Weeks on from their Ashes loss, England are gearing up for a white-ball series starting this week in Sri Lanka.
The focus will switch to the 50-over format as soon as the T20 World Cup is finished, with the deadline for automatic 2027 World Cup qualification just over a year away. England are still a long way off from securing their place after a dire 2025 in ODIs. Both their captain and coach go into the series under pressure following the Ashes, with a firm decision on Brendon McCullum’s future still yet to be announced. In addition, it’s not clear what England’s first-choice ODI XI currently looks like.
All of this means the series carries importance beyond a normal three-match series tagged onto a pre-World Cup warm-up.
50-over World Cup qualification pathway
England’s ODI results were dismal in 2025 – they won just four of their 15 matches. That has put them in serious danger of not automatically qualifying for the next World Cup, with the cut-off date in March next year. To avoid going through the qualifier, effectively England need to keep ahead of one of West Indies and Bangladesh in the ICC standings. That would see them finish in the top eight teams excluding the tournament hosts – South Africa and Zimbabwe.
They currently hold an 11 point lead over West Indies, with Bangladesh another point behind. Zimbabwe are a further 22 points back, and pose no real threat. Given that England will face India, Australia and South Africa over the next year in ODIs, banking some wins against Sri Lanka will be crucial to ensuring they maintain their position and avoiding adding a Qualifier tournament to their schedule.
Leadership on the line?
Both Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum are treading on thin ice after the Ashes. McCullum for presiding over a disastrous series loss for which the environment he created has shouldered a significant amount of the blame. Brook for the revelation that he was fined by the ECB in New Zealand after an incident with a bouncer the night before England’s final ODI in New Zealand. For McCullum, there is growing consensus that giving him the white-ball leadership in addition to his Test role was a stretch. No firm decision will likely be made during the ODI series alone, but his side getting back to winning ways in the 50-over format would be a tick next to his name for his white-ball credentials, and a key indicator of whether he will keep either of his head coach roles.
For Brook, this is an opportunity for him to erase the sour taste that the news of his New Zealand altercation left, in the immediate wake of a bleak Ashes series. It’s a chance for Brook to start afresh, as what England will hope is a mature and professional leader.
Messaging shift
To tie in with the clouds following England’s leadership, questions over the 50-over messaging from the top have persisted over the last year. After rescuing his side from 56-6 with a stunning century in New Zealand, Brook questioned whether his top-order could have gone “a little bit harder”, but said at the end of the series that he “couldn’t quite put [his] finger” on why his side had consistently failed with the bat. It’s not the first time Brook’s translation of how England approach 50-over cricket has come under scrutiny, but the bottom line is that whatever they’re doing isn’t working. McCullum was clear at the end of the Ashes that, while he’s open to change, he holds “a firm conviction” in a lot of his methods. This series will be the first test of how far McCullum retains control over England’s environment.
A double-format opening partnership future?
Zak Crawley has been selected in England’s ODI squad but not for their T20I squad, a reversal of the squads he was selected in for the series in New Zealand. This time, however, it looks likely that Crawley will play, with Jamie Smith having been dropped as the incumbent opener since the start of the summer. Crawley hasn’t played an ODI since 2023, when he captained a makeshift side against Ireland, but England have been keen to unlock what they see as his high potential in the format. He will likely team up with Ben Duckett at the top, as England’s other incumbent opener.
England will hope that playing a 50-over series outside of a World Cup year will free up their Test opening duo to rediscover the audacity and freedom which has fuelled their partnership. For Duckett, it’s a chance to turn around his form challenges of the last six months, while for Crawley, it’s another lifeline which could affect his likelihood of keeping his Test opening spot.
Bowler-depth challenges
England’s ODI bowling lineup has looked consistently underpowered over the last year. They will once again be without Jofra Archer during this series, while Mark Wood has played an ODI since the Champions Trophy. Without Archer, Luke Wood – who has played three ODIs in the last three years – will likely partner Brydon Carse with the new ball, while Jamie Overton and Sam Curran are the only other seamers in the squad. Both struggled to take wickets in the middle-overs in New Zealand, while they had to prop up a failing batting unit.
The spin unit, beyond Adli Rashid, is also up in the air, with Liam Dawson in line to play his first ODI since 2022 and Will Jacks likely fighting with Curran for a place in the side. While this tour may provide few answers to the numerous questions over their attack, that in itself is a recurring thread from the last year.
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