5 Changes England Can Make to Rescue the Sri Lankan ODI Series

England looked wretched with both bat and ball while losing the second ODI to Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday.

The arrival of Alastair Cook's side has been a boon for a Sri Lankan side that looked completely outclassed while being thrashed five-nil by India earlier this month.

England were completely off the pace in all facets of the game at the Premadasa, in the face of some high-class performances from Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.

Despite being two-nil down, there's still time for the visitors to gain a foothold in the seven-match series. Here are five changes they can make to improve their chances.

5. Change the Tactics

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Tactically, England seem stuck in the CD era when everyone else in the cricketing world is bopping away to digital downloads.

The same charge of tactical inflexibility could be applied to pretty much every England World Cup side since Graham Gooch's 1992 vintage.

The latest England hierarchy show no signs of moving away from their strategy of trying to keep things fairly tight early on before exploding later in the innings with wickets in hand.

That England have been bowled out in seven of their past nine ODI innings suggests that something is seriously wrong with that line of thinking.

4. Sharpen Up in the Field

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Sri Lanka's fielding crumbled in the faces of India's explosive top-order earlier this month. They've looked the better of the two outfits on show against England, though.

As cliches go, they don't come much bigger than “catches win matches.” The visitors may not have gone on to win if Chris Woakes had held on to a tough chance from Kumar Sangakkara, but they can't afford to drop batsman of his class if they want to be competitive.

England don't look a particularly dynamic side in the field. There's no questioning their commitment to improve, but they look way behind the likes of South Africa, Australia and even India.

3. Change the Balance of the Side

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England have got neither their batting approach nor the balance of the side quite right. Lacking a Graham Thorpe-style nurdler against the spinners, England's batsmen have resorted to the “charge down the pitch and swing technique,” often with disastrous results.

There are fine margins between batting with intent and batting recklessly, and too often, England have opted for the latter.

Ravi Bopara has impressed in both games but the lack of support from the other end has left him in very tricky positions.

Of course Peter Moores and Alastair Cook can only work with the raw materials they have been given. The lack of a genuine all-rounder is glaring, though. For all their undoubted potential, neither Ben Stokes nor Chris Woakes have cemented a place Down Under this winter.

England are unlikely to win a tight run chase with a bottom three of James Tredwell, Steven Finn and Harry Gurney either. Problems higher up the order remain the more pressing concern.

2. Give Alex Hales a Go

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Who do you think the Sri Lankan opening bowlers would rather be facing with the new ball? Alastair Cook or the man who smashed them for 116 from just 64 balls in the World Twenty20.

The pedigree of Alex Hales in the 50-over international game is unknown, as the Nottinghamshire opener has only four caps to his name. How are the selectors supposed to find out if he has a one-day future if they don't pick him?

Conditions for the World Cup will of course be different to those found in Sri Lanka. The England hierarchy will certainly get an idea about his temperament though.

An opening partnership of Hales and Moeen Ali looks like a high risk one but the rewards could be spectacular.

1. Replace Alastair Cook as Captain

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Since the ICC Trophy final defeat to India in June 2013, Alastair Cook has led England in 16 ODIs. They have won just five of those games and been defeated 11 times.

Those losses included thrashings by nine-wickets, eight-wickets, seven-wickets, three by six-wickets and one by 133 runs. England's recent record with Cook at the helm has been especially poor with just one win in the past eight games. It doesn't exactly point to a team peaking perfectly with the World Cup just around the corner.

Of course the skipper's hands have been tied somewhat in Sri Lanka with the absence of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Even so, the early impressions from this tour have been disappointing to say the least.

Writing in the Guardian way back in 2011, Mike Selvey asked whether the demands of the one-day game would have a detrimental impact on Cook's phenomenal Test career. Those questions remain just as valid today.

The selectors have shown no inclination to relieve Cook of the one-day captaincy duties. Eoin Morgan, who has struggled for form of late, and Joe Root seem the men most likely to step in should Cook relinquish the 50-over job. If they do take over, it's unlikely England could do any worse.