11th over: England 87-0 (Banton 35, Duckett 47) Asitha Fernando continues with four men outside the ring, goes short … and Banton’s pull shot falls short of Dunith Wellalage at deep backward square.

10th over: England 82-0 (Banton 33, Duckett 45) Oh, that is so sweet from Duckett, loud off the bat: he crunches Malinga through the covers. Banton’s racing too, but Duckett looks in real good order here. And just as I type that, Malinga whizzes one past the outside edge, a fine delivery. It’s England’s powerplay though.

9th over: England 77-0 (Banton 33, Duckett 39) Asitha Fernando is back and tighter this time when bowling to Duckett. The ball pings off Banton’s bat at the end of the over, but it finds cover. It’s a rarity: an over without a boundary.

8th over: England 75-0 (Banton 32, Duckett 38) Eshan Malinga is next up, nabbing a thickish edge from Banton … that runs away for four. A few dots follow – but Duckett pulls the final delivery for another boundary. That’s 13 so far.

7th over: England 66-0 (Banton 27, Duckett 34) Asalanka’s offies are probably best described as tidy, but his tight start is undone by a wide one outside off, driven by Duckett for yet another boundary. A cut to the ropes follows and Kusal Mendis has got a few problems here. Who does he turn to next?

6th over: England 57-0 (Banton 26, Duckett 26) Madushanka is kept on by Kusal Mendis, but the left-armer’s woes continue, starting with a leg-side wide. A half-volley is driven elegantly by Duckett for four and that’s the 50 stand, taking just 5.2 overs.

5th over: England 48-0 (Banton 25, Duckett 19) Charith Asalanka is on to save Sri Lanka with his offies … and he races through his over, conceding three singles.

4th over: England 45-0 (Banton 24, Duckett 17) Way too wide from Madushanka and Banton collects another boundary. This has been a miserable start from Sri Lanka. Michael Atherton sounds exasperated with just how wayward they’ve been. Banton closes the over with a nice dab to third for his fifth four.

3rd over: England 32-0 (Banton 12, Duckett 17) Short, wide and Duckett cuts Fernando for four. This is really loose from Sri Lanka as Fernando continues to give the left-hander width. The quick switches to around the wicket … and Duckett slaps the ball behind point for four more. Fernando goes straight – and Duckett welcomes the fuller length, driving straight to the ropes. Fernando’s gone for 23 from his first two overs.

2nd over: England 15-0 (Banton 12, Duckett 1) Dilshan Madushanka is on from the other end and he needs to sort out his line. He goes too straight to Duckett, who clips for one, and he’s too wide to Banton, who cuts for four. The ball then finds Banton’s pads, and the Somerset man whips away for his third boundary.

1st over: England 6-0 (Banton 4, Duckett 0) Fernando begins … with a loose leg-side wide. He quickly finds his line, getting movement away from the right-hander, and there’s a slip in place, waiting for an early mistake. A no-ball grants Banton a free hit … and he whips away a low full toss for four.

Here we go. Tom Banton’s on strike, trying to make his case as an opener. Asitha Fernando has the ball.

Hello, hello, hello. Courtesy of Rob, here are some useful numbers. From 2015 to 2021 (the glory years under Eoin Morgan), England successfully chased down 11 totals above 300 in ODIs. In the last five years they’ve done it … twice. Against West Indies in 2024 and 2025.

That’s all from me. Taha Hashim will be with you for the run-chase. Bye!

50th over: Sri Lanka 321-6 (Wellalage 16, Colombage 3) Colombage is dropped by Buttler off Overton, a sharp one-handed chance after a big deflection. Wellalage splashes another mishit shot that lands in front of Jacks, running back from mid-off. How the actual hell has Jamie Overton not taken a wicket today?

When the book is written on the 100 Best ODI Nought-Fors, this spell from Overton will be in it. No wicket at the death, so he’ll have to be content with a boundaryless final over and figures of 10-0-63-0.

49th over: Sri Lanka 315-6 (Wellalage 12, Colombage 2) Archer’s final over is really good – four singles and a wicket. He bowled better than figures of 10-0-68-1 might suggest.

48th over: Sri Lanka 311-5 (Liyanage 32, Wellalage 10) Liyanage picks a slower ball from Overton and creams it over mid-off for four to bring up the 300. Wellalage joins the funwith a top-edged scoop over the keeper’s head for his first boundary. Another top edge somehow lands short of the man running in from mid-off, a continuation of Overton’s almost perverse misfortune.

Two overs remaining. Sri Lanka are on course to beat their highest ODI score against England in this country. That was also on this ground in 2006, when they made 324 for 2. In 37.3 overs. Imagine Duncan Fletcher’s internal monologue as this was unfolding.

47th over: Sri Lanka 299-5 (Liyanage 27, Wellalage 4) Liyanage stands tall to slap a slower ball from Archer behind square for four. It’s been a frustrating day for Jofra, who has conceded 64 from nine, but he does well to keep Sri Lanka quiet towards the back end of the over.

46th over: Sri Lanka 290-5 (Liyanage 19, Wellalage 3) Jamie Overton, on for Rehan, bowls a superb over that costs only five. Liyanage was beaten by a sizzling yorker that just missed the leg stump.

Overton’s figures of 8-0-47-0 are mildly scandalous; he’s probably been England’s best bowler.

45th over: Sri Lanka 285-5 (Liyanage 16, Wellalage 1) Dunith Wellalage, who landed a few lusty blows at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, is the new batter.

44th over: Sri Lanka 276-4 (Rathnayake 44, Liyanage 14) Rehan does indeed continue. Liyanage heaves an inelegant reverse sweep over Archer at short third, with the ball running down the slope for four. The usual ones and twos make it a decent over; nine from it.

Sri Lanka would love ten an over from here; that would take them to 336.

43rd over: Sri Lanka 267-4 (Rathnayake 40, Liyanage 9) Jofra Archer makes an expensive return to the attack. Rathnayake back cuts expertly for four; Liyanage trumps that shot with a deft uppercut over the keeper’s head. After a peedie wobble, Sri Lanka are back on course for a 300+ score.

42nd over: Sri Lanka 256-4 (Rathnayake 34, Liyanage 4) Rehan Ahmed continues to stall Sri Lanka with an over that contains two dots and four singles. It’s not without risk, because Sri Lanka will go after him sooner rather than later, but Brook will probably give him at least one more over.

41st over: Sri Lanka 252-4 (Rathnayake 32, Liyanage 2) Rathnayeke slugs Atkinson for six over wide long-on – that shot was vaguely reminiscent of MS Dhoni’s immortal World Cup-winner in 2011 – before pulling four behind square. Sri Lanka needed a big over; 15 runs constitutes a big over.

40th over: Sri Lanka 237-4 (Rathnayake 18, Liyanage 1) Rehan’s second spell has been superb: 4-0-16-2, figures that are even more impressive when you consider he was reintroduced with Sri Lanka on 206-2 from 33 overs.

39th over: Sri Lanka 236-3 (Rathnayake 18, Asalanka 11) Jacks is hooked after one over. Atkinson replaces him and is clattered through midwicket for four by Asalanka. It’s not a bad over for England despite that boundary, with six coming from it. Dot balls have been a problem for Sri Lanka in this innings.

38th over: Sri Lanka 230-3 (Rathnayake 17, Asalanka 6) Good stuff from Rehan Ahmed – he was hit for four, a cracking shot, but conceded only one from the other five deliveries.

Asalanka is not out Outside the line, next. England still have one review left.

England review for LBW! Asalanka skips down to drive Rehan over extra cover for four. Fine shot, not much wrong with the delivery. Rehan’s second spell has been noticeably more accurate than the first. He has a muted LBW appeal turned down when Asalanka misses a sweep and is hit on the chest. Hang on, Brook fancies a review.

37th over: Sri Lanka 225-3 (Rathnayake 16, Asalanka 2) The wicket is England’s cue to squeeze in another over of spin. Will Jacks does the job well by conceding a couple of runs.

36th over: Sri Lanka 223-3 (Rathnayake 15, Asalanka 1)

35th over: Sri Lanka 217-2 (Kusal Mendis 119, Rathnayake 12) Kusal Mendis walks across to a curving yorker from Overton that is homing in on middle stump until the off-balance Kusal deflects it for four. Brilliant hands from Kusal, and maybe a bit of fortune.

Between 2015 and 2021, Eoin Morgan’s England successfully chased a target of 300 or more on 11 occasions. Since Morgan’s retirement it has happened only twice, both against West Indies, so this will be a test no matter how good the pitch.

34th over: Sri Lanka 210-2 (Kusal Mendis 114, Rathnayake 10) Harry Brook gambles by reintroducing Rehan Ahmed, whose first two overs were bullied for 19. His third is better, with no freebies and only four singles conceded.

33rd over: Sri Lanka 206-2 (Kusal Mendis 112, Rathnayake 8) Overton concedes three singles from his sixth over. Ignore the figures of 6-0-35-0: he has bowled with aggression, skill, variety – and no luck whatsoever.

“Hi Rob,” writes Brian Withington. “Whilst despising the way VAR has been implemented in Premier League football (and genuinely loving my team escaping it by the handy expedient of getting relegated, it must be said that DRS has mostly been a godsend in international cricket.”

Yep. I suspect it’s as much about the culture as the implementation, but either way it has worked brilliantly.

32nd over: Sri Lanka 203-2 (Kusal Mendis 110, Rathnayake 7) Six runs from Atkinson’s over, during which Sri Lanka bring up the 200 with plenty of overs in the tank.

This is a decent test of England’s emerging ODI side. They haven’t bowled terribly – Overton has been excellent, Archer and Atkinson pretty good; Tongue and the spinners have struggled. Time for drinks.

31st over: Sri Lanka 197-2 (Kusal Mendis 107, Rathnayake 4) Kusal ends the over with a deliberate uppercut for four. In substance, style and especially intent, this has been a gem of a captain’s innings.

Kusal Mendis reviewed straight away, so maybe he knows he didn’t nick what was a very good ball from Jamie Overton.

REVIEW! Kusal Mendis given out on 99

30th over: Sri Lanka 188-2 (Kusal Mendis 99, Rathnayake 3) A couple of singles takes Kusal Mendis to within one run of his seventh ODI century.

29th over: Sri Lanka 182-1 (Kamindu Mendis 54, Kusal Mendis 97) Kusal Mendis gets a leading edge off that Tongue that goes behind square, beats the two fielderso n the edge of the circle and runs away to the boundary. A steer/edge for four and a quick single take him to 97. A century would be richly deserved.

28th over: Sri Lanka 172-1 (Kamindu Mendis 53, Kusal Mendis 88) Gus Atkinson, who dropped a simple chance when Kusal Mendis was on 17, is given the chance to make amends with the ball.

Kusal glides Atkinson’s first ball behind square for three. Later in the over he charges down the track and is beaten.

27th over: Sri Lanka 166-1 (Kamindu Mendis 52, Kusal Mendis 84) A much better over from Tongue – no boundaries, four from it.

In other news, there’s a bison on the loose in Durban

26th over: Sri Lanka 162-1 (Kamindu Mendis 51, Kusal Mendis 82) Sri Lanka continue to play low-risk cricket against Archer, knowing they can cash in at the other end. It’s weird to see Archer with figures of 6-0-35-0 because five of those overs have been excellent. (The other one, his third, went for 17.)

25th over: Sri Lanka 159-1 (Kamindu Mendis 50, Kusal Mendis 80) Tongue replaces Overton and is pongoed for back-to-back boundaries by Kusal Mendis. There’s no time to describe them because he has just lashed Tongue over long on for six more! This is pulsating stuff.

An overpitched slower ball is scrunched past extra cover for another boundary, and Kusal keeps the strike with a cheeky single that makes it 19 from the over.

Kusal Mendis scored 29 from his first 34 balls; he’s belted 51 from the last 27.

22nd over: Sri Lanka 123-1 (Kamindu Mendis 49, Kusal Mendis 46) England need a wicket, so Harry Brook turns to Jofra Archer in place of Rehan Ahmed (2-0-19-0). Sri Lanka know what Brook is up to and treat Archer with respect; four singles and a wide are the result.

“You are undoubtedly the crème de la crème of cricket commentators, but eighteen out of twenty is exactly nine out of ten,” writes Bob from Boston. “Or do I miss the joke?”

You do miss the joke, and what a juvenile one it was. (We may also need to talk about your definition of the word ‘undoubtedly’.)

21st over: Sri Lanka 118-1 (Kamindu Mendis 47, Kusal Mendis 44) Kusal edges Overton for four, straight through second slip at catchable height. Overton has had no luck today – but there is no recourse to Dame Fortune when Kamindu hooks a monstrous six over square leg. Crumbs, he mullered that.

20th over: Sri Lanka 105-1 (Kamindu Mendis 40, Kusal Mendis 39) Kusal Mendis gets stuck into Rehan, sweeping and gliding two excellent boundaries. Such a good player to watch when he’s in form.

19th over: Sri Lanka 95-1 (Kamindu Mendis 40, Kusal Mendis 29) A stunning one-handed grab from Buttler down the leg side, but alas the ball from Overton came off the pad off Kamindu Mendis. Another of those slightly weird overs in which Sri Lanka have specialised today: one boundary, five dot balls.

18th over: Sri Lanka 91-1 (Kamindu Mendis 36, Kusal Mendis 29) Rehan Ahmed’s first ball is a long hop that Kamindu Mendis besmirches into the crowd for six. At the risk of plagiarising Lana del Rey, whoopsie-daisy!

The rest of the over is fine, three singles from it.

16th over: Sri Lanka 78-1 (Kamindu Mendis 27, Kusal Mendis 25) Another four-ball from Jacks, too full and too straight this time, is feasted upon by Kusal Mendis. Might be time for a look at Rehan Ahmed.

15th over: Sri Lanka 71-1 (Kamindu Mendis 26, Kusal Mendis 19) Oh dear. Kusal Mendis has been dropped, a simple chance to Gus Atkinson at long leg. Kusal lifted Jamie Overton’s second ball high in the air on the leg side, where Atkinson steadied himself… and then cagged it.

He had to reach forward, so either he misjudged it slightly or it swirled in the breeze. Either way Atkinson would catch that 18 times out of 20, arguably nine times out of 10.

Overton has an appeal for caught behind turned down when Kusal Mendis feels for a cross-seam delivery. The technology confirms tghere was no edge, though interestingly Kusal’s head snapped round towards the keeper.

14th over: Sri Lanka 68-1 (Kamindu Mendis 25, Kusal Mendis 17) Five from Jacks’s over, none in boundaries. Meanwhile

13th over: Sri Lanka 63-1 (Kamindu Mendis 22, Kusal Mendis 15) Spectacular stuff from Kusal Mendis, who picks Tongue up over backward square leg for six. Some shot, that. Nissanka is Sri Lanka’s best all-format batter but Kusal Mendis probably has the highest ceiling. Hard to believe it’s more than a decade since his amazing 176 against Australia at Pallekele.

12th over: Sri Lanka 55-1 (Kamindu Mendis 21, Kusal Mendis 8) Will Jacks, who took his first ODI five-for on Tuesday, gets an early bowl. He almost strikes when a leading edge from Kusal Mendis lands just short of mid-off.

Lest we forget that Jacks is an occasional spinner, he bowls a short ball that is pulled efficiently for four by Kusal.

11th over: Sri Lanka 49-1 (Kamindu Mendis 20, Kusal Mendis 3) Tongue rams a lively delivery past Kusal Mendis’s outside edge. His last ball bounces more than expected and is fenced just short of point by Kusal.

England now have two bovvers boys in Tongue and Jamie Overton. One way or another, that should reduce the number of boring middle overs.

“I don’t know about you Rob, but I find this an enthralling series, with the heady prize of 6th place in the ODI rankings,” writes Guy Hornsby. “England nicked it after the first game, but Sri Lanka are not going to take it lying down. Joking aside, as a neutral, it’s great to see Kamindu Mendis in full flow. He really is superb to watch, as I catch it at lunch at Old Trafford. As I’m not a neutral, I’m wondering what England are trying to do here. Feels like they’ve set a field to stop singles but either they’re not bowling to the field, or Sri Lanka are finding the gaps too easily. Still, I’m at Old Trafford, where the vibe is fairly funereal. Even with a two thirds full crowd, I have to admit, being in Yorkshire looks a better bet right now.”

I suspect England know it’s a 300+ pitch and are pretty happy with the scoreline, especially now Nissanka has gone. I like this pace attack; it’s the batting, though stronger on paper, that worries me a bit with the World Cup in mind.

10th over: Sri Lanka 46-1 (Kamindu Mendis 19, Kusal Mendis 1) Atkinson had a demoralising Test series against Pakistan, but he maintained the trajectory of his pecker and has bowled excellently in the two ODIs.

9th over: Sri Lanka 45-0 (Nissanka 25, Kamindu Mendis 18) “Have we decided that cricket isn’t really a squad game any more?” writes Eddy Nason. “It’s been an ‘unchanged’ kind of late summer.”

It was the same in the glory years of Bazball, so it doesn’t surprise me in white-ball cricket. I guess there was no real need to change the Test team in the Pakistan either – the bowlers didn’t have a heavy workload in the first games, and the more Tara* play together, the better.

* Tongue, Archer, Robinson, Atkinson, though stricly speaking it should be Rata.

8th over: Sri Lanka 43-0 (Nissanka 24, Kamindu Mendis 18) Nissanka back cuts Atkinson brilliantly for four more. A straight drive lands just short of Atkinson, reaching to his right in his follow-through.

Once again, a boundary and five dot balls. Though Sri Lanka are going nicely, they need to address those dots.

7th over: Sri Lanka 39-0 (Nissanka 20, Kamindu Mendis 18) Josh Tongue’s third ball is too straight and put away over midwicket by Kamindu Mendis. The rest is dots. Okay, are dots.

6th over: Sri Lanka 35-0 (Nissanka 20, Kamindu Mendis 14) Another good over from Atkinson, just a single and a leg-bye. He has figures of 3-0-11-0.

5th over: Sri Lanka 33-0 (Nissanka 19, Kamindu Mendis 14) Archer’s third over disappears for 17! The scoring started when Nissanka blootered a length ball over midwicket for six; it ended when Kamindu Mendis hooked his first six later in the over. Shots!

4th over: Sri Lanka 16-0 (Nissanka 12, Kamindu Mendis 4) Nissanka pull-drags Atkinson past short third for his second boundary. This looks like a really good pitch, so it’s important that England take early wickets. Sri Lanka know that and have started fairly sedately. Fifty overs is a long time, okay?

3rd over: Sri Lanka 11-0 (Nissanka 7, Kamindu Mendis 4) Archer ends another very accurate over with a bouncer to Kamindu Mendis, who takes on the hook and top-edges it for four. After eight dot balls, all at Archer’s end, he needed the oxygen of runs.

2nd over: Sri Lanka 6-0 (Nissanka 6, Kamindu Mendis 0) A terrific start from Gus Atkinson, who gets a bit of movement and beats Nissanka with his first and fourth deliveries. Nissanka responds by squirting a square drive for four. It wasn’t perfectly timed but Headingley has such fast outfield.

1st over: Sri Lanka 1-0 (Nissanka 1, Kamindu Mendis 0) Headingley is usually a great place to bat, so Sri Lanka will probably want upwards of 300. Fifty overs is a long time*, which means Kamindu Mendis can take a bit of time to get his eye in. He plays out five consecutive dot balls during an accurate opening over from Archer.

* Drink

Jofra Archer has the new ball in hand; Pathum Nissanka is waiting to face him. Let’s play darts.

“Nooooo!”

There was something about Dan Lawrence’s pained groan at Edgbaston in England’s first innings of the third Test against Pakistan. For a split second it looked as if he might plunge his bat into the turf like some tormented Norse warrior. His stumps had already been flattened by his own hand, an attempt to run the ball down past point off Mohammad Imran had ended in him hacking an innocuous delivery emphatically on to them.

The stump microphone amplified Lawrence’s anguished reaction, the noise emanating from his mouth oscillating somewhere between the visceral howl of treading on an upturned plug and the disappointed yelp of missing the last train home. He had been bowled for 65 and another chance of a first Test century had gone begging.

Test batters will tell you how they didn’t feel they “belonged” until they had made a century. That the longer they had to wait to cross the Rubicon of three figures the more it weighed them down. Lawrence has played 17 Tests for England since his first call-up in 2021. It has been a career of fits and starts through no fault of his own; in the past five years he has batted at Nos 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 as well as a doomed stint as a makeshift opener. It’s those starts that will eat away at him, though.

South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke has continued the spectacular start to his ODI career. He’s currently 84 not out against Australia in Durban; you can follow that game with Martin Pegan and Geoff Lemon.

To reach for the career stats on Cricinfo is no way to go about it. This is a full-on YouTube job: boil the kettle, load up those spells at Headingley, St Lucia and the rest, and take in the whippy, absurd, mesmerising sight of perhaps the fastest English bowler there has ever been. That’s probably the best way to remember Mark Wood’s career.

Tuesday’s announcement of his international retirement was coming from the moment Wood hobbled out of the Ashes last December, the series opener his only appearance. That always felt like the last act, one he rushed back for after surgery on his left knee earlier that year, and the game moves on fast. England’s seam stocks look healthy across formats, with Jofra Archer there to ramp it up when required. It’s a sore point that Archer and Wood played just two Tests together: one without supporters during the 2020 Covid-bubble summer, the other Wood’s farewell at Perth.

The 36-year-old leaves with 119 Test wickets at 30.8 and 80 one-day international wickets at 40.8, figures that need dissecting. He sparkled when it mattered in 50-over cricket, taking 18 wickets in the 2019 World Cup triumph, and there is a clear before-and-after with the red ball. Having made his debut in 2015, it took nearly four years for it all to click together, only after Wood lengthened his run-up and was told by Trevor Bayliss that he wanted to see a bit more “mongrel” from his quick.

Wood responded by clocking 95mph on the way to his first Test five-wicket haul, against West Indies in February 2019 at the age of 29, setting up his own Benjamin Button tale. From that Test in St Lucia, his 13th, until his last, he averaged 27, all while hurling the ball with a lithe frame at obscene, unhealthy speeds.

There’s an orgy of live cricket at Guardian Unlimited today. As well as this game, we have:

• South Africa v Australia: first men’s ODI

• The final round of the County Championship*

_{* Spoiler: Warwickshire.}

First ODI report

Harry Brook had called on his ­England players to continue the “high-octane” cricket witnessed during their clean sweep in the Twenty20s but this latest victory over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international was more of a slow-burn affair.

Gone was the neck-arching carnage of the previous week and in its place, on a tired end-of-season surface, England were bowled out for 265 in 48.1 overs. Brook top-scored with 67 under a warm September sun, before his bowlers rolled the tourists for 176 to take a 1-0 lead into Thursday’s second match at Headingley.

Familiarity with conditions doubtless played its part and Sri Lanka, on the wrong side of the toss, never truly felt in the hunt. For Brook it was an 11th victory as England’s ODI captain, nudging him into credit after 10 defeats and continuing what has been a quiet resurgence in the format this year.