England v Sri Lanka, 2014
Wisden's review of the second ODI, England v Sri Lanka, 2014
15-Apr-2015
At Chester-le-Street, May 25. Sri Lanka won by 157 runs. Toss: England.
This was a triumph for old-fashioned English virtues - but they all came from Sri Lanka. Displays of application under cloud cover from Dilshan (88 in 101 balls) and Sangakkara (40 in 67) were followed by some county-style wobble from Kulasekara, who exploited uncertain footwork to claim three for one in 11 balls. In the end, England - without the injured Cook - slumped to 99 all out and their heaviest home defeat. It had required a reverse sweep from Anderson to take them past their lowest one-day total: 86 against Australia at Old Trafford in 2001. Conditions helped the seamers throughout and, by the time Anderson removed Thirimanne in the ninth over, he had managed five scoring shots from 37 balls. Sri Lanka needed the experience of Dilshan and Sangakkara to build a platform. That allowed Priyanjan to play with some freedom, before Kulasekara got to work. Carberry and Bell were both caught behind and - after Malinga bowled Root - Ballance fell legbefore. As if stunned, England stayed on 29 for four for 20 balls. With only stand-in captain Morgan putting up any resistance, Senanayake improved his career-best figures for the second match running.
Man of the Match: T. M. Dilshan. Attendance: 9,002.
This was a triumph for old-fashioned English virtues - but they all came from Sri Lanka. Displays of application under cloud cover from Dilshan (88 in 101 balls) and Sangakkara (40 in 67) were followed by some county-style wobble from Kulasekara, who exploited uncertain footwork to claim three for one in 11 balls. In the end, England - without the injured Cook - slumped to 99 all out and their heaviest home defeat. It had required a reverse sweep from Anderson to take them past their lowest one-day total: 86 against Australia at Old Trafford in 2001. Conditions helped the seamers throughout and, by the time Anderson removed Thirimanne in the ninth over, he had managed five scoring shots from 37 balls. Sri Lanka needed the experience of Dilshan and Sangakkara to build a platform. That allowed Priyanjan to play with some freedom, before Kulasekara got to work. Carberry and Bell were both caught behind and - after Malinga bowled Root - Ballance fell legbefore. As if stunned, England stayed on 29 for four for 20 balls. With only stand-in captain Morgan putting up any resistance, Senanayake improved his career-best figures for the second match running.
Man of the Match: T. M. Dilshan. Attendance: 9,002.