone’s versatility makes him a good candidate to round out a T20 World Cup squad.

Is too much rest working against England?

It was somewhat farcical that Chris Woakes was deemed in need of a rest for the second T20I, one day after playing his first game for England in any format since last September. He also had to miss a game for Birmingham Bears as his return to cricket was managed, despite Woakes apparently not being injured. Jos Buttler, another frequently rotated recently, sustained a calf tear and missed the last T20Is. He is out of the ODIs too. Woakes at least got enough of an opportunity to suggest he could be a T20 World Cup bolter, but there was still another hint of a hidden cost of England’s controversial new policy.

England might have an Eoin Morgan problem

Not long ago, Eoin Morgan was in the form of his life, touted as the answer to England’s finishing problems and averaging 59 and striking at 183 in a 12-game stretch. But in his last 14 games, Morgan has failed to pass 30 even once, and while he is in a tough role and has often demoted himself to give others a go, he is of an age where such patches are more worrying than they otherwise would be. It barely needs saying that his captaincy remains invaluable, and England can at least be comforted that if there’s any player steely enough to drop himself for the good of the team, it’s Morgan.

Sri Lanka’s bowling attack shows promise

This was a shellacking for Sri Lanka, but they at least have the makings of a decent bowling attack. Wanindu Hasaranga, with frosted tips and flashy kicks, is a leg-spinning all-rounder who will love the hype he is deservedly generating, there are copious other slow bowling options, while Dushmantha Chameera is a whippy quick capable of ruffling top batsmen. If they just had a few more runs behind them, they might be able to challenge.

But their batting means they are far from T20 World Cup contenders

The problem is, the batsmen were truly hapless and helpless, the worst touring line-up to visit England in a long time. Eoin Morgan’s side bowled well, but should be wary of drawing too many conclusions, with the figures flattering basically all of them. Sri Lanka’s batting line-up is, on this evidence, a long way from being able to challenge on the world stage. More pressing is whether they can avoid the danger of relegation from the Cricket World Cup Super League.