This was more emphatic even than anything England produced in the first two one-sided Tests. Sri Lanka, supposedly a stronger one-day side, were blown away last night on the ground where Eoin Morgan’s white-ball revolution began last year.
Edgbaston was where England smashed 408 against New Zealand to exorcise the demons of another dismal World Cup and this most atmospheric ground was where Sri Lanka were last night hammered by 10 wickets with fully 15.5 overs to spare in front of a capacity 23,000 crowd.
This, again, was men against boys, Alex Hales and Jason Roy combining for the highest partnership for England for any wicket in one-day history, beating the 250 made by Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott against Bangladesh in 2010 also at Edgbaston, and only their sixth win with all wickets intact in one-day cricket. Never before either has a target this size been chased down without loss in any one-day international.
Once upon a time a Sri Lankan score of 254 for seven might have tested England but the suspicion that it was at least 50 short of par in the modern high scoring world was emphatically confirmed by the flashing blades of Hales and Roy.
Both openers bludgeoned centuries, Hales hitting six sixes in his third one-day international hundred and finishing on 133 while Roy was not far behind in reaching his own three-figure mark with his fourth six on his return to form with an unbeaten 112
It was the first time both had reached three figures for England on home soil but Roy took the man of the match award for his additional two direct hit run outs. Almost as an aside, England have clinched the inaugural ‘super series,’ with points being awarded across all formats, with four games to spare.
Nothing summed up this second of five one-day internationals more than an over from leg-spinner Seekuge Prasanna that disappeared for 27 runs, Hales reaching his hundred with a second successive four and then smashing three successive sixes after roaring his approval at what he had done.
Sri Lanka looked like they had under-achieved when they scored 286 in the first international at Trent Bridge but England made a meal out of chasing it, eventually salvaging a last-ball tie after crashing to 82 for six.
Daily Mail
