For the first time, they have a chance to focus on 50-over cricket for a concerted period of time, without the disruption of games in other formats.
The aim will be to settle on a strategy and a group of personnel capable of surprising a few people in Australia and New Zealand next year.
However, given the conditions in Sri Lanka and their contrast to those down under, the quality of the opposition and the absence of key players such as James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the tour could end up raising more questions than answers to England’s problems in the one-day format.
A heavy defeat, and England would be heading to Australia for the tri-series in January in damage-limitation mode.
Here is my assessment of the challenges facing Alastair Cook and his men ahead of their seven-match series, which begins on Wednesday. I’m a bit disappointed that England appear to have dropped Alex Hales from the top of the order.
They desperately need to be more punchy up front and I want to see a guy up there who plays big shots and puts some pressure on the opposition bowlers in the powerplay.
As regular readers will know, I would prefer not to have Cook in the side, but England have put faith in him as their captain and opener, so the issue is who plays alongside him.
TAGS:England v Sri Lanka: Tour could raise World Cup questions
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Tour could raise World Cup questions:England v Sri Lanka
