8.45pm: Well, England may not sleep much easier tonight, as everyone scratches their heads and tries to work out what is going on, but the cricketers have done their bit. In fact, they put on a show of superiority that was almost as bewildering as the last 24 hours or so... Anyway, we'll put the politics and the cricket to bed, for now. George Dobell's report will give you the long and short of it and we'll back again for more on Sunday. From Miller and myself, it's goodnight and good luck. Ciao, bellas
8.35pm: Presentations, then... Phew. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews: "I thought 256 was below average on that wicket, unfortunately we kept losing wickets and the bowlers were not good enough to get them out, it was a brilliant partnership. Thought Chandimal batted well and Tharanga finished off but it wasn't enough, it's a quick turnaround so we have to forget about this. Thought the batters in Ireland batted brilliantly, these are wickets where you can play your shots so we have to give our bowlers a chance. The spinners didn't get anything out of it but Alex and Jason batted brilliantly. [Tharanga up the order?] We don't want to fiddle too much with the order but we'll go through our strategies and come up with a plan. My theory is to bat first and try and put the opposition under pressure. [Injuries] I got over it okay, not 100%, Dinesh is also struggling a bit but hopefully he pulls through for the next ODI."
England captain Eoin Morgan: "Certainly closer to our best in the field, with the ball we found ways to take wickets and apply pressure, I thought SL put in a good effort to get to 250 but Hales and Roy were sensational, they put on a show and it was an absolute pleasure to watch. There wasn't a lot on offer [for the bowlers], it held up a little bit but full credit to the bowlers, we were miserly and that brought errors. [Rashid] He's very versatile, he bowled earlier at Trent Bridge, we tried Moeen Ali first here and they bowl really well in tandem. Nothing needed to be said, we came off knowing the score was well within our reach, we didn't go about things well at Trent Bridge but this is how we want to bat. We spoke about it [top-order failure], didn't look into it to much and the guys have done their work individually. Hopefully the weather is set fair at Bristol and we'll strive for as good a performance."
Jason Roy is named Man of the Match for his hundred and two run-outs: "It was a bit of fun, we kept them to a good total and Hales and I just wanted to get out there and get us across the line. They bowled well in the first ten and we thought we had to make an effort to chase them down and it went well in the end. I'm enjoying my cricket, there's a lot of love in the dressing room and I'm stoked with the win. Take each day as it comes, game by game, but to get a hundred is huge contribution for myself. I was telling him to chill out a bit after those three sixes in a row but I'm happy for him too. He works hard, he's had an incredible summer and I'm happy to be up there with him. Looking forward to Sunday."
8.30pm: That was an utter shellacking, England strolling to victory with more than 15 overs remaining, both openers pocketing unbeaten hundreds (and individual high scores, too) during a record opening stand. By my maths, it also means England have won the Super Series, having opened up a 13-3 lead with four matches (three ODIs, one T20) to play. We wondered if Sri Lanka were light at halfway and it turns out they had barely produced a wafer-thin mint in setting a target of 255. This time, England managed not to make a meal of it.
So, three to win, England's cricketers about to salvage the day and cheer a nation... Perhaps
Here's Naresh Gupta U: "That's Roy's highest score in ODI cricket!" The records keep falling
END OF OVER:34 | 6 Runs | ENG: 252/0 (3 runs required from 16 overs, RR: 7.41, RRR: 0.18)
- Alex Hales133 (110b)
- Jason Roy108 (94b)
- Suraj Randiv8-0-62-0
- Seekkuge Prasanna8-0-74-0
So, can they complete the job and set a new record for a ten-wicket win?
"Rather than 'sixy' cricket, on this day, should it be Brexy cricket? By Jingo!" Bleurgh, David. You've almost succeeded in souring the mood
END OF OVER:33 | 11 Runs | ENG: 246/0 (9 runs required from 17 overs, RR: 7.45, RRR: 0.52)
- Jason Roy105 (92b)
- Alex Hales130 (106b)
- Seekkuge Prasanna8-0-74-0
- Suraj Randiv7-0-56-0
The field comes in, with Roy on 99