Sri Lanka v England: Tom Banton’s unbeaten half-century secures victory by six wickets in DLS chase in second T20 international in Pallekele

Encouragingly for England on the eve of a subcontinental T20 World Cup, their spin department is holding up well.

A combined 12 overs yielded three wickets for 81 runs at an economy rate of 6.75, a return that underlined their growing control and reliability.

Rashid remains the ace in the pack, capable of stifling momentum and producing breakthroughs at key moments.

The experienced leg-spinner’s googly may have been well studied by opposition batters, but it remains a potent weapon, as Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka discovered when he was trapped lbw slogging to leg.

Dawson’s left-arm spin provided much-needed control through the middle overs, slowing down his speeds to left vs right handers, while Jacks continues to mature as a bowling option, and used his angles well.

Brook has plenty of options to turn to even when the pitch does not spin big.

A slight concern for England, with just under a week to go before a major tournament, was that their seam bowling did not quite hit the mark.

That caveat comes with the acknowledgement that the surface at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium was a used one, offering little margin for error.

Nevertheless Jamie Overton struggled with his length, while Curran, fresh from an expensive hat-trick in the opening T20, surprisingly lacked conviction after conceding 14 from his first over.

Archer fared slightly better, picking up two wickets despite being targeted early on, with Nissanka launching him out of the ground in his opening over.

Archer, however, recovered well to bowl effectively at the death as Sri Lanka pushed for a total in excess of 200.

More to follow.