Sri Lanka vs. England: 5th ODI Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Two down with three to play, it's win or bust for England against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele Stadium on Wednesday.

If not quite a stroll, Sri Lanka's win in Colombo on Sunday was comfortable enough, and skipper Angelo Mathews will be hoping for a repeat performance to seal the seven-match series.

England welcome back Alastair Cook after his one-match ban.

Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy

Date: Wednesday 10 December 2015

Start time: 2:30 p.m. local, 9 a.m. GMT

Live on: Sky Sports (United Kingdom), CSN (Sri Lanka), Fox Sports (Australia), Willow TV (United States and Canada).

Weather: There's a good chance that the dreaded Duckworth-Lewis method could come into play on Wednesday. According to BBC Weather, heavy, thundery showers are forecast throughout the day.

Overview

After being thrashed 5-0 in India last month, Sri Lanka have bounced back in style against England.

With the top-order quartet of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews all in good touch, they'll expect to take a 4-1 series lead in Kandy.

England's well-documented woes against spin have been exploited by Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis and the aforementioned Dilshan. The visitors can expect another trial by spin on Wednesday.

If everything looks relatively rosy in the Sri Lankan garden, there is much to ponder for England.

After serving a one-match ban for a slow over-rate, Alastair Cook is expected to take the captaincy reins at Pallekele. James Taylor's impressive 90 and Eoin Morgan's partial return to form in Colombo mean it's Alex Hales who'll likely be the batting fall guy.

"

"

.@jamestaylor20: It was nice to show what I can do in an England shirt. It's up to me to take that opportunity again pic.twitter.com/RqJFrvCYws

— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) December 8, 2014"

"

England missed a trick in not picking James Tredwell at the Premadasa and the off-spinner could be set for a recall. Wicketless this series and with a top score of just 16, Ben Stokes looks favourite for the chop.

Regardless of who is bowling, the visitors must do something about wides. In the four matches this series, England have sent down 43 of them. That's far too many against any team, let alone against a batting line-up as classy as Sri Lanka's.

Despite some bright individual efforts, England have failed to find consistency. There's a decent performance in this side, whether we'll see it in Kandy remains doubtful. The World Cup formula still seems a long way off for Alastair Cook's men.

Venue

Wednesday's match at Pallekele will be the first ODI England have played at the venue. The visitors can take some hope from the fact that Sri Lanka are far from unbeatable there.

In 11 ODIs at the Pallekele Stadium, the hosts have won six and lost five. The toss is unlikely to prove crucial either with wins for the team batting first and the chasers split fairly evenly.

Of course the weather could scupper everything. Heavy showers are forecast throughout the day.

Squads

Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Gamage, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Suranga Lakmal, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Ashan Priyanjan, Lakshan Sandakan Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne

England (from): Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes

Key Players

Sri Lanka: With three half-centuries and 218 runs in four innings, Kumar Sangakkara has been the pick of the Sri Lankan top-order this series. If they don't get him early on, it could be a long day for England's bowlers

Skipper Angelo Mathews has weighed in with quick runs and timely wickets, too. If a match-winning cameo is needed he's just the man to deliver.

England: With the chorus of criticism mounting once again, the pressure will be on Alastair Cook to deliver.

Joe Root has looked in good order this series without yet producing a match-winning innings. He's due a big score.

The pick of the bowlers last time out was Chris Jordan. A repeat would help England to an unlikely win and boost the Sussex all-rounder's World Cup credentials.