England vs. Sri Lanka, 5th ODI: Highlights, Scorecard, Report
Sri Lanka held their nerve to win the fifth one-day international against England by six wickets at Edgbaston, claiming the series 3-2.
England chose to bat first after winning the toss, but lost their way after a steady start and were bowled out for a disappointing 219.
In response Sri Lanka wobbled early on, but Lahiru Thirimanne, Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews nursed the team slowly to the target.
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The win is set to boost Sri Lanka up to second in the ICC's ODI rankings when they are next updated, but will leave Alastair Cook's men with plenty to think about heading into their two upcoming Test matches.
| Batsman | Dismissal | Bowler | Runs | Mins | Balls |
| Cook | c Sangakkara | b Senanayake | 56 | 118 | 85 |
| Bell | c and b A Mendis | 37 | 59 | 42 | |
| Ballance | c and b Malinga | 10 | 19 | 15 | |
| Root | c Sangakkara | b Priyanjan | 10 | 16 | 11 |
| Morgan | c M Jayawardene | b Mathews | 17 | 28 | 27 |
| Bopara | b A Mendis | 17 | 37 | 30 | |
| Buttler | run out (Senanayake) | 21 | 55 | 24 | |
| Jordan | run out (K Perera) | 30 | 44 | 42 | |
| Tredwell | b Malinga | 0 | 5 | 5 | |
| Anderson | b Malinga | 5 | 14 | 7 | |
| Gurney | not out | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Extras | 1nb 12w 0b 3lb | 16 | |||
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | |
| N Kulasekara | 5.0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Malinga | 9.1 | 0 | 50 | 3 | |
| Senanayake | 10.0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
| A Mendis | 9.0 | 0 | 50 | 2 | |
| Dilshan | 5.0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Priyanjan | 4.0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |
| Mathews | 6.0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
England began in typically cautious fashion, Cook and Ian Bell putting together 76 for the first wicket. It was a confusing approach, however. They opted to take the batting powerplay early, and yet played it with almost no attacking intent. To make matters worse, they lost Bell to a simple caught-and-bowled to Ajantha Mendis from the final ball of the powerplay.
From there, England struggled to come to grips with the pace of the pitch. Cook top-scored with 56, though it took him 89 balls to compile it. Meanwhile, those around him got a series of starts, but none made a telling score.
The atmosphere of the match was charged when Sachithra Senanayake ran out Jos Buttler on his run-up. Buttler was repeatedly out of his crease, and the bowler had warned him once already in the innings before he made a formal appeal.
It clearly rankled England, but Buttler and his team could have little cause for complaint. In the meantime, the wickets continued to fall, and the innings came to a timid end.
| Batsman | Dismissal | Bowler | Runs | Mins | Balls |
| Dilshan | c Root | b Tredwell | 28 | 30 | 23 |
| K Perera | lbw | b Anderson | 19 | 48 | 29 |
| Sangakkara | c Jordan | b Tredwell | 2 | 8 | 13 |
| M Jayawardene | c Anderson | b Jordan | 53 | 111 | 90 |
| Thirimanne | not out | 60 | 155 | 101 | |
| Mathews | not out | 42 | 49 | 34 | |
| Extras | 0nb 12w 0b 6lb | 18 | |||
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | |
| Anderson | 10.0 | 1 | 33 | 1 | |
| Gurney | 10.0 | 1 | 46 | 0 | |
| Jordan | 8.0 | 0 | 55 | 1 | |
| Tredwell | 10.0 | 2 | 30 | 2 | |
| Root | 6.0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| Bopara | 4.2 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
Sri Lanka began brightly when they came to chase, with Tillakaratne Dilshan scoring freely en route to 28. But his departure sparked a wobble, with Kusal Perera and Kumar Sangakkara following cheaply as James Anderson and James Tredwell turned the screw.
Jayawardene and Thirimanne were left to rebuild, and they slowly but surely did.
The duo leant on their experience, with Thirimanne scoring at a gentle pace but rotating the strike with a series of nurdles.
Chris Jordan collected the wicket of Jayawardene to give England half a chance, but with the required run rate manageable and finisher Mathews fresh to the crease, Sri Lanka remained in total control, getting over the line with 10 balls to spare.
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