A snake of spectators made their way down the Harleyford Road with resignation in the air. Do not fret. Neither Eoin Morgan nor Trevor Bayliss have given notice to quit, as far as we know, and why should they after another smooth run chase, orchestrated by the irrepressible Jason Roy, which gave England victory by six wickets with 11 balls to spare? We confidently predict that both Morgan and Bayliss will be in situ in Cardiff on Saturday when the final one-day international with Sri Lanka takes place.
However, the punters themselves looked a little resigned before the game, clutching their anoraks grimly. The forecast was very gloomy. A long, wet, frustrating day was in prospect. Yet for the first time in what seems an eternity the outcome was rather better than expected. Despite a blanket of grey cloud over Kennington there was cricket to behold and much of it sparkled in the gloom.
Roy hit his second ODI century in five days, the second highest ever score (162) by an English player in this format and he did so without appearing to break sweat. There is usually a hint of disdain about his strokeplay: footwork is minimalist; he scampers between the wickets but only when that is absolutely essential and he possesses an ability to time the ball that is breathtaking. He strikes with great power but no violence. It seems that now he bats better for England than for his county, a handy characteristic (unless you are in Alec Stewart’s shoes). And he is comfortable in front of a crowd.
How he entertained them in the gloaming.
Afterwards Morgan praised “a magnificent, match-winning innings” by Roy and was in no mood to chastise his latest star for getting out near the close. “That’s not the way we go about things now,” the captain said. As for Roy, he had the breath to say: “What a day. An incredible win for the boys. That was incredibly special.”
The target was substantial but England cruised past it. The early loss of Moeen Ali, deputising at the top of the order for Alex Hales, who acquired a niggle in his back when fielding, merely allowed Joe Root to demonstrate that he is still in silky form even if his recent scores have been “mediocre”, as they say in Yorkshire. He struck the ball as cleanly as Roy when making 65 from 54 balls, whereupon he top-edged a sweep.
Morgan was less fluent and then gobsmacked when Dasun Shanaka, at backward point, hurled himself to his right to take a brilliant diving catch just as Joe Hart used to do. Roy was eventually bowled by Nuwan Pradeep with 27 runs still needed. Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler knocked them off without alarms.
The Sri Lankans lit up the first half of a batsman’s match. They played more freely than in earlier matches on an Oval surface that had strokemakers salivating. The departure of Kusal Perera, run out by a deft piece of fielding by Bairstow at cover, was no more than a passing inconvenience. With little margin for error for the bowlers, Danushka Gunathilika purred along but he was overshadowed by Kusal Mendis, the 21-year-old who has impressed over the last six weeks, whatever the colour of the ball being propelled in his direction.
When play was interrupted for more than two hours in the afternoon by fine drizzle the tourists were 127 for one from 18 overs. Neither Sri Lankan settled in again after the delay but Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews continued to torment England, both scoring with greater freedom and speed than in previous games. Their sixes off Moeen cleared the longest boundaries on the ground by a margin of 10 rows, while the uppercut over third man off Liam Plunkett by Chandimal was brilliantly improvised.
In a match now restricted to 42 overs Sri Lanka finished on 305 for five. Which for reasons far too difficult to explain (but we are obviously now accustomed to taking figures thrown in our direction at face value without questioning them too much), was somehow transformed into a victory target of 308 for England.
Adil Rashid snatched two wickets, both from mis-hits to mid-off, and he was England’s most economical bowler. At the Oval nine overs for 57 runs constituted economy. The rest gritted their teeth and carried on regardless; David Willey, with the wicketkeeper standing up, bowled two men around their legs while attempting to sweep, a rare source of success for opening bowlers until the 21st century.
