Right, that’s it from me. I’ve got to dash off for some lunch and then West Ham v Swansea. Thanks for your company. Cheerio!
Sri Lanka win by six wickets
Mathews flicks the ball to cow corner and Jordan can’t quite make the save. That takes Mathews to his 50 and Sri Lanka to a 3-1 lead in the series.
49.3 overs Again Mathews finds the fielder. Thirimanne just gets back in time after an aborted single. Another dot. Three needed from three.
49.2 overs Finn follows Mathews to the leg side and the captain can’t dig it out. Three needed from four.
49.1 overs Thirimanne launches over the top for a single. Three needed from five.
49th over: Sri Lanka 262-4 (Thirimanne 18, Mathews 47) four required from six balls Thirimanne again initially can’t lay bat on ball as Woakes steams in for his final over, but then he steps away and drills a drive wide of mid off for four. Another couple of singles follow and a third when a horrible skew somehow drops safe between three fielders in the infield. Two from the last mean it’s just four needed from the final over.
48th over: Sri Lanka 253-4 (Thirimanne 12, Mathews 44) 13 required from 12 balls Thirimanne plays and misses again outside off and there’s a huge and hugely optimistic appeal from Jordan as the No6 is slapped on the pads. It’s missing leg by a mile. Mathews then brilliantly thumps the bowler over short extra cover and away for four. Jordan finishes with figures of 10-0-35-2.
47th over: Sri Lanka 247-4 (Thirimanne 12, Mathews 39) 19 required from 18 balls Mathews celebrates the reprieve by rocking back and slapping Woakes through the covers for four. But Thirimanne plays and misses at the last and there’s just five from the over. Still, Sri Lanka will surely finish this off from here.
46th over: Sri Lanka 242-4 (Thirimanne 12, Mathews 34) 24 required from 24 balls Jordan wangs down an off-side wide and follows it up with a leg-side wide. Yuck. Mathews peppers Taylor at short extra-cover but can’t force the ball past the Notts man. After a dismal start this is actually a very decent over from Jordan … and he should have the Sri Lanka captain with the last but can only look on in fury as Hales fumbles the catch on the boundary. Double yuck.
Suspect Hales has dropped himself for the next game, after dropping Mathews to go with a golden duck and running out Moeen in Hambantota
— Alan R Gardner (@alanroderick) December 7, 2014
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45th over: Sri Lanka 238-4 (Thirimanne 11, Mathews 33) 28 required from 30 balls This is a pretty disastrous over from Finn. Thirmanne finally finds the boundary with a thunking pull that just beats the man at short midwicket. And he follows it up with a clever little loft to third man for a couple more. Then we get a wide, and a bouncer helped over his shoulder by Mathews for four more. Fifteen from the over.
44th over: Sri Lanka 223-4 (Thirimanne 4, Mathews 26) 43 required from 36 balls Jordan once more. Mathews has a huge hairy waft at one and gifts himself a stern ticking off as a result. He still can’t find the rope, though, and there’s just two from an excellent over.
43rd over: Sri Lanka 221-4 (Thirimanne 3, Mathews 25) 45 required from 42 balls Only two boundaries since the 28th over and the required rate has just crept above a run a ball for the first time. Sri Lanka are still overwhelming favourites but England have a sliver of hope. Finn’s eighth over goes for six in all.
4 - Kumar Sangakkara has become the 4th player after Tendulkar, Ganguly & Ponting to score 1,000+ ODI runs in a calendar year 6 times. Club.
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) December 7, 2014
42nd over: Sri Lanka 215-4 (Thirimanne 1, Mathews 22) 51 required from 48 balls That catch provoked stunned silence in the stands and there’s a hint of nervousness amongst the home support now. It was a terrific knock from Sangakarra, but that’s a key wicket just when England needed it. Thirimanne starts with a play-and-miss outside off but then gets off the mark with a quick single.
WICKET! Sangakkara c Woakes b Jordan 86 (Sri Lanka 214-4)
Ha! Fate, consider yourself tempted. Jordan’s knack for getting wickets with bad balls continues with Sanga pinging a short wide one outside off straight to the man on the cover boundary.
41st over: Sri Lanka 214-3 (Sangakkara 86, Mathews 22) 52 required from 54 balls Moeen Ali (9-0-38-1) comes on for his final over. Sangakkara skips down the track and isn’t a million miles away from holing out to Finn at mid on. Another lofted drive brings a couple more and this procession to victory continues.
40th over: Sri Lanka 208-3 (Sangakkara 82, Mathews 20) 58 required from 60 balls Good stuff from Woakes, who has Mathews pinned down. His last, though, is too short and too leggish for the umpire’s tastes. Still, just three from the over.
39th over: Sri Lanka 205-3 (Sangakkara 81, Mathews 19) Everyone out on the field is sweating buckets, so quite how the man or woman in the lion mascot costume is getting on is anyone’s guess. He/she/it was doing press ups a minute ago.
Finn keeps it tight – just four from the over.
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38th over: Sri Lanka 201-3 (Sangakkara 80, Mathews 16) Shot of the day from Sangakkara – he rocks backs and flicks an attempted bouncer high over Buttler’s head for four. Can you still be impudent at the age of 37?
37th over: Sri Lanka 195-3 (Sangakkara 75, Mathews 15) A tremendous bit of fielding down on the fine leg boundary from Chris Jordan prevents Mathews from picking up a boundary, and that’s followed up with a similarly fine piece of work from Bopara as Sangakkara cuts Finn away. Sri Lanka need 71 more from 78 balls.
36th over: Sri Lanka 188-3 (Sangakkara 71, Mathews 12) Woakes picks himself up, plucks the grass from his nostrils and gets the ball in his hand. But after one delivery he pulls up and calls for the physio. That incident on the boundary may have been more serious than it first appeared. He’s in serious pain as the doc prods and pokes at his knee. After a five-minute delay he’s back on his feet and charging in once more and it’s a good over, just three runs from it.
35th over: Sri Lanka 185-3 (Sangakkara 69, Mathews 11) Morgan tosses the ball to Steven Finn. He bangs one in at Mathews who just gets enough on it to beat the diving Buttler and send the ball to fine leg.
And we get a nice bit of slapstick boundary fielding from Woakes and Jordan who almost conspire to bumble the ball over the rope between them. Instead it’s kept to two and the only harm done is a Woakes faceplant into the turf.
34th over: Sri Lanka 177-3 (Sangakkara 66, Mathews 6) Jordan again. Single. Single. Single. Single. Single. Single.
33rd over: Sri Lanka 171-3 (Sangakkara 63, Mathews 3) Ali continues and the batsmen are happy just to see him out, picking up four singles as they do so.
32nd over: Sri Lanka 167-3 (Sangakkara 61, Mathews 1) Mathews is immediately up and running with a chop past point.
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WICKET! Jayawardene b Jordan 44 (Sri Lanka 166-3)
OOF! Where did that come from? Jordan offers Jayawardene a shortish wideish one, and the former Sri Lanka captain bottom edges onto his own stumps.
31st over: Sri Lanka 165-2 (Sangakkara 61, Jayawardene 44) Good stuff from Moeen Ali, but there’s no sense of an impending breakthrough. The spinner has gone through eight of his 10 now.
30th over: Sri Lanka 161-2 (Sangakkara 57, Jayawardene 43) Jordan rumbles in once more. Five utterly effortless runs from it.
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29th over: Sri Lanka 156-2 (Sangakkara 54, Jayawardene 42) On Sky Ian Ward points out that the England back-up bowling hasn’t been good enough on this tour. That’s true but surely the problem is that in this XI England have nothing but back-up bowling (and Steven Finn).
Ali replaces the hapless Stokes and the batsmen pick up a few singles.
28th over: Sri Lanka 151-2 (Sangakkara 51, Jayawardene 40) The ridiculous followed by the sublime. Root sends down a hideous wide that Buttler has to dive to stop, resulting in the keeper deflecting the ball into his particulars. Then a glorious lofted drive over the covers for four takes Sangakkara to his half-century.
27th over: Sri Lanka 140-2 (Sangakkara 44, Jayawardene 38) Stokes again with England beginning to run out of ideas. Sanga gives him the charge, so Stokes smartly bangs it in short and he’s rather harshly called for a wide. A horrible attempted slower ball is dragged wide and Jayawardene crouch-cuts for four of the simplest runs he’s picked up in his 4,253,653 ODI matches. The last delivery of a traumatic over is a half-volley so juicy it should come with a side salad and choice of sauces. Jayawardene creams it through the covers for four. You feel for Ben Stokes – there’s a sense he’s playing himself out of the World Cup squad on this tour.
26th over: Sri Lanka 127-2 (Sangakkara 42, Jayawardene 28) Now then. Root turns one onto Jayawardene’s pad and England opt to review after the umpire shakes his head. It’s just done too much, though, and was going on to miss leg. Hmph.
“Putting up our Christmas tree today,” writes Matt Fordham. “So we can watch Sanga and Mahela bat serenely on with the sound of the Pogues in the background. Just what a December Sunday should be about.” Ahh, lovely.
25th over: Sri Lanka 125-2 (Sangakkara 42, Jayawardene 27) Ben Stokes comes into the attack for the first time this morning. A couple of drives (Ocean Drives? Ach, that’s going to be in my head all day now) bring a couple of singles, there’s a slower-ball wide thrown in for good measure and a messy hotch-potch of an over comes to an end with eight runs added to the total.
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24th over: Sri Lanka 117-2 (Sangakkara 40, Jayawardene 22) Sangakkara spots the gap at extra cover and lofts Root away for four. If only there was something that could sum up the relaxed, gentle ease that this pair arebatting with …
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23rd over: Sri Lanka 110-2 (Sangakkara 35, Jayawardene 20) Bopara beats Jayawardene outside off, but then throws in a full toss which is swept forcefully away for four. Then the batsmen casually milk a few singles with the insouciant ease of a Sunday morning stroll.
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22nd over: Sri Lanka 103-2 (Sangakkara 34, Jayawardene 14) Root continues. Three singles. That is all.
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21st over: Sri Lanka 100-2 (Sangakkara 33, Jayawardene 11) Popular beat combo Bopara and the Variations start another set. Jayawardene biffs a single down the ground from the last to bring up the 100. They need 166 more from 29 overs – 5.72 an over the required rate.
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20th over: Sri Lanka 97-2 (Sangakkara 31, Jayawardene 9) England need to break this partnership or this game will just drift away from them. Three singles off Root’s over here.
“If Stokes is England’s seventh bowler, why not pick an extra batsman?” wonders Kevin Wilson. Why not pick James Tredwell is the other question. They’re trying to find the right balance between experimentation and picking a team to win the games, I guess.
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19th over: Sri Lanka 94-2 (Sangakkara 31, Jayawardene 8) Time for Ravi Bopara. Sangakkara feathers him to fine leg for four but otherwise it’s tight stuff from the allrounder (though that title hardly differentiates him from the rest of the bowling attack).
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18th over: Sri Lanka 88-2 (Sangakkara 26, Jayawardene 6) Joe Root comes into the attack for the first time today, with plenty of protection on the leg-side boundary. Jayawardene risks a lofted heave over midwicket and he’s pretty fortunate to see the ball drop just short of Woakes in the deep.
“When you consider that a top-notch ironing board should last a lifetime, with care, then £50 isn’t so much,” reckons John Starbuck. “Go for quality every time, I say. Which is why I’m so disappointed at the news of Cook’s captaincy confirmation - not that we expected anything else.
“Incidentally, not very many emails or tweets today. I know it’s a Sunday morning, an early match for England-based people and many OBO readers will still be tending to their hangovers, but even so….You’ll have to get well into shape for the World Cup, and publish the number of emails/tweets received and the number printed. The stattos must be fed, after all.”
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17th over: Sri Lanka 85-2 (Sangakkara 24, Jayawardene 6) I’m Sexy and I Know It blares out over the public address system as the players take a drink. Refreshed, Sangakkara dances down the track and carts Ali to cow corner for a couple then dabs a single round the corner.
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16th over: Sri Lanka 80-2 (Sangakkara 20, Jayawardene 5) Sensible accumulation from this pair as Jordan bends his back again. He’s doing a decent job of keeping the pressure on without offering any kind of threat – three from the over.
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15th over: Sri Lanka 77-2 (Sangakkara 18, Jayawardene 4) If this is all a little uninspiring this morning, it might be because I’m still reeling from the revelation that a friend of mine last week spent £50 on an ironing board. £50. On an ironing board. I mean really. Jayawardene gets off the mark with a glorious sweep for four, then gets lucky with a swish-and-miss that beats everybody and trundles away for four byes.
“Disappointed so far with Morgan,” writes Ben Timpson. “Where was the painful 13 of 30 balls? Opportunity for redemption post match though, can he ‘Take the positives’ as well as Cook?”
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WICKET! K Perera c Jordan b Ali 31 (Sri Lanka 69-2)
A big breakthrough for England! Ali finds some turn and the outside edge of Perera’s groping bat. Jordan takes a sharp catch and England are back in business.
14th over: Sri Lanka 69-1 (Sangakkara 18, K Perera 31) Sri Lanka are cruising this at the moment. Jordan strays to leg a couple of times, handing the batsmen a couple of straightforward risk-free singles.
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13th over: Sri Lanka 66-1 (Sangakkara 17, K Perera 29) Ali rattles through a quick one. Three singles from it.
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12th over: Sri Lanka 63-1 (Sangakkara 16, K Perera 27) Jordan enters the fray for the first time. The batsmen nudge and nurdle five singles.
6 - Tillakaratne Dilshan has become the sixth player to score 3,000+ runs and take 50+ wickets at home venues in ODIs. Scooped. #SLvENG
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) December 7, 2014
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11th over: Sri Lanka 58-1 (Sangakkara 14, K Perera 25) Ali beats Sangakkara with a cracker that grips-and-rips past the outside edge. Sanga bites back with a flat-batted chip over the covers for four, a shot so clever it gets most of the questions right when it watches University Challenge. Even the maths ones.
10th over: Sri Lanka 52-1 (Sangakkara 9, K Perera 24) Finn returns, having switched ends. Some nice pace-variation keeps the batsmen honest and an increasingly frazzled Perera has another couple of heaves – the first is pushed into the off side, but the second finally gets him the boundary he’s been craving.
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9th over: Sri Lanka 46-1 (Sangakkara 9, K Perera 19) Ali ties Perera down with four dots, and the frustrated opener is lucky to survive after losing his rag and trying to belt the fifth into the Indian Ocean. A horrible skew drops safe over the covers. He picks up two and adds just a single from the last.
8th over: Sri Lanka 43-1 (Sangakkara 9, K Perera 16) Woakes continues and drops too short at Sangakkara, who cuts thrillingly away for four. There really isn’t much more aesthetically pleasing sight in world cricket than an in-form Kumar Sangakkara.
7th over: Sri Lanka 39-1 (Sangakkara 5, K Perera 16) Moeen Ali comes into the attack. Tidy, if unremarkable, stuff.
6th over: Sri Lanka 35-1 (Sangakkara 4, K Perera 13) Perera drives for three, then Sangakkara gets off the mark with a little push so sweetly timed it should come with a health warning.
WICKET! Dilshan c Morgan b Woakes 16 (Sri Lanka 28-1)
Woakes makes the breakthrough. Dilshan looks to cart one into the leg side but can only skew the thing into the covers where the stand-in captain takes a droppable catch over his shoulder.
5th over: Sri Lanka 28-0 (Dilshan 16, K Perera 10) Funky field time. Jordan comes in to a sort of short/silly mid-on. It’s another tight over from Finn, until the final ball which sees Perera flat-bat one over mid off for four.
4th over: Sri Lanka 22-0 (Dilshan 15, K Perera 6) Perera whirls furiously at a Woakes short ball and, perhaps lucky for him, connects only with Colombo air. His partner looks in fine form again, though. A beautiful biff down the ground brings Dilshan four more, with a little help from some, ahem, average fielding from Moeen Ali.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 16-0 (Dilshan 10, K Perera 5) There isn’t much margin for error here for England. A few early wickets are crucial. There’s no wicket but this is a good over from Finn, fully stocked with good ol’ fashioned line and length. Just a leg bye from it.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 15-0 (Dilshan 10, K Perera 5) Chris Woakes at the other end. He offers Dilshan a hint of width and that’s all he needs, flaying the ball through the covers for four. Perera joins the party with a blast over the covers for four more.
1st over: Sri Lanka 5-0 (Dilshan 5, K Perera 0) So Steven Finn starts things off for England and their pace-dominated attack. Dilshan gets off the mark with a clubbing drive for four back down the ground off the third ball, but then misses out on a leg-stump full toss that he can only cuff straight to square leg for a single.
Hello everyone. Well, that was all rather underwhelming in the end. England are a good 20 runs short of what they would’ve been expecting at the mid-point of the innings. And cloud is building over the ground.
So, England achieve the very base of respectability, with a total that ought to have been much higher, that could’ve been much lower; you know the koo. And yet, that innings was curiously uplifting - James Taylor showed every inch of his class, and will surely retain his spot for the World Cup, while Morgan rediscovered his, and cemented his. Quite how the batting order rearranges, we’ll pretend we don’t know, but we all do know really. Unlucky, Halesy Alex.
Right, here’s John Ashdown to talk you through Sri Lanka’s leisurely pursuit - and, while we’re at it, great fightback from them, led by Mathews’ captaincy, which was supported by some brave, intelligent twirling.
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WICKET! Morgan c Sangakkara b Dilshan 62 (England 265 all out)
Slog sweep from Morgan, but he’s not middled it, and it’s orbited alpha centauri, returned to earth, and is then pouched easily by Sangakkara, halfway down the track.
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50th over: England 265-9 (Morgan 62, Finn 1) Credit to Mathews, he has osmium swingers. Dilshan will finish up, and his first ball is right in Morgan’s slot, clouted over midwicket for six. And the second one is too, hit straighter, but just as towering! Morgan is back! He tries to wallop the next one towards midwicket, almost hitting Finn and picking out the man, then carves over cover for a one bounce four. The penultimate delivery is edged behind square on the leg-side for two - that’s 18 off the over, with one still to go.
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49th over: England 247-9 (Morgan 45, Finn 1) Finn plays two dots, then a single to wide mid-on gives Morgan two shies; does he look for a boundary, or a single? He opts for the latter, giving himself the final over to try and do something, anything.
WICKET! Woakes c Thisal Perera b Ajantha Mendis 1 (England 245-9)
England have now lost six wickets for 75 runs; admirable, really. Jordan slaps a cut directly to point, and off he stalks.
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49th over: England 245-8 (Morgan 43, Jordan 1) So, here we go. England need what, twenty, to make Sri Lanka consider not batting in reverse order.
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48th over: England 245-8 (Morgan 43, Jordan 1) Jordan finagles his first ball to square-leg for one, then Morgan nudges over his shoulder for two. And the final ball, he properly collars, pulling to fine leg for four.
WICKET! Woakes b Herath 6 (England 238-8)
It’s really not entirely facile to completely understand quite what the attraction of Woakes is in this form of the game. And he’s really suspect against the slow stuff, in this instance, reclining on one knee to smite fresh air as the ball trundles by and spins away from his bat, into the stumps.
48th over: England 238-7 (Morgan 37, Woakes 6) We’re back to that good old English way of playing, keeping wickets in hand, to lose them later with inadequate runs on the board. Perhaps Root could’ve attacked sooner, getting Morgan in when there were still pace bowlers to be used, because they’re getting nowt from the slower ones. Herath is back on, and well.
47th over: England 237-7 (Morgan 36, Woakes 6) Woakes plays nicely past point for two, then bangs to long-on to get Morgan on strike. He finds square-leg, and they rush through for a single, and then they add four more; that’s it, eight from the over.
“The games we played (were forced to take part in by a mob) at school would have made Dave Whelan wince,” emails Ian Copestake. “One involved having one’s manhood tested by being dragged to a wall turned upside down and lifted by the legs until further elevation was prevented by the iron object jutting out of the wall.”
46th over: England 229-7 (Morgan 32, Woakes 2) Big stride from Morgan, down and then up to slam Dilshan high over midwicket for six. But otherwise, the over yields just three singles and a wide, and Sri Lanka will take that.
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WICKET! Stokes c Thisara Perera b Ajantha Mendis 6 England 219-7)
What looked like it might perhaps, possibly, be a decent total, is now struggling even to hint at being competitive. Stokes goes again, sweeping high and to midwicket, but it’s off the toe of the bat, and caught easily enough.
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45th over: England 219-6 (Morgan 25, Stokes 6) A wide from Ajantha relieves a modicum of pressure, and then another leg-side one is missed by Morgan, so Sangakkara whips off the bails and someone thinks we need to review, though his feet were planted on the earth’s core. Next, a low full toss, so Morgan clouts down the ground for four, then a single, then they sneak two from a fine edge down to the finest leg. And this is now a good over when Stokes pulls hard for four. And this is now not a good over, because:
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44th over: England 210-6 (Morgan 20, Stokes 2) Morgan tries a sweep and top-edges, but it’s Herath lolloping after it; as if he’s catching up. They run two, then three singles, and Stokes tries a sweep, taking one on the pad; there’s an appeal, but no turn, so clearly the ball was going down.
43rd over: England 205-6 (Morgan 16, Stokes 1) Stokes, and England, are under pressure here. We shall see, but we know.
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WICKET! Buttler c Jayawardene b Herath 15 (England 203-6)
The dangers of keeping wickets in hand for a big final push; superb captaincy and bowling can make that very tricky. Here, a straighter one catches Buttler, who, cognisant of the need to push on, plays a golf shot at it, hoisting an inside-edge to long-off.
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43rd over: England 203-5 (Morgan 15, Buttler 15) Excellent bowling from Sri Lanka here, giving England neither width nor pace.
42nd over: England 200-5 (Morgan 11, Buttler 13) After Morgan takes a single to cover, Dilshan delays a delivery - but Buttler’s wise to it, making room to force through the off-side on the back foot. The batsmen collide in midwicket, and, as you’d expect, it’s Buttler doing the apologising; that is not a fair game of bumper cars, as the game was called in our playground. Basically, it involved folding your arms and charging into people as fast as possible.
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41st over: England 197-5 (Morgan 11, Buttler 13) Here’s Herath, and here’s England managing only one from the over. Wicket or two now, and they’ve a real problem.
40th over: England 196-5 (Morgan 10, Buttler 13) Morgan shoves a single to cover, then Buttler to midwicket, then Morgan to long-on, then Buttler to midwicket, then a dot, then Morgan to long-on. He’s in now, and will be looking to get after it.
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39th over: England 191-5 (Morgan 7, Buttler 11) Single to Morgan, then two dots, then one tosses up wide in the crease. For which Buttler waits, in order that he might crack a monstrous maximum over long-off. Sangakkara, this does not amuse.
38th over: England 184-5 (Morgan 6, Buttler 5) Dilshan is trying to race through here, sneaking in balls before the batters have time to realise how many are gone. Buttler takes a single from the first ball, then three dots force Morgan to force things - he comes down the track and edges behind, so they run one.
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37th over: England 182-3 (Morgan 5, Buttler 4) Ajantha, who suddenly looks threatening, continues - and Buttler is circumspect. So, after three dots, he gives himself room and plays a kind of top-spin tennis shot down to the point boundary for two. Then, Mendis leaves one on leg-stump, of which Morgan is having none, sweeping hard to the fence.
36th over: England 175-5 (Morgan 1, Buttler 1) So, two new batsmen, but two destructive, mean berserkers. The crucial segment of the innings is coming right up.
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WICKET! Bopara b Dilshan 21 (England 173-5)
Mathews, and Dilshan, do it again. Forcing England to put onto the ball any pace that they want, Dilshan persuades one not to bother bouncing, and Bopara, who’s been dancing around the crease looking to mess with his length, instead looks silly. He misses, the bowler hits, and the powerplay strikes again.
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35th over: England 171-4 (Bopara 20, Morgan 0) So, Morgan it is. He faces a wide, and then defends the remaining two deliveries.
WICKET! Taylor c Kusal Perera b Ajantha Mendis 90 (England 170-4)
Taylor tries to force one over extra cover, doesn’t get hold of it, and the toe of his bat holds it up enough for Perera to scuttle round from cover to take an easy catch. What an innings, though, and what a shame he couldn’t reach an arbitrary base 10 landmark.
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35th over: England 170-3 (Taylor 89, Bopara 20) A one-armed drive from Taylor, past Ajantha Mendis, back into the attack, gets one. Then one to Bopara, and then the obvious.
34th over: England 168-3 (Taylor 89, Bopara 20) Giggle, snigger, snarf. Bopara dabs to mid on, off the batsmen set, Thisara Perera humps a throws miles over the keeper’s head, two further fielders converge on the boundary, one misses with a slide tackle, and that’s four overthrows, so five in total. That’s what you get for putting pressure on the fielders every time - well done England, and, in particular, Taylor, who’s brought a busyness that’s not always there. And England fiddle five more from the over - they’re nicely set to ruin everything in the powerplay, which they will now take, once Taylor’s had his lack of conditioning cramp ironed out.
33rd over: England 158-3 (Taylor 85, Bopara 14) Beefy reckons Morgan - he’s as desperate for him to succeed as we all are. Oh and what a shot this is from Taylor, coming down the pitch - !- to get down on one knee and sweep hard to the fence. This has been, is, an innings of proper skill.
32nd over: England 151-3 (Taylor 80, Bopara 12) 285 minimum, reckons Beefy, but England must be thinking 300+ now. This is a gentle over, though, just three from it; you wonder who England will send in next once they’ve lost a wicket in the powerplay.
31st over: England 148-3 (Taylor 80, Bopara 10) Dilshan returns and Taylor moves his feet into a single down to long-on - or to long-on, if we’re going tautology-free. Next, Bopara miscues a cut, top-edging, but safely, before rotating the strike through square-leg. Then, a single each, and then Taylor steps to leg to loft inside out over extra-cover for a one-bounce four. Lovely shot, an expert’s shot.
30th over: England 140-3 (Taylor 74, Bopara 8) Jeevan returns and returns well, three dots before Taylor bunts to mid-off, accelerating down the centre of the track. He seems to have wrist cramp, or wants to divert attention, so calls the physio and they take drinks. Then two to Bopara to finish the over.
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29th over: England 137-3 (Taylor 73, Bopara 6) I’d love to see Taylor take on Buttler at slapsies, because the wrist and handspeed is something else. The second Perera is fractionally short, he’s absolutely shmiced to the square-leg fence via pull. Clever management by England to save Taylor until now.
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28th over: England 131-3 (Taylor 68, Bopara 5) Talking of Finn’s knee, I wonder how Graeme Smith felt about all that, in the end. Hard man, hard competitor, but nice man, too - did he really think it was worth the fuss, when Finn’s career looked under threat? Four singles from the over, and Sri Lanka will be back feeling this; the gentle undulations of a 50-over innings are pleasant when enjoyed in and of themselves. The problem is that it’s hard to compare them to the profound nuances of Tests, and the shrieking of T20.
27th over: England 127-3 (Taylor 66, Bopara 3) Prasad has a real competitive bustle about him, and Bopara is glad of a single to cover when there’s a misfield. Then, another nashed single, Taylor caning down the middle of the track after he manages a shove to mid-on. Direct hit and he’s out, but it misses and he’s fine. Then, after another chase down the track, he’s given an official warning - next time, England will be penalised runs. This is Finn’s knee for batsmen.
26th over: England 123-3 (Taylor 64, Bopara 1) Another good change from Mathews, and Bopara - not Morgan - moseys out in typical style. He’s off the mark with one down into the covers.
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WICKET! Root b Herath 46 (England 122-3)
This one’s pushed through just quickly enough to be not there when Root, leg-side of it, goes cutting to off.
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26th over: England 122-2 (Taylor 64, Root 36) Herath is back - he’d be a shoe-in for Joy of Six: likeable sportsmen.
25th over: England 122-2 (Taylor 64, Root 36) Prasad dispenses verbals after Taylor jams the bat under a full, straight one, having initially looked to move his feet. Then, more words, after a false shot sends the ball behind, wide of Sangakkara - but a gold chain over his ear diminishes the menace somewhat. This prompts Root to make his way down the pitch for the purpose of calming his partner, who listens intently, then advances down the track anyway and edges for four, the ball missing his wicket by the width of a discarded toenail. Good over, but somehow, still six from it.
24th over: England 116-2 (Taylor 59, Root 35) Ajantha is back - and his form is so shifty that he played a domestic game between this ODI and the last one. Four singles from the over, and he’ll feel a little better - if nothing else, it’s one less to bowl when the sprint is on.
23rd over: England 112-2 (Taylor 57, Root 33) Single to Taylor, then Root misses with a whip to leg, taking one on the pad. Prasad likes it, no one else does, and on we move. And on England move, Root knocking down into the off-side and both batsmen set off, Dilshan aims, misses, and all of a sudden - well not all of a sudden really, but anyway, England will like the look of this.
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The ball passes underneath the bat, which then hits the ground - but it’s impossible to see whether there’s a bottom edge, certainly to be sure that there was one. Chances are there was not, and there’s no Hotspot, so not out is the verdict.
23rd over: England 110-2 (Taylor 56, Root 32) Mendis is thanked and invited to take a blow, and Prasad replaces him. Taylor takes two with a pull to midwicket, then two more to roughly the same place, via pull and flick respectively. Then, a yorker that Taylor misses, there’s an appeal, and the umpires decide to go upstairs!
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22nd over: England 106-2 (Taylor 52, Root 32) Taylor dabs into the off-side and runs like billy-o - Root responds, and that’s Taylor’s maiden international fifty. He’s really earned that - he looked like a hangover initially - but a few virtual fingers down the throat, Skips, a Lucozade and Marlboro Red, and look at him now, lifting another over his shoulder. He’ll be in the team next time, so it looks like two from Hales, Cook and Morgan - who must be considering promoting himself above Bopara, in next wicket down.
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21st over: England 101-2 (Taylor 49, Root 30) Root stands and delivers, picking Mendis’ googly and slog-sweeping with the spin over long-on - though only just. Then, he drives down there and they run one, allowing Taylor to hump over mid-on, who’s up inside the circle. He doesn’t middle it, but it’s still a one-bounce four, and the hundred comes up when, after a further single to Taylor, Root opens the face and they capitalise on a loose throw to run two. 14 off the over - England needed that, and these two are starting to move.
20th over: England 87-2 (Taylor 44, Root 21) Ajantha Mendis on for Herath, and Root earns one to long on, before a delicate paddle over his shoulder from Taylor brings up the fifty partnership with two down to fine leg. Then two singles, before, from the last ball, Taylor takes a step and a half down the pitch and zetzes one over long-off.
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19th over: England 76-2 (Taylor 35, Root 19) And that’s an excellent over from Mendis, J - an eventful maiden.
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And there’s a very clear under-edge! Not out!
19th over: England 76-2 (Taylor 35, Root 19) Taylor comes down the pitch, swipes to long-on, and starts motoring down the other end. But Root slips, and he has the presence of mind to dash back. Next ball, though, Taylor presses forwards, goes backwards, and misses his sweep; it hits his pad, and he’s given out! But he reviews! Confidently!
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18th over: England 76-2 (Taylor 35, Root 19) Root attempts a mow, manages a trim, and they run one off the toe-end of his bat, the ball squirting to leg. Then a hit-and-run from Taylor, straight to Ajantha Mendis - they have nee respect for his arm - and then a single apiece from balls three and four completes the scoring for the over.
17th over: England 73-2 (Taylor 33, Root 17) Root is now in a sunhat, just call him Richie Rootchardson, and after Taylor nudges a single to leg, so does he. Another quiet over - and perhaps the onus is on Root here, secure in his position, to force the issue, while Taylor cements his.
16th over: England 70-2 (Taylor 32, Root 16) Taylor drives down to long off for one, then Root eases to third man and they hare through for another - excellent running, from Taylor in particular. Then another single, and that’s another good over for Sri Lanka.
15th over: England 67-2 (Taylor 30, Root 15) Jeevan Mendis into the attack, and, after two singles from the first four balls, a full toss of which Root is having none, perfunctorily dismissing it through midwicket and down to the fence. Then, the next ball goes for two, and a decent over for Sri Lanka in now a decent one for England.
14th over: England 59-2 (Taylor 29, Root 8) Herath diddles Root with the first ball; he attempts a cut without anything resembling the necessary width and only just misses with his edge, then the ball only just misses his off-stump. He then earns a single, and Taylor misses a sweep - there’s a big appeal from Sangakkara in particular, not out is the verdict. And the final ball is a goodun too - Taylor has to be very quick with his sweep, which gets him two. Excellent over.
13th over: England 56-2 (Taylor 27, Root 7) A runrate of 4.35 is not really good enough, but it looks like these two are aiming to bat through, rather then get things moving. Sri Lanka are bowling well, but you imagine the better sides would expect one of their batsmen to force things. But, instead, Root nurdles a single into the off-side, and then Taylor whips two off his legs.
12th over: England 53-2 (Taylor 25, Root 6) Taylor - or “the diminutive Taylor”, as the writers’ code demands I call him - is in now, and looking confident. He makes room stepping to leg and eases a single into the off-side, matching Root’s efforts from Herath’s first ball. Then three more singles, making this a reasonable over.
11th over: England 48-2 (Taylor 23, Root 3)Mathews returns, and ,Taylor nudges a single through midwicket, then Root runs one down to third man, and that’s wa lot.
10th over: England 46-2 (Taylor 22, Root 2) Clever from Mathews - Dilshan’s done what he was meant to do, so off he goes, Herath in his stead. And his third ball is excellent, deceiving and squaring Taylor with a fuller length and spinning just enough - but it’s edged away from the pads. Good over, just two from it.
9th over: England 44-2 (Taylor 21, Root 1) Thisara Perera replaces Mathews - nice time to bowl, this - and Taylor cuts his first ball hard, over the head of Dilshan. But he doesn’t get all of it, and they can only run two, before one swings - a rarity with this ball, in this part of the world - so far that it’s wide. The next ball is wide too, though not a wide, and Taylor is narked to miss it, so he panels the next, only for Thirimanne to dive to his left at short cover, pouching it off the bounce. But Taylor’s not to be denied! He comes down the track and takes one from outside off stump, dispatching it high over midwicket for six, bat almost baseball-style, legs in the flamingo style! Shot! What a shot! And he’s in now, snapping onto a short one with intense speed and prejudice, pulling for four. 13 from the over.
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8th over: England 31-2 (Taylor 9, Root 1) England start their second rebuild - will they try and score, given the depth of their order, or revise their target total? Two off the over.
WICKET! Ali c Sangakkara b Dilshan 19 (England 29-2)
Immediately Moeen looks to get after Dilshan, heaving an almighty hoik at his second ball - one which spins away ever so slightly. He misses by a long way, looks ungainly, off go the bails, off he goes. Oh, and he was actually out caught first - he missed by a long way with the heaved hoik, but not with his edge. Any road up, huge wicket.
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8th over: England 29-1 (Ali 19, Taylor 8) Dilshan replaces Prasad, and, and, and!
7th over: England 29-1 (Ali 19, Taylor 8) On my way into the office, driving past the losers enjoying themselves, they were talking on the radio about school songs, so here’s mine - primary, secondary didn’t bother:
“Sinai is our school and we all have one aim, to work hard and reach perfection. We pray to Hashem every day of our lives, and ask for his help and protection. We strive for the top we’re keen to succeed, we study we work we learn and play, Sinai is our name, it fills us with pride - we try to be best in every way.”
Inspirational stuff, what? Feel free to send in yours.
Anyway, the batsmen take a single each, then Taylor pushes down the ground to Mendis and they chance his arm - he hits, but they’re through - and then Moeen drives through cover for one more.
6th over: England 25-1 (Ali 17, Taylor 6) Moeen’s timing is an amazing, beautiful thing, and he flicks the first ball of this over away through midwicket - they run two. The next ball is wide, and we learn from Nick Knight that Jayawardene has played more ODIs than this entire England side combined. Then, two dots and Moeen’s had enough, driving hard past mid-off - who was interested in a catch for the split-second before it rushed past him - and then another one, this time eased down into the ground and speeding through cover. Important over for England, that.
5th over: England 14-1 (Ali 7, Taylor 6) Single to Moeen to mid-off, and then Taylor drives to cover - it’s not a confident shot, bat under ball and causing it to loop, though not with enough power to carry. But the fielder misses it and they run three. Then, after a square drive for one from Moeen, Taylor snaps a square-cut hard, only for Dilshan to dive superbly at backward point to halt its progress, and the last ball beats him - but only when he decides to play, very late indeed. He’ll be ticking himself off for that one, because his edge was not far away at all.
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4th over: England 9-1 (Ali 5, Taylor 3) Prasad begins with three dots, then tucks Taylor up with one that comes back into him as he plays down the wrong line. It looks like it’s going down, and the verdict is not out; Prasad wants a review, but isn’t allowed one, and Hawkeye shows that it would’ve been umpire’s call. Then a beauty to finish the over, and that’s a valuable maiden.
3rd over: England 9-1 (Ali 5, Taylor 3) Mathews deceives Moeen with a slower one, but typically, it’s forgotten by the next ball, timed through the covers for a single - the second of the over, after Taylor runs down to third man. Another single off the last ball, adds a little colour to his cheeks, though he still looks a tad peaky. Good start for Sri Lanka.
2nd over: England 6-1 (Ali 4, Taylor 1) So, plenty of time for Taylor to build an innings - he looks as nervous as you’d think, even if Hales might have earned him at least one more chance. It’s hard to know what’s right here: you get a chance you need to take it, or you need a few uninterrupted games to feel comfortable. Certainly, from 1989 onwards, England were guilty of not backing those that they picked to the benefit of no one. One off the over - a leg-bye.
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WICKET! Hales c Jayawardene b Prasad 0 (England 5-1)
...but this one’s much fuller and straighter, Hales doesn’t move his feet, waves his bat, and guides to slip via edge. The cunning plan fails, and, I’m afraid, so too does Hales - that dismissal was as soft as a red velvet Mr Whippy made of silk. Here’s James Taylor!
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2nd over: England 4/0 (Ali 4, Hales 0) Dhamika Prasad will bowl from the other other end - you’d think that Hales will look to get after him, because, though he’s the quickest of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, he’s also the wildest. Oh, and there’s a wide...
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1st over: England 4-0 (Ali 4, Hales 0) Wonder if England have a total in mind, because last time they batted here, they ruined things. Anyway, a sedate start, well, for three balls, until a half-tracker that Moeen clumps over midwicket - his determination never to miss out on anything is remarkable, particularly for an Englishman, and makes a disappointing start an acceptable one.
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Angelo Matthews will open, and Moeen takes guard. There’s a chance of rain later, so it’s a good toss to win - this should be the best of the batting conditions.
So here come the batsmen - and take a look at England’s line-up!
England win the toss, and will bat. James Taylor is in for Alastair Cook - and not Ian Bell. For Sri Lanka, Jayawardene is back for Kandamby.
“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”
Preamble
“Peter, I have a cunning plan.”
“A cunning, subtle and executable one, Alastait?
“Yes Peter.”
“As cunning as a cunningly trapped deer, blue-sky thought into executing its own execution?”
“Yes Peter.”
“Shoot!”
“How about if I preside over a really slow over-rate, get banned, and then Morgan can captain, Hales can open, and Littlejames Taylor can come in as well.”
“Awesome! And then I can execute telling the press it’s a stroke of luck, to get it all executed and out the way before the World Cup!”
“Awesome!”
“Awesomediddly!”
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