Sri Lanka vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 warm-up: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

You can almost touch it now. The World Cup 2019 is just days away. Sri Lanka and South Africa will begin the warm-up action when they take each other on in Bristol on Friday, 24 May.

Both sides have different agendas for the event. South Africa will want to test their injured bowlers – Lungi Ngidi hasn’t taken the field since March, and both Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada sustained issues during the IPL. They will also hope to get the team back in groove – they were scattered across the IPL and domestic tournaments, and these warm-ups are important for the team to find their feet again.

But it is Sri Lanka for whom this will be a more crucial outing. They’ve played just one proper match since their tour of South Africa ended in March. Since then, they named a wholly different 15-man squad, with a new captain, returning old players, and the impression that there is a lot of desperation around them.

Their 35-run victory on the DLS Method would have helped them greatly, but with just two warms up before the World Cup gets underway, they’ll want to make the most of the opportunity.

Head to head

The two sides have played 76 ODIs over the years – South Africa won 43 of them to Sri Lanka’s 31. Five of those victories came two months back, when South Africa blanked them 5-0 at home.

The record’s more even in neutral venues, though. South Africa have won 11 times and Sri Lanka 8 in 19 matches. Again, in their last five matches on neutral venues, South Africa have won four.

Key players

Nuwan Pradeep (Sri Lanka): The paceman was excellent in the one ODI they played against Scotland. He returned 4/34 in conditions similar to what is expected in England and Wales. More of the same is expected, and hoped.

Faf du Plessis (South Africa): The South Africa captain was in good nick in the latter stages of the IPL. It’s imperative for him to lead from front, especially in the early stages of the World Cup, and if he can do that, they might just have a great tournament, against all expectations.

Likely XI

Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Mendis, Thisara Perera, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeevan Mendis, Isuru Udana, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk),Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir

Prediction

South Africa to ease past Sri Lanka.