The England and Sri Lanka men’s sides have been playing a T20I series. The third and final match is in progress as I type, and it is an indication of the way things are going that I am already calling it a 3-0 series sweep for England, even with 14 overs left in the match.
MATCH ONE ON TUESDAY
Sri Lanka won the toss and inserted England. That was the only thing that went right for them all evening. England piled up 254 from their 20 overs, Harry Brook helping himself to a century. Faced with a total like that Sri Lanka were unlikely to get anywhere close, and in the end the margin was 119 runs. Sonny Baker distinguished himself by taking 3-12 from his four overs.
MATCH TWO ON THURSDAY
England won the toss and put Sri Lanka in. There were moments when Sri Lanka looked capable of posting a respectable total, but the second half of their innings was a sad tale, going from a relative high of 84-1 at half distance to an inadequate 145-9 at the end of the 20th over. England knocked off this target with almost eight overs to spare to settle the series with a match to spare.
MATCH THREE TODAY
England won the toss and again chose to bat, and it was deja vu. Sri Lanka reached 83-3 at the high water mark of their innings, but once again floundered badly in the closing stages. On this occasion they were all out for 124 with seven balls left unused. Wanindu Hasaranga suffered a bizarre dismissal, dislodging a bail with the toe end of his bat while facing Jofra Archer. Kamindu Mendis played the best innings for Sri Lanka, but it ended horribly when he ignored the fact that Old Trafford is wider than it is long and took on a pull against Archer, succeeding only in sending the ball directly to Jacks, carefully positioned a good few yards in from the boundary for this precise eventuality. Harry Brook and Jos Buttler are enjoying themselves at the moment, and already, with over 12 overs still available, England need less than 30 more to win. The hapless Madushanka has just given away five wides to move England past 100. It was his fourth separate infraction of the over to boot. With 23 now needed I suspect that the usual mid-innings drinks break will be superfluous. The previous sentence was prophetic – England reached the target in just 9.4 overs to seal the 3-0 sweep.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
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