Alastair Cook returned from injury to become England’s most successful one-day captain as his unpredictable team were transformed from chumps to champs to take a 2-1 series lead against Sri Lanka.
Cook, who was a spectator of the collapse to 99 all out in the second match of the series in Durham on Sunday, relished the spectacular response of his bowlers as Sri Lanka were demolished for 67.
Chris Jordan, the Barbados-born 25-year-old making only his 11th appearance, led the way with career-best one-day figures of five for 29, the best by an England bowler in a limited-overs international at Old Trafford. Cook then shared an unbroken stand of 73 with Ian Bell in a 52-minute run chase to complete his 33rd win since succeeding Andrew Strauss as one-day captain in May 2011, overtaking the previous record held by Michael Vaughan.
“The lads came out firing, desperate to prove a point today, and we did that,” said Cook, who admitted to considering his position as one-day captain during the mauling that followed England’s Ashes whitewash in Australia but who now has a 100% record this summer following previous victories in Aberdeen and at The Oval.
“The way we performed at The Oval, to then perform like we did [in Durham] was really strange. But it doesn’t get any better than that. To bowl a good side out for 67 and knock them off without losing a wicket, it was the complete performance.”
Jordan praised Cook and the new management team of Peter Moores and Paul Farbrace for having England primed for the surprisingly early start, which seemed to catch the Sri Lankans cold after steady rain had fallen for much of the morning.
“It’s quite easy to be distracted but they worked well to keep us focused so that whenever we do cross that line we can give everything,” he said. “Cricket’s a funny game, isn’t it? After Durham we had a real good chat as a team, we were hurting, not just because we got beat but the manner in which we were beaten. We are a team in transition, so you can expect those days. I’m just thankful we were able to bounce back today and I guess that sends a message. We got on a roll and got a really good feeling. I’m enjoying every minute.”
Sri Lanka’s captain, Angelo Mathews, described his team’s flop to their third-lowest one-day total as “one of the worst games I’ve played, ever been a part of”.
He added: “You can’t really moan about the weather or the wicket. It’s just us to blame and, if we’re going to stay alive in the series, we’ve got to win the next game. Poor shot selection was the main reason we got so few runs. It was never a 67 wicket – there were no demons on it. It swung a little bit in the first seven to 10 overs but after that it wasn’t doing much. I’m disappointed with the whole batting line-up – including myself. There was no intention to hang in there and tough it out.”
England could climb back to second in the one-day rankings, above India and below only Australia, if they clinch the series by winning either at Lord’s on Saturday or at Edgbaston next Tuesday. They will do so without Alex Hales, the explosive Nottinghamshire opener who had been called into the squad as cover for Cook but has now been released to return to his county as England have retained the 14-man squad originally selected for the last two matches.
Matt Prior, meanwhile, who is running out of time to prove his recovery from an achilles problem to be considered for the first Test against Sri Lanka in a fortnight, has been withdrawn from the last day of Sussex’s rain-ruined County Championship match against Middlesex and will instead spend the time working with England’s wicketkeeping coach Bruce French.
The intention is for Prior to play in Sussex’s Twenty20 match against Glamorgan on Fridaynight and then in their Championship game starting at Hove on Sunday against a Nottinghamshire team who are likely to include Stuart Broad, who is also on the comeback trail.
