Luke Wright has stepped down as England's national selector after three years, citing a desire to spend more time with his young family. His departure comes amid a difficult period for English cricket, following a 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia and a 19-run loss to Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Colombo.
England's struggles in subcontinental conditions continued as they fell short chasing 241 for victory. Despite a century stand between Joe Root (61) and Ben Duckett, the middle order failed to rotate strike or find boundaries, managing just 45 runs off 74 balls. Jamie Overton's late 34 off 17 narrowed the gap but could not prevent defeat.
Spin bowling proved England's undoing, with Sri Lanka bowling 34 overs of spin in the final 36 overs after the opening nine. Captain Charith Asalanka used his own off-spin and that of Dhananjaya de Silva to dry up runs, with de Silva bowling eight overs for just 32 dot balls. England have now lost 11 of their last 12 ODIs in Asia.
Off-field changes include the return of Troy Cooley as bowling coach and Carl Hopkinson as fielding coach. However, the team's inability to play spin remains a pressing concern ahead of next month's Twenty20 World Cup.
