Tourists arrive and the Malan problem ... ENGLAND V SRI LANKA TALKING POINTS

NICK HOWSON AT THE SWALEC STADIUM: A low-scoring second T20 in Cardiff is highlighted by powerplay records and Sam Curran's nimble footwork

Scorecard

Where's Mo?

It's getting a bit silly now.

Eoin Morgan is a stubborn man. He is cold in terms of selection and makes no apologies for it.

Such an approach helps him remain a winner at the top level. For every trusted individual there is a victim.

Moeen Ali is quickly emerging as the big loser of this stance.

That said, Alex Hales could also have a claim to that title, having been out in the cold for two years.

Nevertheless, the treatment of Moeen is curious and confusing. Overlooked for 10 straight matches yet a real asset in the Indian Premier League.

You have to wonder how vulnerable his place is for the T20 World Cup, even in India.

Adil Rashid is a shoo-in, Liam Livingstone has made a solid start, Liam Dawson remains part of the conversation and Matt Parkinson is waiting in the wings.

With Morgan indicating he would rotate this summer, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to throw him into the action with England already 1-0 to the good in the series.

Already without Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler also on the injury list and Chris Woakes was left out after one outing And yet Mo's watching brief continues.

What do the 10 omissions in a row tell us? Certainly that Morgan has a good idea about his best XI, but perhaps more importantly that Moeen isn't the commodity for his country that he is in franchise cricket.

^{Sam Curran produced the finish of the day}

Powerless play

Thirty-five minutes, 46 balls. That was how long the crowd of 2,892 had to wait for the first boundary.

The highlight-reel format of cricket didn't exactly give their free-to-air audience much to shout about in the opening stages.

Those 7.4 overs was the sixth-longest a T20I innings has lasted before the ball hit the rope for the first time.

And it was the 16th time in all T20s that the powerplay overs have not contained a four or six.

It was the first time Sri Lanka have failed to hit a boundary in the first six overs.

Similarly, England had never previously not conceded a boundary during the powerplay.

While the hosts bowled with superb control and fielded impeccably, this is an attack without Stokes and more pertinently Archer, who would normally be given the new ball in these circumstances.

But this is also a Sri Lanka side not only in transition but lacking genuine power hitters. Only one of the current top four score at above 130. Avishka Fernando is a young, talented ODI batter but a strike rate of 98.48 won't wash at this level.

Yeah, but can he do it on a Tuesday afternoon at Wembley? No really

As has often been the way while England's cricket team have been in action during the European Championships, 'Football's Coming Home' has been audible from the stands.

Upon its first unveiling, there was a moment fitting of the song.

Avishka Fernando played Sam Curran's third delivery with a straight bat, calling Danushka Gunathilaka through with the ball having barely left the crease.

Already on his follow-through, Curran easily got there first and put a solid right boot on the ball and kicked down the stumps. Gunathilaka's dive was forlorn.

The Surrey allrounder set off on an Alan Shearer-like celebration and then launched into a scissor kick fitting of Paulo di Canio. It was all jolly good fun.

England are due at Chester-le-Street for the first ODI against Sri Lanka next Tuesday (June 29), when the football team are scheduled to face Germany in the last-16 at Euro 2020.

Perhaps Gareth can have a word.

Cultured finish from Sam Curran#ENGvSLpic.twitter.com/Rn8ktY7wnJ

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) June 24, 2021

Sri Lanka's late arrival

Since whitewashing Pakistan in October 2019, Sri Lanka have taken one victory from the last 12 in the T20 over.

They'll likely arrive at the venue for the World Cup as one of the also-rans.

While that streak includes series against England and India, it also includes five matches against West Indies - against whom they claimed their only victory.

After a disastrous display in the opening T20, Sri Lanka recorded their worst score against England. The hosts were set their lowest target after bowling the full 20 overs.

Credit to Dushmantha Chameera and Binura Fernando for produced a sinister opening spell with the new ball. It was great to see them make a contest of it.

Had the rain stayed away, perhaps we might be talking about a different outcome. 

For much of this series, Sri Lanka have not looked like a side ranked inside the top eight of the ICC rankings. Ahead of Bangladesh and the Windies, perhaps they aren't even worthy of the top 10.

We can talk all we like about transition and evolution until we're blue in the face, but this format is the most played across the international game. Yet the chasm between first and eighth is larger than it should be.

Speaking to Test Match Special, Russell Arnold said: "You would have thought they would improve from the first game but it is actually a lot worse.

"There didn't seem to be any balance in attack or rotating the strike. They seemed confused about how they go about the innings.

"The top three can hit a ball and are very, very good when they get going.

"You need to give them time but you need to see a little bit more game awareness."

Once the Lanka Premier League starts to bear fruit and more players are exposed to overseas competitions performances will inevitably improve. Wanindu Hasaranga and Chameera are worth hanging your hat on certainly, and others will emerge.

And while there were green shoots of recovery here - hopefully, it continues when both sides rock up in Southampton - recent form speaks for itself.

^{Wanindu Hasaranga removed Jason Roy and Sam Billings to give Sri Lanka hope}

The Malan problem

Let's not feel too bad for England, they have enough talent in their white-ball ranks as it is.

But clearly, we are approaching an interesting crossroads in regard to Dawid Malan's place in the team

The ICC's No.1 ranked T20 batter (for how much longer?) has 159 runs in his seven 2021 international innings, at a strike rate of just 111.97.

Stokes and Moeen on the sidelines while Sam Billings and Liam Livingstone are knocking on the door. Joe Clarke at Notts Outlaws, Sussex's Phil Salt and Birmingham Bears' Sam Hain are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. And dare we mention Alex Hales?

Malan's starts have always been scrutinised, but they were often followed by fine scores. The ends justified the means.

Now the 33-year-old's contributions are slow and low, a devastating combination if England are to be world champions.

This isn't just an England problem, either. Malan averages 10.75 in four Blast matches for Yorkshire and scored a run-a-ball 26 on his only outing for Punjab Kings in the IPL.

When will Morgan pull the trigger?