Cricket World Cup: England v Sri Lanka predictions and cricket betting tips: Brook can take the fight to Sri Lanka

Where to watch England v Sri Lanka

Sky Sports Cricket, 9.30am Thursday

Best bets

Harry Brook over 0.5 match sixes
3pts Evs bet365

Dilshan Madushanka top Sri Lanka wicket-taker
1pt 4-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

England v Sri Lanka predictions

If England were drinking in the last-chance saloon ahead of last Saturday's crushing 229-run defeat to South Africa, the reigning champions now appear to have one foot out of the door as they gear up for this must-win World Cup clash with Sri Lanka.

England lost three round-robin matches before going all the way in 2019 and mathematically they're still alive, although meetings with Australia and India are on the horizon and there are no guarantees that Jos Buttler's team will first see off the Lankans.

Given the firepower supposedly at their disposal, it's still no surprise to see England chalked up as strong favourites against a Sri Lanka team who have also lost three of their four matches.

Only one nation will be thrown a lifeline at Bangalore's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium but there's no great desire to support an out-of-form England, while Sri Lanka do not exactly look ready to cause the upset either, so better wagers can be found in other markets.

Harry Brook has failed to fire in this tournament but England's destructive middle-order man looks value to hit at least one six against a Sri Lankan bowling attack which conceded 428 runs against South Africa and 345 (from 48.2 overs) against Pakistan.

Brook has cleared the ropes in three of his four World Cup innings and this batting-friendly Bangalore track saw 25 sixes in Australia's high-scoring win over Pakistan last Friday.

Dilshan Madushanka has been one of the few bright spots for Sri Lanka in this tournament, claiming 3-38 against Australia and 4-49 against the Netherlands, and the left-arm seamer looks a solid bet in the top Sri Lanka wicket-taker market.

Pakistan left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi took five wickets on this ground, so Madushanka could make inroads against England's brittle top order.

Click for more free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.