| Second one-day international, Edgbaston: |
| Sri Lanka 254-7 (50 overs): Tharanga 53*, Rashid 2-34 |
| England 255-0 (34.1 overs): Hales 133*, Roy 112* |
| England won by 10 wickets |
| Scorecard |
Alex Hales and Jason Roy both scored centuries as England swept aside Sri Lanka to win the second one-day international by 10 wickets.
The pair shared an England record ODI partnership as a target of 255 was chased with 95 balls to spare in front of a raucous Edgbaston crowd.
Some excellent fielding and bowling, particularly from Adil Rashid (2-34), had restricted Sri Lanka to 254-7.
After a thrilling tie on Tuesday, England lead the five-match series 1-0.
The home side also take an unassailable 13-3 lead in the inaugural ‘Super Series’, which sees points awarded across all three formats.
Sri Lanka, who posted an inadequate total on a superb batting surface, are still looking for their first victory over England on this tour.
Hales and Roy – record breakers
If Sri Lanka’s batsmen had earlier underperformed, then England’s opening pair made their bowling attack look utterly toothless.
Hales, on only six, offered a very difficult chance to wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis, standing up to the medium pace of Farveez Maharoof, but after that he Roy butchered the bowling with drives, cuts and heaves into the crowd.
Hales had already taken three sixes in the arc between straight and deep mid-wicket on the way to a third ODI century and then celebrated with three successive maximums over the leg side off the spin of Seekkuge Prasanna.
The Nottinghamshire man was then inexplicably dropped by Danushka Gunathilaka at point before Roy completed his century by belting Prasanna back over his head for the 10th and final maximum of the innings.
When Roy completed the rout by driving Prasanna for four, he had 112, Hales 133 and England had completed the highest chase to win an ODI by 10 wickets.
England excel in the field
Roy had earlier played his part in an England bowling and fielding effort that suffocated Sri Lanka.
After Liam Plunkett removed Gunathilaka and Mendis, Roy brilliantly ran out Kusal Perera by swooping at backward point, transferring the ball from left hand to right, turning and hitting the stumps direct.
Sri Lanka rebuilt through a stand of 82 between Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal until leg-spinner Rashid repeated his accuracy from the first ODI to have Mathews top-edge a sweep for 44.
That began a collapse of four wickets for 32 runs which saw Prasanna brilliantly caught by a diving David Willey off Rashid and Chandimal run out for 52 with Roy involved once more.
Only the late hitting of Upul Tharanga, who scored 53 not out in an unbroken stand of 63 with Suraj Randiv, got Sri Lanka to a score that was respectable, albeit nowhere near competitive.
The stats you need to know
- This is the sixth time England have won an ODI by 10 wickets, three of which have come against Sri Lanka
- The 256 shared by Alex Hales and Jason Roy is the highest for England for any wickets in an ODI, beating the 250 of Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott against Bangladesh on the same ground in 2010
- It is also the fifth highest ODI opening stand of all time
- Roy and Hales are only the third opening pair for England to share three century stands in ODIs
- This is the first time both England openers have hit two or more sixes in an ODI
- This is only the fifth time England have used three different spinners in an innings in a home ODI. The last time was in 2006
- Adil Rashid’s combined figures so far in this series are 20-0-70-2
‘Everything clicked’ – what they said
England batsman Jason Roy: “It was a lot of fun. We wanted to get off to a good start. The next thing you know, we’re across the line.
“It’s a great buzz, there’s a lot of love in there.”
England batsman Alex Hales: “We relish batting together. It’s a very special day and one we’ll remember for a long time.
“Tuesday was a kick up the backside for the top order. It was one of those days where everything clicked for both of us.”
England captain Eoin Morgan: “It was a good wicket and to restrict Sri Lanka to 254 was a good effort.
“Roy and Hales were phenomenal. They put on a clinic for everyone watching. It was a pleasure to be involved.”
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews: “Jason and Alex batted brilliantly. They took on the bowlers. Getting 250 runs without losing a wicket was a fantastic achievement. We just need to forget about this as soon as possible.”
And finally…
Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford turned heads with a protective device worn on his left forearm.
The self-designed piece of kit had a clear plastic circle at one end that Oxenford could use to cover his head or deflect the ball.
The innovation is the latest used by umpires in response to concerns over standing just over 22 yards away from batsmen striking the ball with immense power.
Oxenford’s countrymen Gerard Abood and John Ward have worn helmets when standing in domestic cricket, while umpires at the World Twenty20 were issued with helmets which they did not use.
[Source BBC]
