Milestone man Root seals England double
WOAKES SETS STAGE FOR JOE TO SHINE IN 150TH ODI
IF the idea was to seal victory before it all began at Wembley, England missed out – wrapping up the win 29 minutes after kick-off in Euro 2020.
But in all other respects this was a job that went according to plan as England beat a poor Sri Lanka side by five wickets with 91 balls to spare in the opener of the three-match ODI series.
It was built on a sterling effort with the ball from Chris Woakes, who took 4-18 in
10 overs, and
Joe Root’s steady, unbeaten 79.
There was one wobble as England slipped to 80-4 chasing 186 – but Root snuffed out the danger. Woakes, who handed Root his cap on the occasion of his 150th ODI outing, said he was a “calming influence”.
“We didn’t need reminding he is a class act, very much a calming influence,” explained Woakes. “But even when we lost a cluster of wickets, he got close to 80 off almost a run a ball. He’s a world-class player.”
A Sri Lanka side missing Angelo Mathews and Avishka Fernando in the build up to the series already looked weak. And the swift repatriation of a trio of Covid-19 bubble busters – after Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka popped out for a night in Durham – left the squad threadbare. It took a 99-run stand between Kusal Perera (73) and Wanindu Hasaranga (54) to bolster a woeful batting effort as Sri Lanka limped to 185 all out in 42.3 overs. Woakes was the standout, extracting bounce and constantly varying his length. It was an innings – concluded with a superb direct hit of a run out racing in from mid-on by Sam Billings – that was well short of being competitive. More so once Jonny Bairstow set about knocking it off before the teamsheets even landed at Wembley. His 43 from 21 balls saw England race to 54 without loss before two wickets in two overs did for him and fellow opener Liam Livingstone.
England know what the latter is capable of but this was a missed opportunity for Livingstone, who might never get a better chance to show he is a realistic alternative to Jason Roy in both one-day formats.
Dushmantha Chameera claimed two of the first four wickets and should have had a third when Moeen Ali, left, was dropped first ball by captain and keeper Perera.
Instead, Root and Moeen put on a solid 91 for the fifth wicket that took them close before the latter chopped the ball onto his stumps.
Sam Curran then hit the winning runs in time for the cricketers to watch their football counterparts turn it on in the second half at Wembley.