England set a target of just 186 runs to win by Sri Lanka as Chris Woakes’ bowling masterclass and three wickets from David Willey puts Eoin Morgan’s men firmly in control in the first of their three ODI series
- England are firm favourites to beat Sri Lanka after being set a target of just 186
- Sri Lanka were bowled out for 185 as Chris Woakes and David Willey starred
- Woakes took an impressive 4-18 and was backed up by Willey’s three wickets
- Kusal Perera offered some resistance, making 73 before he was removed
Chris Woakes starred with the ball as England rolled a weakened Sri Lanka side for 185 in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street.
Woakes, playing only his third international in over nine months, came to the fore with immaculate figures of four for 18 to leave his batsmen a straightforward chase.
The tourists’ travails were not a complete surprise, Sri Lanka having arrived at Emirates Riverside in apparent disarray, fresh from a 3-0 whitewash in the Twenty20 series and with three senior players dismissed from the camp for a late-night breach of team rules.
Chris Woakes starred with the ball as Sri Lanka were reduced to just 185 runs on Tuesday
With Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka all sent packing following their trip out in Durham, the Sri Lankan XI had a mix-and-match feel, with three debutants and an ad-hoc look to the batting order.
They were reliant on captain Kusal Perera, who opened the batting and kept his side afloat with a hard-fought 73. He shared a stand of 99 with the enterprising Wanindu Hasaranga, who responded to his promotion to number five with an entertaining 54.
That aside there was no real resistance as England bullied their way through the line-up.
Woakes was backed up by David Willey, who finished the innings with figures of 3-44
Perera was playing a different game to his team-mates in the 10-over powerplay, racing to 32 not out from just 16 balls while England took three for 15 at the other end.
Woakes got things moving in his initial burst, foxing Pathum Nissanka with a slow bouncer that flew straight up off the toe of the bat then taking the edge of Dasun Shanaka, a conspicuous outlier at number five.
In between his strikes David Willey made it a debut to forget for Charith Asalanka, who nicked to slip for a duck.
England’s hopes of running through the order were held up for more than 20 overs by Perera and Hasaranga. The skipper’s was a conventionally classy innings, while his young team-mate went after his fellow leg-spinner, taking 22 in boundaries off Adil Rashid.
Kusal Perera was the only batsman to offer some resistance, making 73 before he was removed
Woakes’ return was enough to disrupt their work, Hasaranga taking on a bumper but flapping to Liam Livingstone in the deep.
That was the start of a collapse worth seven wickets for 40 runs, as Sri Lanka were rounded up in 43.5 overs, Woakes completing his haul thanks to Dhananjaya Lakshan’s edge.
The big wicket of Perera went to Willey, who finished with three for 44, when an attempted pull fell foul of the long square boundaries and nestled in Sam Billings’ hands.
Moeen Ali popped up with one wicket and the innings ended with a direct hit run out for Billings.
Sri Lanka’s woeful innings was wrapped up when Sam Billings ran out Praveen Jayawickrama