Player of the Match
Player of the Match
789dThe Report by Alan Gardner

SL claim series amid Senanayake controversy

Figures of 1 for 36 were just one thread of Sri Lanka's series-clinching six-wicket win but, by running out Jos Buttler while the batsman was backing up, Sachithra Senanayake ensured that the narrative would be wound around him

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

HDRL Thirimanne
HDRL Thirimanne
60(101) 2x4 - 1x6
Control %88%
  • Productive Shot
  • cover drive
  • 11 runs
  • 1x4 - 0x6
1 9 12 4 15 1 5 13
AN Cook
AN Cook
56(85) 3x4 - 0x6
Control %84%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 15 runs
  • 2x4 - 0x6
2 11 1 4 15 4 7 12

Best performances - Bowlers

SL Malinga
SL Malinga
O9.1
M0
R50
W3
Eco5.45
RHB
OFFLEG
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
2W
JC Tredwell
JC Tredwell
O10
M2
R30
W2
Eco3.00
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W

Match Details

Toss

England , elected to bat first

Player Of The Match

Player Of The Series

Series result

Sri Lanka won the 5-match series 3-2

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

14.00 start, First Session 14.00-17.30, Interval 17.30-18.15, Second Session 18.15-21.45

Match days

3 June 2014 - day/night match (50-over match)

TV Umpires

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Commentator: Alex Winter

That's all she wrote for this one-day series, Sri Lanka the winniners 3-2 in what has been really a pretty exciting series with batting collapses galore followed by two pretty tight matches. But now we turn to the real stuff with the Test matches to come at Lord's and Headingley, the first at HQ on June 12. England's eagerly anticipated squad is set to be announced on Thursday, so look out for that, and we'll see you for the Test matches, bye for now...

Presentation time, with some interesting issues to deal with for the captains. Here's Alastair Cook: "We were 20 or 30 short. On that wicket, it turned a bit and was quite slow which suited them. It dewed up a bit and came on a bit at the end which was okay to chase. We got off to a good start, everyone got 20s and 30s. The Buttler dismissal, I think you're going to ask Angelo why he did it, I was disappointed with it. You don't know in the spur of the moment what you would do but you hope you wouldn't do it. There were some good things about the series and some progress made - Chris Jordan and Harry Gurney - but still plenty of areas to work on with 20 games until the World Cup."

The winning captain is Angelo Mathews: "After 2006 it's a great moment for us, it's a great achievement for the team. It started of pretty slowly but our bowlers did a brilliant job to pull them back to 220. Buttler was taking unfair starts so we gave him two warnings and after that I didn't know what to do to stop him from doing it. It's within the rules and in the spirit of cricket we gave him chances in this game and the last game."

Man of the Match is the Sri Lanka vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne for his excellent half-century which helped Sri Lanka home very comfortably in the end.

Man of the Series is Lasith Malinga for his excellence with the ball at the start of the innings and especially at the death.

Once again it's been nice to have a close match, this wasn't quite the thriller of Saturday but a contest that had some edge after the Makadding earlier on - more on that to come I'm sure. England were set on making Sri Lanka pay with three quick wickets but missed their chance to dismiss Mahela Jayawardene, he made a steady half-century and added almost a hundred with vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne, who went on to make his own fifty to steer the chase. Just when it was getting close, Angelo Mathews chanced his arm to good effect and the tourists go over the line to come back from 2-1 down to take the series.

Sri Lanka get home pretty comfortably in the end and win by six wickets to take the series 3-2. They've been the better side here, restricted England in the middle overs, bowled them out for a total just below par and then recovered nicely with a strong partnership in the chase and found a kick when they needed it to get over the line with 10 balls to spare.

48.2
4
Bopara to Mathews, FOUR, now this is short outside off and slapped past short third man
48.1
4
Bopara to Mathews, FOUR, absolute dirt from Bopara, back of a length sliding on the leg side and it's easily turned around the corner backward of square

Mathews has played a lovely hand here, acceleration at the right time to just push Sri Lanka along here, ridden his luck but fortune favours the brave and now Sri Lanka just need one hit, can Mathews provide it? Bopara to bowl...

END OF OVER:
48 | 9 Runs | SL: 214/4 (6 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 4.45, RRR: 3.00)

  • Angelo Mathews34 (32b)
  • Lahiru Thirimanne60 (101b)
  • Chris Jordan8-0-55-1
  • James Anderson10-1-33-1
47.6
1
Jordan to Mathews, 1 run, firm drive to just wide of mid-off for a sharp single
47.5
4
Jordan to Mathews, FOUR, short and slapped hard down to third man but it's wide of the fielder for a once-bounce four, once again, Mathews get the run of the ball with that just evading the fielder
47.4
1
Jordan to Thirimanne, 1 run, down the wicket this time but again Thirimanne manages to find third man, this time reaching for a drive and opening the face
47.3
1
Jordan to Mathews, 1 run, step to leg, Jordan follows him, Mathews able to angle it down to third man

Will Mathews try something here...

  • Fine-tuning for Sri Lanka to peak at World Cup

    Sri Lanka have the batting raw materials to launch a fine World Cup campaign but a little polishing may make a considerable difference in eight months' time

  • England must confront failings to improve

    There were some admirable aspects to England's cricket in this series but they are going to need to rethink their tactics for the World Cup

  • England should apologise for mankading, not SL

    An editorial in the Guardian says Sri Lanka's mankading of Jos Buttler was well within the rule books, and so it should be England who apologise for the incident, not the visitors

  • Emboldened Sri Lanka keep their cool

    It may have been tempting for Sri Lanka to hide Sachithra Senanayake in this match, in hope the furore would blow over. But emboldened by the added pressure instead, they made his role in the match more prominent

  • Jayawardene finds the gap

    Plays of the day from the fifth and final one-day international between England and Sri Lanka