Astonishes me that Sri Lanka are even in the running for WTC - haven't they been bad for ages?
Then you look at the numbers. 5 2-test series, 3 of which have been at home, and one of their two away series was Bangladesh. They've beaten West Indies at home, Bangladesh away, drawn with Pakistan and Australia at home, and lost to India away, and that pretty modest return is enough to be third in the WTC ranking
Just goes to show how ridiculous the fixture list is, really. England have played 22 tests in that time.
Still, they play New Zealand away (another 2-test series), and their only realistic chance of overtaking India or Australia is for them to win that series 2-0. If they can clean sweep NZ away, good luck to them, maybe they will deserve a place in the final. That said, NZ have gone on a bit of a horror run recently, so maybe they will. Bit of a turnaround from the WTC champions now only having won 2 from 11, but they've played three away series during this cycle, then only played one last time.
I'm sensing a pattern here.