Tillakaratne Dilshan marked his return to action after a broken thumb by winning the toss for Sri Lanka, and choosing to bowl first in the opening ODI against England at The Oval
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller28-Jun-2011 England 229 for 8 (Kieswetter 61, Morgan 45) beat Sri Lanka 121 (Anderson 4-18, Swann 3-18) by 110 runs – D/L
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCraig Kieswetter lifted England with a 56-ball 61, before James Anderson cut loose with the white ball•Getty Images
Alastair Cook’s personal contribution may have been modest in the extreme, but he will not care a jot about that, after England’s new era of ODI cricket was launched with a crushing 110-run victory over Sri Lanka at The Oval. James Anderson was the hero with a spell of three wickets in his first 17 balls, and 4 for 18 all told, as the same opponents who brought England’s World Cup campaign to a humiliating conclusion in Colombo three months ago were themselves rolled aside for 121 in a rain-affected encounter.As grudge matches go, this was not exactly a high-octane encounter. Long before a three-hour delay for a thunderstorm had reduced the contest to 32 overs a side, the peculiar comings and goings of Sanath Jayasuriya had reduced the contest to something of a circus. Nevertheless, for Anderson, there was personal atonement at stake. He had not even been selected for that ten-wicket trouncing at the World Cup, after succumbing to exhaustion towards the end of England’s winter odyssey. But under the Oval floodlights he demonstrated his qualities in an irresistible performance, which also included a brilliant leap at midwicket to give Jade Dernbach his maiden ODI wicket.All throughout the winter, one-day wickets proved hard for Anderson to come by – he managed 11 in 83 overs all told. So it was richly ironic that his first breakthrough of the evening came with one of the worst balls he’s bowled all year. Tillakaratne Dilshan, whose century in Colombo had helped condemn England to defeat, marked his return from a broken thumb with a flicked pull off a leg-side long-hop, and Tim Bresnan at fine leg hardly had to move to complete a simple dismissal.Smart stats
England’s run-rate of 7.15 in their score of 229 is their highest in the first innings in ODIs when they have made a 200-plus score.
Craig Kieswetter’s 61 is his third-highest score in ODIs and his first half-century against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s total of 121 is their second-lowest in ODIs against England surpassing the 99 made in Perth in 1999 (only innings when team has been bowled out).
James Anderson’s 4 for 18 is his tenth haul of four wickets or more and his second-best bowling performance in ODIs.
Sanath Jayasuriya fell for a score below ten for the 141st time in ODIs, the most for any player. He also holds the record for the most ducks in ODIs (34).
Sri Lanka’s total of 69 is fourth on the list of lowest scores at the fall of the eighth wicket overall and their worst such score since the 74 for 8 against Pakistan in Colombo in 2009.
The 52-run stand between Suraj Randiv and Lasith Malinga is the highest for the ninth wicket for Sri Lanka in ODIs against England surpassing the previous best of 46 between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dilhara Fernando in 2007. Malinga has also been involved in Sri Lanka’s highest ninth-wicket partnership in ODIs (132).
Bresnan, who was himself back in the team after recovering from a calf strain, had earlier helped England post a competitive target of 232 with four fours in consecutive legitimate deliveries. He then reduced Sri Lanka to 6 for 2 after ten balls, as Jayasuriya’s 445th and final ODI appearance ended with a rifled cut to Eoin Morgan in the gully. Anderson then trapped Mahela Jayawardene plumb lbw with a nipbacker, and three balls later, Sri Lanka had passed the point of no return at 15 for 4, as Kumar Sangakkara chipped a return catch to the same bowler.The remainder of the innings was a tactical saunter for Cook, who made his first bowling change in the ninth over as his fellow England captain Stuart Broad came into the attack (for another less-than-convincing spell, it has to be said). Dernbach then used the familiarity of his Surrey home ground and the placid match situation to help himself to impressive debut figures of 2 for 25, before Suraj Randiv and Lasith Malinga biffed a ninth-wicket stand of 52 to massage the final margin. At no stage, however, could Sri Lanka threaten a comeback, and Graeme Swann sealed the deal with three cheap wickets in five overs.All in all, it was a richly satisfying day for Captain Cook – his fourth victory in as many ODIs at the helm, after a 3-0 series win in Bangladesh last year. His intention of leading from the front had fallen a touch flat after Malinga strangled him down the leg-side for a three-ball 5, but at least he could say he had improved his career ODI strike-rate of 71.After being asked to bat first, England’s momentum was further thwarted when the heavens opened after seven overs, with their innings uninspiringly placed at 35 for 1. However, when they resumed with 18 overs shaved off their allocation, Craig Kieswetter produced his best England performance since the World Twenty20 final in May 2010. He raised his tempo from a cautious 13 from 23 balls at the break to an ambitious 61 from 56, before he took on the slog-sweep against Randiv and top-edged a simple chance to Suranga Lakmal at short third man.Jonathan Trott, England’s unsung hero from an erratic World Cup campaign, continued in his unflappable vein, picking off five fours with scarcely a shot in anger to reach 23 from 24 balls, while Kevin Pietersen looked in prime touch before slapping a first-ball long-hop from Jeevan Mendis to midwicket. But England’s other key contributor was Morgan, whose inventive repertoire was once again on show as he picked off a total of six fours in his 35-ball 45, before one lofted drive too many resulted in a simple catch for Thilina Kandamby at long-off.From 142 for 3 after 20 overs, England stuttered to 194 for 6 after 29, before a late volley of boundaries from Bresnan allowed them to finish with a flourish. In the end, however, it was not even close. That’s generally been the rule for limited-overs encounters between these two teams, but on this occasion, the tables were turned emphatically.