By William Munt

A third-placed finish in a Tri-Series is never ideal, especially under a year out from a World Cup and against Pakistan and Sri Lanka sides ranked fourth and sixth in the world respectively.

Although this fate befell England, all is not lost yet, with some brilliant cricket interspersed with the good, the bad and the ugly.

There are clearly some issues that continue to persist with their ODI side, but had they not conspired to somehow lose consecutive matches where they appeared nailed on to prevail, they would have been featuring in the final as intended.

Given the mixed and often dual nature of England’s performances, what have we learnt from their Tri-Series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka?

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Three into two – Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell 

When Jacob Bethell made 91 in England’s victory over India in July, it appeared that England’s search for Ben Duckett’s opening partner may be over.

However, Bethell’s unfortunate injury and the form of Tom Banton since he replaced him mean that the spot is up for grabs once more. 

Back-to-back centuries from Duckett at the back end of the Tri-Series have removed his name from many of the discussions and seemingly secured his immediate future in the ODI set up.

The same cannot be said for Bethell and Banton though, who may be locked in battle right up until the ODI World Cup next year. 

Whilst Bethell has the credit in the bank and is a favourite of Brendon McCullum, Banton is the man currently in possession of the shirt and has done his chances no harm in this series with three half-centuries. 

The fact that the World Cup is in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia might mean that Bethell is the preferred option at the moment, with Banton’s distinctive selling point being his playing of spin, but there is still plenty of cricket to be played before a definitive decision is made.

England hamstrung without Jos Buttler

When Jos Buttler limped from the Headingley outfield against Sri Lanka in September, England’s chances in that game faded and they ultimately ended up 16 runs short.

However, the extent of his injury lay-off might be concerning for the English hierarchy, with the explosive wicket-keeper potentially not set for a England return until September 2027. 

Although Jordan Cox excelled in England colours throughout the summer, he struggled throughout the Tri-Series at times. 

He failed with the bat in England’s first two games and dropped a couple of catches, as they fell to defeat against Pakistan in their first match.

He would have been happier with his end to the series though, as he finished with a quickfire 43 in England’s solitary win over Sri Lanka. 

Cox definitely has potential, but England will be desperate for Buttler to return in time for the World Cup, given his vast experience and devastating power-hitting.

Is Adil Rashid still all England need?

The evergreen nature of Adil Rashid has long allowed England to kick their spin bowling concerns down the road.

However, there are now increasing signs that age is catching up with the 38-year-old and England may have to start looking for alternative spin options soon. 

After missing the end of the English summer with a hand injury, Rashid only played the first game, returning figures of 1-55 as he was taken down by the Pakistan middle-order.

Concerningly for England, Rehan Ahmed struggled to step into Rashid’s shoes in Sri Lanka’s tour of England, whilst the recalled Mason Crane did not get a look in at all in the Tri-Series. 

A positive for England was the form of Liam Dawson, who was arguably the pick of England’s bowlers across the series, taking seven wickets at 21.43 and an economy of five.

Whilst Dawson is an accurate and wily bowler, more concerning for England is the lack of leg-spinning alternatives coming through behind Rashid.

England’s poor death bowling continues to prove fatal

So often throughout 2026, it has been England’s batting that has been criticised.

In this Tri-Series though, their bowlers have failed to step up when they have needed them most.

They particularly struggled at the death, most noticeably in England’s first two games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

Pakistan were struggling at 211-6 after 39.5 overs, but managed to accumulate 302-9 from their 50 overs, as England struggled to contain them in the final few overs.

Sam Curran’s extra slow slower balls went the distance, whilst Harry Brook’s trust in his bowlers seemed to waver when Joe Root stepped up to bowl at the death – going for 12 from his solitary over. 

England’s bowlers also went around the park as Sri Lanka completed the second highest run chase in ODI history, with Curran (2-103) becoming the first England bowler to go for more than 100 runs in the format.

Can Mitchell Starc provide the blueprint for bowling to the tail? 

Having lost their first two games, England desperately needed to beat Pakistan and were on the verge of doing so, when they reduced the hosts to 154-9 in their pursuit of 242. 

Instead, the highest tenth-wicket partnership in an ODI run chase of 89 between Shadab Khan (113*) and Haris Rauf (7*) led Pakistan to a memorable victory. 

Whilst credit needs to go to the Pakistan pair, England’s inability to blow away the lower order desperately needs addressing, as it continues to plague them in all three formats of the game.

At times, they seemed reduced to simply waiting for Khan to make a mistake and often misused the sparing balls that they got to bowl at Rauf. 

Their insistence on bowling short at tailenders was shown up by Australia’s Mitchell Starc (6-72) cleaning up the South Africa lower order with full, swinging deliveries in their gripping third Test.

Although the format is different, the same principle applies, yet England continually fail to utilise full, fast deliveries to lower order batters.