England wins toss, elects to bat in 3rd and final ODI against Sri Lanka

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — England captain Harry Brook won his first toss of the series and elected to bat in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Brook criticized the track in the second ODI as the “worst pitch” he’s ever played on despite the visitors winning the game by five wickets and levelling the series 1-1.

England retained the same spin-heavy XI that troubled Sri Lanka in the second game. Zak Crawley couldn’t recover from his knee injury, which means Rehan Ahmed will once again open the batting with Ben Duckett.

Sri Lanka, which hasn’t lost a bilateral home series over the last five years, brought in ace spinner Wanindu Hasaranga in place of fast bowler Pramod Madushan as the wicket is expected to help slow bowlers.

Hasaranga was rested for the first two games with the T20 World Cup starting on Feb. 7.

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Lineups:

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka (captain), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando.

England: Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket