England managed to beat Sri Lanka and the weather in the third ODI, leaving them in the enviable position of being unable to lose the series with two still to play. A professional performance from Eoin Morgan's men saw a potential slip-up negotiated with ease. The shorter match looked to suit the hosts, but the manner of England's chase was as much a testament to their belief as it was to Sri Lanka's general apathy.

First thing's first - the forecast... and it doesn't look too bad. Relatively speaking. We should get some cricket around the scheduled start time and thus enough of a game to ensure that when the rains do come (at around 1pm and then 4pm), we would have enough overs in the bank to ensure a result. Handy for the hosts, who desperately need one.

If there are crumbs of comfort for Sri Lanka, they come from a win over South Africa at this very ground back in August. That, too, was affected by rain, but they did manage to strike an impressive 306 from 39 overs, resulting in a daunting chase of 191 from 21 overs for the Proteas. The margin of victory was only three runs but given the paucity of recent results, Sri Lanka can't be too picky.

Though Lasith Malinga was ineffective, it was probably more down to his own inconsistency and working with a wet ball as opposed to being "worked out". As with the second ODI, he was most effective at the death and therein lies something of a quandary. Not only does he need back-up but he will also be hoping his teammates work out how best to approach a game that will be punctuated by the weather.

A simple remedy would be running between the wickets with more urgency. Dinesh Chandimal's 34 from seven overs featured just two boundaries and seemed tinged with a sense that he and only he was the side's best hope for a competitive score. Alas, the captain's good intentions were misplaced. Both he and the rest of the line-up will do well to take cues from Niroshan Dickwella.

It's easier said than done, of course: Dickwella's charm is his unpretentious approach to batting and only Dasun Shanaka can make him when it comes to clearing the ropes. But England's attack were never more irked than when they were trying to tame the left-hander. If Sri Lanka are going to turn this series around, or even put a win on the board, they will need to make the visitors do things differently.

Sewing up the series on Saturday will allow head coach Trevor Bayliss some room experimentation in the final ODI, too. Given options available in all departments, it would be a handy luxury and a neat way to cap off what has been an exemplary year in ODI cricket.