Sri Lanka complete emphatic victory over sub-par England at The Oval thanks to superb century from Pathum Nissanka
Updated 09/09/2024 at 14:04 GMT+1
England's men missed out on a double series sweep for their Test match summer as Sri Lanka secured victory in the two sides' third Test at The Oval. Following England's staggering collapse in the third innings, the visiting team had the chance to close out a famous win, and they did so in style to put a dampener on England's hitherto excellent summer.
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England's strong summer ended with a nasty bump as Sri Lanka completed an emphatic eight-wicket victory at The Oval on Monday morning, as opening batter Pathum Nissanka played a starring role with an unbeaten 127 in his side's fourth innings chase.
Led by interim captain Ollie Pope in Ben Stokes' injury-enforced absence, England won the first Test by five wickets and the second by 190 runs as they looked to complete a double series sweep.
But the wheels came off at The Oval following a staggering collapse in the second innings that set Sri Lanka a total of just 219.
A stellar bowling performance, led by Lahiru Kumara (4-21) and Vishwa Fernando (3-40), saw the tourists sense victory and they managed to chase the total down with relative ease, losing just two wickets.
That was in large part thanks to Nissanka, who went at over a run a ball and kept his cool despite a considerable test from the England bowlers.
He was supported at first by Kusal Mendis (39) and then Angelo Mathews (32 not out) as Sri Lanka secured a famous win.
'Captaincy has come with its challenges' - Pope
The defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for England, and Pope, after the Test started so well with the stand-in skipper having scored 154 in the first innings on his home ground.
However, he scored just seven in the second innings, with only four batters able to reach double-figures, and Jamie Smith's 67 the only real fightback in the innings.
Speaking to the BBC about his spell leading the team, Pope said: "Whenever Ben [Stokes] is ready it is all his.
"I have loved it. It has come with its challenges. I know there has been a lot of chat about my form and that has been enhanced by the fact I was captain. I have loved trying to take 20 wickets and it has been a massive honour.
"It's not the clean sweep we wanted but to get the series win is a very proud moment. I have loved every bit of it," he said.
Earlier in the summer, England had beaten the West Indies 3-0, winning the three Test matches by an innings and 114 runs, 241 runs and 10 wickets respectively.
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Joe Root scored his 34th Test century to set a new English record in the second match against Sri Lanka
Image credit: Getty Images
'Coldplay can't be number one every week'
Joe Root was named player of the series against Sri Lanka after hitting his 34th Test century in the second match to break Alastair Cook's record for the most hundreds by an England player.
He told the BBC that, despite an unwanted defeat to end the summer, they should be happy with their performances overall.
Root said: "Not so much this week but it has been a good summer. We have played some really cricket along the way. We have had new faces come into the team and some really exciting prospects off the back of that.
"We are constantly learning and evolving as a group and it is nice to contribute to that.
"I don't think we played our best cricket this week and that is going to happen from time to time. Coldplay can't be number one every week.
"We are not always going to get it right all of the time. For 90% of the summer we have. We have shown what a good team we can be when we play in that manner."
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That is the final bit of international red ball cricket for the summer but some of England's players will be involved in an eight-match white-ball series against Australia which starts next week and constitutes three T20Is and five ODIs.
The next Test cricket for England will come in a three-match series as part of a tour of Pakistan in the autumn.
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