Root enjoys new sidekick Scrappy Doo

Some might stifle a grin and say it was appropriate that England won a one-day international that was spread over two days. After all, they do seem to need a little more time than most teams. Having an extra 20 hours or so to prepare for their run chase did not allow a slow pitch to become trickier in the batsmen's minds; the knowledge that no one had previously chased 240 at Palleleke was worn lightly.

Even the return of Sachithra Senanayake, who so troubled England earlier in the year and picked up two wickets in his opening spell, did not overly ruffle them. The turn extracted by Sri Lanka's spinners was infrequent and England fashioned two of their most substantial partnerships of the series to keep alive hopes of winning it.

As in Hambantota, England's previous win of the tour, Joe Root played a central role. Root has had a lot of responsibility thrust on him over the last few months but he carries the burden cheerfully, grinning at opposition bowlers and piling up runs with a certain gangling ease. His ukulele playing has been the talk of recent days but it is on the field where he remains most instrumental.

Having overcome a lean patch of one-day form with a century at Headingley to finish the English summer, Root is becoming a reliable bulwark at No. 4. His role in the middle-order is as a Graham Thorpe-like nudger and deflector, though he has a couple of bigger shots, in particular the slog-sweep that took him to three figures here. Whereas Thorpe could amass 82 caps steadily accumulating for the cause and never score a one-day hundred, Root has three this year alone.

His presence seems vital to the England ecosystem. He is now England's leading run-scorer for the series and has been involved in the four highest partnerships. The 104-run stand with James Taylor, which provided the foundation for victory, followed an association of 93 in the fourth match as the pair once again whirred Sri Lanka to distraction.

"He's very snappy between the wickets," Root said of Taylor. "He reminds me of Scrappy from Scooby-Doo ... he's always nagging at your heels. We have good fun out in the middle, have a nice laugh and a joke. There were some good songs playing in the background, so we were having a little singsong between overs, which kept us nice and relaxed."

"Our running between the wickets is something we do quite well together, and our boundary options came to us pretty easily. It was really great to be out there, with a smile on our face and having some fun. We'll take a lot of confidence from that into the rest of the series, which is going to be really exciting now."

Plenty of people have suggested England don't have a Scooby about one-day cricket in the modern age but Root and Taylor seem to have the requisite dynamism. The emphasis on enjoyment is also welcome, after a fraught 12 months for the English game in general.

"We've struggled to get over the line previously in one-day cricket," Root said. "To be there at the end is something we've spoken about a lot and it's really pleasing to be able to do that. I thought James played exceptionally well, alongside me, and so did Ravi.

"I think I've definitely improved throughout this year. From the Australia tour, where everything didn't go to plan, to come back from that ... I have a bit more clarity in what I needed to do and what my role in the side is now. I've got some great players around me, which takes a lot of pressure off."

At the close in Pallekele, with Root unbeaten on 104, his career average had ticked above 40 and his strike rate above 80, impressive figures for a 23-year-old who only made his debut last year. Having seen England home in Hambantota as well, he looks to be developing a sideline as a finisher - although a noticeably circumspect approach to his hundred was possibly behind Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan being dismissed trying to hurry things along.

That is a minor quibble after another mature display from mighty young Joe. He was the sixth member of England's current top seven to pass 50 in the series and it is only the flatlining form of Alastair Cook that has prevented encouragement from developing into genuine enthusiasm. They will still approach the World Cup gingerly if his run without a major score - it is nine innings since his last half-century - continues, no matter the progress elsewhere.

With this match running into a reserve day, and England putting on such an accomplished performance, there was an odd atmosphere in the ground. Few locals troubled to turn up twice and the travelling contingent of English fans had to contend with the fact there was not a licence to sell alcohol on Thursday. It was a day for a Root beer instead.