England’s top and middle order batsmen pursued their game plan in an impeccable fashion to produce a thrilling win against Sri Lanka, bowled by Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes who held firm with their line which they could not break through.
Kamindu Mendis shone for the visitors with an impressive half-century before poor light ended play for the day. In this article, we will discuss the main points of England Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Match Scorecard.
England 276 (Jos Buttler 49 not out)
England took full advantage of a batting-friendly pitch and their opponents’ slow start by exploiting Buttler’s unbeaten 49 not out off 32 balls as their foundation, while other middle order batsmen dug deep to help England to a brilliant 276 all out total.
Edgbaston provided a balanced surface that accommodated both batsmen and bowlers, with early morning dew adding to its unpredictable character. England decided to bat first and were rewarded by an excellent opening partnership between Jos Buttler and Joe Root, who scored eight sixes during his innings.
Buttler had been under scrutiny as he battled injury and lost his spot to Eoin Morgan for much of last year. Although he did find a place back into the team during UAE series win, Buttler admitted that his performance wasn’t great and is looking forward to keeping things straightforward and playing to his strengths in 2019.
Buttler may not yet have earned his Test cap, but he is an experienced white ball player and adept at handling pressure. One of the most dynamic T20 batsmen, this Englishman proved against Sri Lanka that even without scoring a hundred-run innings he can still be destructive and be an offensive presence on the pitch.
After Buttler and Root made an impressive start, England struggled to find their rhythm. Samit Patel was caught at first slip off a delivery from Ravindra Jadeja while Ollie Pope was bowled by Atkinson’s short-pitched delivery that spun sharply before swinging away quickly.
Buttler provided the innings with stability, accelerating post-lunch to hit two fours and three sixes in his fourth over before eventually falling victim to Ravindra Jadeja’s quickfire spell, featuring two outstanding deliveries – particularly one that caught Buttler off guard – by spinning in and taking out his bat edge with its short pitch delivery that spun in with unexpected speed – one short pitched delivery by Jadeja that did this being one such superb example – just two deliveries were enough to do the trick for Buttler to finally fall. But Jadeja used two short pitched deliveries of his quickfire spell to finally dismiss Buttler when his second delivery spun in and hit Buttler off balance as it hit his bat edge and took buttler off guard as it happened with its short pitched delivery that took both sides by surprise as it took Buttler out completely off guard catching him off guard a short-pitched delivery by spinning in short pitch which caught Buttler off guard; his second delivery featured a short-pitched delivery which caught Buttler off guard and took him by surprise, caught Buttler off guard and buttler eventually dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja’s quick-fire spell which included two magnificent deliveries that bowled him off guard; both deliveries saw off By Ravindra Jadeja’s short pitched short pitch took edge off Buttler bat and took buttler off guard, taking edge from Buttler off guard short pitch delivery that came short pitch delivery by Jadeja with its delivery took edge and edge buttler off guard short pitched short pitch delivery took edge off bat edge buttler off guard against Jadeja out.
Buttler continued his impressive run as the innings progressed, reaching his half century off just 22 balls with another huge six. After sharing a 66-run stand with Zak Crawley and James Taylor he helped England post an impressive total. Other members of their batting line-up such as hard-hitter Ben Stokes and debutant Harry Brook also scored fifties; it was a fantastic effort by hosts England who look set to claim victory from this series; Buttler noted after their win: “One of the hardest parts about going through lean periods can be losing that sense of enjoyment from playing cricket – so it was nice contributing towards an England win!”
Sri Lanka 263 (Pathum Nissanka 127 not out)
At Kia Oval, it was always going to be tough going for England as they lost the fourth Test against Sri Lanka. A below-par performance on days two and three left them clinging onto hope at day four when Sri Lanka resumed on 94-1 with need of another 125 runs to win; but Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten 127 off 124 balls helped secure an eight-wicket win and give an impetus towards what had otherwise been a difficult tour.
After an inauspicious start, England gradually recovered thanks to Joe Root’s busy 42, Harry Brook’s majestic 56 and Jamie Smith’s intriguing 72 not out – which saw his score fluctuate ebb and flow before eventually making a fine boundary. Unfortunately due to poor shot selection and Ben Stokes’ absence they never managed to take commanding leads in this match.
Sri Lanka were gifted an early wicket when Dimuth Karunaratne fell victim to Josh Hull’s simple catch at short mid-on off spinner Shoaib Bashir; but their batsmen struggled against an probing attack, and ultimately their innings succumbed in the final session.
Nissanka did not shy away from hitting hard, which resulted in his aggressive approach being rewarded with an early fifty. But England’s bowlers led by Adil Rashid (3/50) and Chris Woakes (2-52) maintained pressure.
Sri Lanka had suffered a mini-collapse during their middle phase, as Dinesh Chandimal (33) and Angelo Mathews (28) fell successively to Woakes deliveries before Jofra Archer nicked Nissanka off Jofra Archer into wicketkeeper Chris Groote for one. Chris Groote swiftly removed Jofra Archer as captain, effectively ending any chance of an comeback by Sri Lanka.
Ollie Pope admitted the result was disappointing but was impressed with how Sri Lanka handled themselves under pressure and that they deserved to win, stressing how important it is to remain calm in difficult situations and play positive cricket. Ollie commended Pathum Nissanka who had scored an outstanding century and played very well throughout this series from Sri Lanka, adding that they will look to improve in future matches – specifically against India where Ollie believes Sri Lanka can make a comeback against them.
England 275 (Jos Buttler 49 not out)
Jos Buttler’s half-century was one of many highlights of England’s impressive innings. He displayed both attacking instincts and calculated risks to lead England towards a competitive total. Although early losses occurred, Buttler was supported by wicket-keeper Jos Cook’s aggressive batting style; taking nine catches and making an outstanding stumping to help recover from an unstable start for their side.
The pitch had some movement and weather was unpredictable, yet England batsmen remained in control. Buttler and Cook added a 75-run partnership that propelled England onto the front foot. While their openers took risks with their shots, they did not fall cheaply allowing lower order players to contribute effectively.
Buttler led England’s innings, hitting four sixes during his 76-ball knock. He looked determined to prove himself after an inconsistent summer and made a statement with an unbeaten 75 at Old Trafford that secured England a 2-0 series win against Pakistan.
England skipper Eoin Morgan reached his fifty with a sublime maximum, then added two sixes in quick succession before striking his fourth maximum to reach 100 off just 66 balls.
Jos Cook continued his impressive form, remaining unbeaten on 132, as England reached 261-5 at tea. While Cook has struggled in white ball cricket this year, his test performances demonstrate his capability of being an effective test player despite finding difficulty in finding his batting rhythm.
Umpire Tom Hutton made an unfortunate call by giving Buttler out for running off early before the bowler released the ball, however the MCC were keen to avoid penalising senior player by criticising on-field call or alleging Ashwin pause was intended to trick batsmen.
England’s bowlers performed superbly, with Chris Jordan taking two notable wickets – Aaron Finch caught at long-off by Liam Livingstone for 9 and Pat Cummins trapped lbw by Woakes for 12. Woakes later took an outstanding diving catch to dismiss Cook in the third over at mid-on.
Rain arrived just as the innings got underway, yet this did not interfere with its flow. James Anderson struck early when bowler Gus Atkinson sent in Joshua Da Silva off-side for two. Later in the innings, Saim Ayub was dismissed for golden duck by Atkinson to give England another opportunity. Later collapses by Pakistan meant they needed an ambitious target in order to win this match; However a late surge by Buttler saw them overcome their deficit and secure victory comfortably for England.
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