England vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI Full Commentary

We are back for the chase. The umpires are out there in the middle, and so are the players of England. It will be the duo of Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis to open the innings for Sri Lanka. Gus Atkinson will get things underway with the ball. Let's go...

... The Run Chase ...

Cox's late carnage seals a mammoth total - Sri Lanka clawed their way back with a few strikes, but Jordan Cox ensured the innings finished with a bang. Cox shifted through the gears effortlessly, hammering 76 off 52 balls and combining with Jamie Overton's 21 for a whirlwind 68-run partnership. Despite Asitha Fernando striking at the death, England powered all the way to 355/7, leaving Sri Lanka a mountainous target of 356 to take the series decider. Can Sri Lanka come up with something special? We shall find out. Chase coming up shortly...

Banton and Brook take full control - The middle overs turned into a run feast as Banton joined forces with skipper Harry Brook to snatch the game away from the visitors. The pair dominated the bowling in a sparkling 150-run stand off just 117 balls. Brook looked fluent right from ball one, stroking a rapid 77, while Banton anchored the assault with a scintillating 126 packed with boundaries. By the time both departed, England were firmly cruising toward a massive score.

A shaky start - England’s decision to bat first in the series decider began on a shaky note when Dilshan Madushanka knocked over Ben Duckett for a duck in the second over. Sri Lanka had a golden chance to blow the contest wide open, but a dropped catch gave Joe Root an early lifeline. While Root had to work hard for his 18 off 37 deliveries before falling to Janith Liyanage, Tom Banton kept the scoring ticking with a brisk counter-attack that steadied the ship.

Liam Dawson walks in to face the last ball of the innings.

That's it for England's home season - Harry Brook lifts the ODI series trophy and goes on to celebrate with his teammates on the podium. Well then, it has been a long English summer, fueled by the additional heat wave this year, and we have seen plenty of action - county cricket, the T20 Blast, and The Hundred- to go along with a plethora of international fixtures, but it is now time to move on. Both England and Sri Lanka will now travel to Pakistan for an ODI Tri-series starting October 18. However, Sri Lanka have another contingent representing them in the ongoing Asian Games, and their next fixture is a Quarterfinal clash against Nepal on Tuesday, September 29, beginning at 12 am GMT. Also, before the tri-series, Sri Lanka will take on Pakistan in a three-match bilateral T20I series. So, there's plenty of action to look forward to, but for now, we take your leave. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. Take care and goodbye!

Now, the victorious captain of England - Harry Brook says that it was a near-perfect performance for the team and everyone chipped in. He reckons that there were a few tough periods, but the guys did well. He says that Cox played beautifully towards the end and that they need to adapt to the conditions. Further says that having many players in form is a good problem to have, as they have replacements for the players, and that is what builds a strong squad. He ends by saying that they are looking forward to their series with Pakistan, but for now, they will go home and rest.

A chat with Sri Lanka's skipper - Kusal Mendis says that they played a couple of good games, and today they struggled with the bat, and there was some poor fielding as well. He goes on to say that the middle order wasn't at it's best. On his own spilled catch, Kusal says that Dunith Wellalage bowled really well and that missed catch gave Harry Brook a chance to kick on. Goes on to end by saying that they travel to Pakistan next, and they need to learn from their mistakes.

Player of the Series - Will Jacks has been given the accolade for his brilliant all-round contribution. He scored 123 runs at an average of 61.5 and picked up 6 wickets at an economy of just 4.15. Jacks says that as soon as he had the surgery, he worked towards his recovery, and he is happy to be back. He adds that the pitches were spin-friendly, so it worked for him, but his role can be different for the series in Pakistan, and he will adapt to it. Ends by saying that with the World Cup coming up, they need to adapt to the conditions.

Player of the Match - For his maiden ODI ton (126 off 105 balls), Tom Banton has been given the award. Banton starts by saying that as a kid he dreamt of scoring a century for his country, and now achieving that in front of friends and family as well feels special. On his journey, he says that after breaking into the national team, he's had a few tough years and had to fight hard to come back. On Kevin Pietersen, he says that he's chatted a lot with him behind the scenes, and there's plenty of banter involved as well. On opening the batting, Banton says that he's happy to bat wherever he's asked to.

England's Men's ODI Player of the summer - Joe Root has been given the accolade for amassing 326 runs across the series against India and Sri Lanka. Root says that it's been a good series and they are moving in the right direction with the World Cup around the corner. He reckons that he loves where the team is heading and they are really confident. When asked about the contribution, he says that everyone stood up despite the injuries and ends by saying that they are really confident as a team, given the amount of series heading their way.

The Presentation ceremony...

Not the talking point we expected - After hammering 355 runs with the bat, England got a perfect start with the ball as Sonny Baker, another fringe player, picked up Pathum Nissanka in his first over. England then picked up a total of three wickets inside the first 10 overs despite some counterattack from Kusal Mendis. With the odds already against them, Pavan Rathnayake got run out in what turned out to be a very arguable decision, albeit a fair one in the end. Jofra Archer nailed a direct hit at the keeper's end, but Jordan Cox had clipped the bails before the throw hit the stumps. Rathnayake was well short, but the main talking point was the law behind the dismissal. Generally, the law states that when such an incident happens, the keeper needs to collect the ball and then uproot the stumps, but a subsection of that same law says that if there's a direct hit and even one of the stumps gets uprooted, then the decision will be out. From that dismissal onwards, England completely bossed the game, not that they were lagging behind before that, but the spinners then raced through the middle order. Jamie Overton also bowled a short but spicy spell, and it was Will Jacks who sealed the series with a brilliant catch from Joe Root to go along with it.

England's bench strength shines - With the bat, we saw two wonderful performances from Tom Banton and Jordan Cox, neither of whom are the first-choice players in their positions, and both of them were brilliant in the field as well. Then with the ball, Liam Dawson, who was playing his first game of this ODI series, picked up 3 wickets whilst being miserly. Overall, England will feel that this competition for places is exactly what they need a year before the next ODI World Cup.

Not good enough from Sri Lanka - The T20I series was a mess for the visitors, but the fight they showed in the 2nd ODI made everyone believe that they can go toe-to-toe with the best. However, this final ODI has been disappointing for the Lankans in so many ways. They conceded too many runs on what seemed like a tricky pitch to bat on, then were bowled out for 132 in just 29.1 overs.

The English summer ends with a bang - England have roared back to their best after that defeat in Leeds and have clinched this ODI series 2-1. This was also the last game of England's home season in 2026, and they have given a packed Oval crowd plenty to cheer about. It's been an up-and-down summer, but the latter half of it has been very fruitful for England, especially the white-ball side, and now white-ball coach Brendon McCullum can celebrate his birthday with much relief.

Will Jacks is back on.

Dilshan Madushanka is the last batter.