England v Sri Lanka, 2014

At Birmingham, June 3 (day/night). Sri Lanka won by six wickets. Toss: England.
The series decider descended into acrimony after Senanayake ran out Buttler at the non-striker's end for backing up too far. The incident took place in the 44th over of an England innings that had failed to ignite; Buttler was on 21, his Lord's feat fresh in the memory, and Edgbaston abuzz with expectation. So when Senanayake - whose action had been reported by the umpires after the game at Lord's - Mankaded Buttler, boos rang out. Umpire Michael Gough asked Mathews if he wished to uphold the appeal: he did. It was the cue for another navel-gazing debate about the spirit of cricket, in which the Sri Lankans expressed themselves with greater clarity than the English. Cook's anger seemed based on a nebulous notion of fair play. "For some reason, this is different," he said. But Mathews insisted: "He was taking starts, not only this game but in the last game as well. We gave him two warnings, and I don't know what else you can do to stop him doing that." Buttler's exit left England 199 for seven, another turgid batting display in which each of the top eight made double figures, but none surpassed Cook's one-paced 56 from 85 balls. Sri Lanka, by contrast, raced to 55 without loss inside eight overs, which allowed them some breathing space when three fell for seven. Half-centuries from Jayawardene and Thirimanne repaired the damage, and Mathews's 42 not out off 34 deliveries eased his side to a series victory with ten balls to spare. Cook let Mathews know his feelings as they shook hands, but England's anger would have been better directed at their own lacklustre performance.
Man of the Match: H. D. R. L. Thirimanne.