England, its host for a majority of the tour, has comprehensively outplayed it in both Tests and ODIs so far, and in doing so, has claimed an unassailable lead in the new multi-format points system. So it is that when the two sides clash one final time in a Twenty20 International at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday (July 5), Sri Lanka will be fighting to avoid a clean sweep across formats.

After a 0-2 loss in the Tests and a 0-3 reversal in the ODIs, Sri Lanka will find it a struggle to boost morale. After the final ODI – a comprehensive 122-run loss in Cardiff – Angelo Mathews, the captain, found himself fending off questions about his captaincy, saying: “This is a tough time for me as a captain and for the whole unit. But you can’t run away from it.”

The hope was that the ODIs would help Sri Lanka emerge strong from its troubles in Tests, the hope stemming from the possibility of the shorter format narrowing the gap between the teams. However, England – a markedly different side in limited-overs internationals since Sri Lanka defeated it in the ICC World Cup 2015 – proved too strong once again, and apart from the first ODI which ended in a tie, was comprehensive winner in the remaining three completed matches.

The problem for Sri Lanka has been that its departments have struggled to work in tandem. The batsmen posted 305 for 5 in the fourth ODI, but the bowlers struggled to restrict England to below that score. Then, when England set it 325 to win in the fifth, its batsmen were contained to 202.

“I’m pretty sure if we keep improving day by day, we can come out of this hole,” said Mathews after the final ODI. “For the past two months, we’ve been having the same problems, either batting, bowling or fielding has let us down in every single game.”

Ahead of the final clash of what has been a tiresome series, Sri Lanka will hope to depart with its heads held high. A late cameo or a couple of miscues usually prove decisive in T20s, and Sri Lanka knows it has its best chance yet to put one over England. Recent form doesn’t favour Sri Lanka in that respect either – England reached the final of the ICC World T20 2016, while the Sri Lankans failed to get out of their group.

England, meanwhile, is expected to blood a few youngsters in the one-off clash, including Tymal Mills, the paceman. He comes with a reputation for searing pace, something that gained momentum after he roughed up Chris Gayle during the NatWest T20 blast last month. “I’d love to see him play. I won’t be the sole selector, but from my point of view, it would be great to see someone like that charge and give it everything,” said Trevor Bayliss, the England coach.

“It’s good to see some batsmen ducking and weaving.”

Eoin Morgan, the England captain, spoke before the ODIs of how much of a confidence booster it was for the side to reach the ICC World T20 2016 final, and warned of coping with bigger expectations. Those expectations would only have increased after its performances in the series so far.

Teams (from):

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Johnny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, David Malan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Farveez Maharoof, Suraj Randiv, Seekkuge Prasanna.

England accounted for two important run outs both involving Jason Roy who got rid of the dangerous looking Kusal Perera for 37 with a direct hit and top scorer Dinesh Chandimal for 52.

Sri Lanka’s innings was built around an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Chandimal and his captain Angelo Mathews who contributed a valuable 44 batting with a dodgy hamstring injury.

Although Mathews declared himself fit it was quite evident the way he batted that he was clearly uncomfortable in his movements. But credit to him for putting up a brave front.

England never allowed the Lankan top order batsmen to forge any noteworthy partnerships other than the one involving Mathews and Chandimal as they kept chipping away at the batting.

Seekkuge Prasanna on this occasion failed to produce his usual cameo innings when he was dismissed for two when David Willey pulled off a stunning catch behind the bowler as the batsman took the aerial route but failed to get the distance.

Upul Tharanga and Suraj Randiv gave an extra impetus towards the end of the innings with a partnership of 63 off 56 balls that got them over the 250-mark.

Tharanga playing with all his experience of 184 ODIs scored his first half century for three years remaining unbeaten on 53 scored off 49 balls with one six and five fours, while Randiv who gave him good support was 26 not out off 27 balls.

Sri Lanka went for an additional spinner when they opted for the off spin of Randiv for the medium-pace of Dasun Shanaka.

With the wicket dry and offering a little spin and bounce playing an extra spinner could become handy for Sri Lanka when England begin their run chase.

The first ODI played at Trent Bridge ended in a tie.

It will help them clear their heads and concentrate on doing well out there in the middle with bat and ball. The visitors are a young team which has lost some stalwarts in the past two years and it has clearly affected them. However, there is some raw talent in this side which could spark to life any moment.

Ireland will miss the services of Leicestershire wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien who is injured and Stuart Thompson, who will miss both matches for personal reasons.

O’Brien is set to be out of action for four to six weeks after sustaining a grade-two tear of his left calf. O’Brien suffered his injury while batting against Warwickshire last week.

John Anderson and Max Sorensen have been called into the Ireland squad to replace them.

In Niall O’Brien’s absence Ireland will depend a lot on William Porterfield, Ed Joyce and Kevin O’Brien. These three players form the back-bone of the Irish cricket team. Joyce and Kevin O’Brien have been in particularly good form for their respective teams in the NatWest T20 Blast as well as the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Sri Lanka have dropped all-rounder Milinda Siriwardana for the ODIs. Kaushal Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella will also head back home along with Rangana Herath who has retired from the 50-over game.

Farveez Maharoof, Danushka Gunathilaka, Suraj Randiv, Seekkuge Prasanna and Upul Tharanga will join the side. Expect a lot of these players to feature against Ireland as they look to adjust to the prevailing conditions in this part of the world. Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne will be the key players for the Lankans.

These two sides have faced off just twice in this format and Sri Lanka have won both fixtures quite comfortably. Sri Lanka have a very good record against the ICC’s associate members and will look to keep their status intact against the hosts.

Cricket Ireland chairman Ross McCullum said that though the fan build up to the Sri Lanka series had been positive, commercial success was not the biggest priority for the series, but rather getting an opportunity to improve Ireland’s ranking on the 12-team ODI table.

“Hopefully, we’ll get good weather, good cricket and we’ll have a good day. The support for Ireland has always been pretty positive and pretty good, so hopefully that won’t change,” said McCullum.

“I know there has been a lot of support from the Asian community in Dublin, so hopefully we’ll get a large crowd there. For us, it’s always good to play in front of a good crowd, because it certainly adds to the atmosphere and adds to Cricket Ireland’s coffers, no doubt.”