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England win toss in crucial quarter-final

England won the toss and chose to bat first against Sri Lanka
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details Andrew Strauss won a potentially crucial toss and chose to bat first, as England and Sri Lanka prepared to do battle in the fourth and final quarter-final at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The bottom side of the draw has been blown wide open by New Zealand's shock victory over South Africa in Dhaka on Friday, and whoever wins this fixture will surely be favourites to progress to the final in Mumbai on April 2. 

All that, however, is for the future. All that matters right now is the next 100 overs of action, and given England's extraordinary campaign so far, it's unlikely to be anything less than a gripping day's action. The statistics suggest that they have secured a major advantage already, given that in 49 completed games at the Premadasa, 36 have been won by the side batting first. But as Kumar Sangakkara pointed out: "It's 50-50 on the toss, but that doesn't mean we will roll over and die." 

As widely anticipated, Ian Bell will replace Matt Prior at the top of England's order, thereby becoming Strauss's third opening partner in their seven matches to date. However, there is no place for James Anderson, who was dropped after the defeat against Bangladesh in Chittagong and has not been able to regain his place. Chris Tremlett, who was expensive in the victory over West Indies, has been retained and will share the seam-bowling duties with Tim Bresnan, who yesterday came through a fitness test on his strained calf. 

Sri Lanka have packed their attack with spinners to probe England's perceived weakness against slow bowling, with Rangana Herath coming into the team in place of Nuwan Kulasekera. Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan complete a formidable trio, with Murali's role sure to be pivotal in so many ways. After 492 international appearances, 1343 wickets and almost 63,000 deliveries in a 19-year career, Murali is approaching the final curtain, and any of the next three games could be the last of his career. That fact alone will spur him and his team-mates along, as they seek to match their achievements of the past two World Cups, and battle through to the last four once again. 

Though chasing under the floodlights is never easy in Colombo, Sri Lanka's top order is packed with experience, in particular the trio of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who know precisely how to pace their pursuit of any given target. Run-scoring is unlikely to be easy, so the onus is on England to assess the wicket as early as possible, and build a total that they believe is defendable. Their World Cup survival once again depends on it. 

Sri Lanka 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Chamara Silva, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Ajantha Mendis. 

England 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Tredwell, 11 Chris Tremlett.

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