Sri Lanka v England: sixth ODI – as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2014/dec/13/sri-lanka-england-sixth-odi-live

Version 0 of 1.

11.53am GMT11:53

That’s all from me. Thanks for reading. Bye!

11.52am GMT11:52

Alastair Cook has been talking at the presentation:

A real tough day. Obviously for the first 20 overs we bowled real well. I didn’t help me dropping Sangakkara, and then they made us pay for it. It was quite a big drop – we’d built up quite a bit of pressure on them, and we knew they’d have to come hard at us. My form, it’s hard. You want to score runs, and set the platform at the top of the order. I’ve done it before, but it’s not quite happening at the moment. We didn’t play well enough and can have no complaints. Sri Lanka outplayed us in all the aspects today and that hurts.

11.41am GMT11:41

Sri Lanka win by 90 runs and take the series

Sangakkara milks a great deal of applause as the players leave the field, as well he might after a magnificent innings. It’s easy to forget how well England started today’s match, given how emphatically they went on to lose it, but this has been another very convincing defeat. Not a lot of silver lining to be seen here, and of course Alastair Cook’s standing has fallen a bit further. It’s not really a standing at all now, more of a lying, or a collapsing.

11.38am GMT11:38

WICKET! Tredwell c Dilshan b Senanayake (England 202 all out)

Tredwell, having hit a massive six off Senanayake’s first delivery, tries to get another – but this one just goes straight up, and by the time it gets back down again Dilshan is underneath it.

11.36am GMT11:36

41st over: England 196-9 (Tredwell 13, Finn 1)

Sri Lanka put two slips in place for the start of Lakmal’s over, and the first ball is deflected straight to one of them, though it bounced well before it got there, and that was as close as the home side came to putting and end to this.

11.31am GMT11:31

40th over: England 193-9 (Tredwell 11, Finn 0)

Tredwell goes for a big shot, hitting high towards the boundary at deep extra cover. He doesn’t quite get enough on it, and it’s well fielded on the boundary to restrict England to two. The batsmen then trade singles for a while before Woakes gets out. It’s just a matter of time now, and Sri Lanka are unlikely to need much of it.

11.29am GMT11:29

WICKET! Woakes c&b Dilshan 41 (England 193-9)

That was rubbish. A tame attempt to hit the ball into the leg side, but he misjudges the spin and the ball goes back to the bowler at knee height, and is nicely caught.

Updated at 11.29am GMT

11.26am GMT11:26

39th over: England 188-8 (Woakes 40, Tredwell 7)

Prasanna’s back, and England take a few more singles. For what it’s worth, they need 104 runs at 9.46 runs an over.

11.23am GMT11:23

38th over: England 185-8 (Woakes 39, Tredwell 5)

The appetite has gone out of Woakes’s innings, which started really brightly but now … well … what’s the point? It’s Dilshan’s ninth over, and it sees him hit a couple of singles. and Tredwell do the same (though he also got two after popping the ball into the off side).

Updated at 11.24am GMT

11.20am GMT11:20

37th over: England 179-8 (Woakes 37, Tredwell 1)

For the first time in this innings, England fall behind Sri Lanka’s tally at the equivalent stage of theirs – the hosts had just scored 14 off an over to take their score to 187/3. Very obviously, there’s no way beyond total and utter miracles for England to win this one. “For the first time ever for me, an advert has popped up in the middle of an OBO commentary,” writes Andrew Benton in Beijing. “A young lady is standing in front of a blackboard with a graph and maths equations on it … Do you choose the ads carefully? is she hinting at something about Root’s understanding of ball movement?” I know nothing of out advert-selection processes, but will make a wild guess that they’re totally haphazard.

11.15am GMT11:15

36th over: England 175-8 (Woakes 35, Tredwell 0)

The over started with an attempted yorker, that Jordan works to the fine leg boundary. It was very much the highlight of his innings, and indeed his only scoring stroke. Lakmal greets Tredwell very much as he had Jordan: with a bouncer, which flew just past the new batsman’s raised willow, prompting some very half-hearted and unsuccessful appealing.

11.12am GMT11:12

WICKET! Jordan c Sangakkara b Lakmal 4 (England 175-8)

Jordan gets the tiniest, slightest, smallest, definite, audible and undeniable nick on the ball as it flies past him, and he’s gone!

11.09am GMT11:09

35th over: England 171-7 (Woakes 35, Jordan 0)

Woakes starts Senanayake’s over with a decent shot into the covers for two, and there endeth the scoring.

11.06am GMT11:06

34th over: England 169-7 (Woakes 33, Jordan 0)

Just one run from the over, which ends with Jordan ducking under successive bouncers and England in a lot of bother.

Updated at 11.09am GMT

11.03am GMT11:03

WICKET! Root b Lakmal 55 (England 169-7)

Root tries to paddle the ball over his left shoulder, gives himself space for the shot, misses the ball, and it crashes into middle stump. You can’t review those.

11.00am GMT11:00

33rd over: England 168-6 (Root 55, Woakes 32)

England take the powerplay, and it starts with another let-off for Root, who sweeps straight to a fielder and sets off on a run. The ball’s returned to Senanayake, who spills it haplessly. A few moments later Woakes spears the ball straight to Dilshan at midwicket, who hurts his right thumb – quite badly, it seems – stopping it. He starts walking off, then changes his mind and sticks around, his hand emphatically strapped.

10.55am GMT10:55

32nd over: England 164-6 (Root 53, Woakes 30)

Well that was a bit of a let-off. Root’s dismissal would verily have spelled curtains for England’s chances in this match and indeed the series. Instead, there is still hope. A little bit of hope.

10.53am GMT10:53

Not out!

The TV umpire spends a good old while watching replays. A long time. And then we wait a while more while someone turns on the HawkEye machine, and it slowly warms up. And eventually it reveals that the ball pitched – just – outside the line.

10.49am GMT10:49

REVIEW! Is Root out here?

Sri Lanka think so. The field umpire thinks so. Joe Root wasn’t having any of it, and reviewed immediately. Did he hit the ball before it hit his pad, perhaps?

10.47am GMT10:47

31st over: England 161-6 (Root 52, Woakes 39)

Woakes is batting quite nicely here, looking comfortable and hitting with force and fluency. Here he dismisses a couple of Mendis deliveries wide of mid-on for fours and, you know, if these two can stick around for another 10 overs, then, well, who knows?

10.42am GMT10:42

30th over: England 150-6 (Root 50, Woakes 19)

Root has half a century! He waves his bat at the crowd but close-ups don’t reveal so much as the faint trace of a smile. A few moments later Woakes hits the ball in the air but into space and takes two, bringing up England’s century-and-a-half.

10.38am GMT10:38

29th over: England 146-6 (Root 49, Woakes 16)

Perera bowls short and wide to Woakes, who clubs it to long on with great, um, emphaticality, for four – neither batsman, nor any fielder, bothered to move as it rocketed its way to the rope. He tries to pull the next ball, but top edges it for a single instead.

10.36am GMT10:36

28th over: England 139-6 (Root 48, Woakes 10)

Root sweeps for four, all timing and delightful technique. England remain very comfortably ahead of Sri Lanka’s score at the equivalent stage of their innings (which was 119), and also very comfortably ahead of their number of wickets fallen (which was one).

10.32am GMT10:32

27th over: England 133-6 (Root 43, Woakes 9)

A better over for England, ending with the finest shot we’ve witnessed for a while, powered along the ground wide of cover for four.

10.29am GMT10:29

26th over: England 124-6 (Root 42, Woakes 2)

“Is making Morgan captain such a good idea? Is his current batting form much better than Cook’s?” wonders Ben Collier. Not necessarily, but for all that only one of them merits serious consideration even to be a member of this team, let alone its leader. Their 2014 ODI averages are similar: Cook’s 27.27, Morgan’s 26.47. Anyway, a fine over from Mendis, just the one run.

10.26am GMT10:26

25th over: England 124-6 (Root 42, Woakes 1)

This, surely, is a terminally bad position for England to find themselves in, halfway (at least) through their innings. The latest misfortune, though, was all down to, yes, a bit of hesitation in the middle but more than anything some genuinely inspired fielding.

Updated at 10.26am GMT

10.24am GMT10:24

WICKET! Buttler run out (England 123-6)

England are undone by some inspired fielding from Lahiru Thirimanne, running round from cover, collecting and throwing, right-armed, back-hand, a direct hit. Buttler had come a third of the way down the pitch in search of a single, and turned back just in time to see the bails fly.

10.19am GMT10:19

24th over: England 118-5 (Root 39, Buttler 20)

Jeevan Mendis comes on, and there’s a tremendous amount of exceptionally slow field-nurdling before the first delivery, and again before the second. There’s another big lbw appeal, against Buttler this time, though as the umpire obviously spotted the ball had pitched well outside the line, and England plunder four singles.

10.15am GMT10:15

23rd over: England 114-5 (Root 37, Buttler 18)

With nearly half the innings now completed Sri Lanka have conceded just one extra, a leg bye. England, meanwhile, conceded 23, including eight wides and a no ball. Buttler cracks Prasanna’s final delivery deep cover for four.

Updated at 10.16am GMT

10.11am GMT10:11

22nd over: England 106-5 (Root 30, Buttler 17)

Buttler pokes the ball down the pitch and sets off on an optimistic run, while Thisara runs in from mid-on to field. Thisara collects the ball and, in one motion, dives and throws underarm at the stumps from just a couple of yards, with the batsman way short of his ground. But when the stumps don’t go flying, it gradually dawns on everyone that he didn’t actually pick the ball up in the first place.

10.06am GMT10:06

21st over: England 102-5 (Root 29, Buttler 14)

Buttler reverse-sweeps Prasanna’s opening delivery for four, and then he drives pointwards for a couple to tick England’s score to three figures. Hurrah!

10.03am GMT10:03

20th over: England 95-5 (Root 29, Buttler 7)

The final delivery of Lakmal’s over barely bounces, leaving Root all at sea, but it misses the stumps by a foot or so. It’s worth noting that Sri Lanka only had 79 runs at this stage in their innings. But then, they’d only lost one wicket.

9.59am GMT09:59

19th over: England 92-5 (Root 27, Buttler 6)

I didn’t see a lot of that over, as I changed the picture on the top of the page to something that better reflected Sri Lanka’s current dominance in the field, but I can tell you that Prasanna bowled it and each batsman grabbed a couple of singles, and at the end of it everyone had a nice drink.

9.54am GMT09:54

18th over: England 88-5 (Root 25, Buttler 4)

Lakmal’s hat-trick ball is casually pushed down the ground for four by Buttler, which is something, but that was a horribly damaging, possibly decisively damaging over from Lakmal. Sangakkara appeared to have hurt himself in the process of catching Bopara, the result I suppose of landing on the ground with a cricket ball lodged in his armpit, but clearly he recovered well enough …

9.51am GMT09:51

WICKET! Morgan c Sangakkara b Lakmal (England 84-5)

Morgan’s gone first ball, done by Lakmal’s pace and bounce. Morgan hangs out his bat and the ball flies off his glove and straight to Sangakkara! A peach of a delivery with which to welcome a new batsman, that!

9.48am GMT09:48

WICKET! Bopara c Sangakkara b Lakmal 13 (England 84-4)

Bopara edges the ball and Sangakkara dives to catch, badly – it flies off the top of his wrist, out of his gloves and lodges in an armpit, and he rolls around to reveal the ball still off the ground. After a bit of slow-motion analysis from the TV umpire, the batsman is sent on his way.

9.46am GMT09:46

17th over: England 84-3 (Root 25, Bopara 13)

Prasanna’s fifth delivery hits Root on the pad and flicks up into his bat and away to safety. There’s a massive appeal, but the umpire is unconvinced and Sri Lanka have already used up their review. Which is just as well, from England’s perspective, as Root should have been out there.

9.42am GMT09:42

16th over: England 82-3 (Root 24, Bopara 12)

Though Root got a single from Lakmal’s first ball, it was all going a bit quiet – one run from eight balls quiet – until Bopara thrashed the last behind point for four.

9.39am GMT09:39

15th over: England 77-3 (Root 23, Bopara 8)

Prasanna keeps going, after conceding 14 runs in his first two overs. This one starts with two singles, but then Bopara can’t muster any more in the remainder.

9.35am GMT09:35

14th over: England 75-3 (Root 22, Bopara 7)

Sri Lanka give pace a spin, with Suranga Lakmal coming into the attack. And his final delivery finds Root’s edge – first slip dives to his left, wicket-keeper dives to his right, and the ball flies low between the two of them and away for four!

Updated at 9.39am GMT

9.31am GMT09:31

13th over: England 69-3 (Root 17, Bopara 6)

Root keeps his score ticking gently with a couple of couples and a single, giving Bopara a chance to drive through the covers – and only just beyond the cupped hands of a fielder – for four.

9.28am GMT09:28

12th over: England 60-3 (Root 12, Bopara 2)

Dilshan continues, and Root sweeps nicely for four. A couple of deliveries later Root sweeps less nicely, hence the whole review business. Sri Lanka haven’t quite got the hang of these – they have a 0% success rate from their six reviews in this series.

9.26am GMT09:26

Not out!

The ball pitched (quite obviously) outside leg, he’s not out and Sri Lanka are reviewless.

9.25am GMT09:25

REVIEW! Sri Lanka think they might have Root here!

The batsman attempted and missed a sweep – but where was the ball going?

9.23am GMT09:23

11th over: England 55-3 (Root 8, Bopara 2)

A change to the bowling, with Prasanna coming in and prompting something of an avalanche of singles. Five of them, to be absolutely precise.

9.20am GMT09:20

10th over: England 50-3 (Root 5, Bopara 0)

Ali tries to work the ball fine into the leg side but bottom-edges, thus working the ball even finer into the leg side, and earning four runs. It’s the last bit of luck he was destined to enjoy, though looking at it again the delivery that did for him was an absolute delight – no luck involved in it, just quality.

Updated at 9.21am GMT

9.19am GMT09:19

WICKET! Ali c Sangakkara b Dilshan 34 (England 50-3)

The final delivery of Dilshan’s over straightens and rears up off the pitch, Ali doesn’t quite know what’s going on, it flicks off his glove and is caught behind. England officially troubled now.

Updated at 9.19am GMT

9.15am GMT09:15

9th over: England 43-2 (Ali 29, Root 3)

Senanayake’s certainly getting some turn now, inconveniencing Ali whose slog sweep gets nowhere near the ball.

9.13am GMT09:13

8th over: England 42-2 (Ali 29, Root 2)

Dilshan continues, and Root spends most of the over just watching and learning, before taking a slightly dodgy single off the final delivery – a direct hit from square leg would have done for Ali, but was not forthcoming.

Updated at 9.13am GMT

9.10am GMT09:10

7th over: England 41-2 (Ali 29, Root 1)

Taylor was undone by a total absence of turn there, when plenty had been expected. Ali judges Senanayake’s final delivery considerably better, and flicks it past point for four. Now, more important matters: “Does anyone know of a pub showing the cricket in Andapa, Madagascar?” asks Charlie Gardner.

Updated at 9.13am GMT

9.07am GMT09:07

WICKET! Taylor b Senanayake 10 (England 36-2)

Taylor trundles down the pitch, trying to work the ball down the leg side, but he misses it entirely. I’m not entirely sure whether he was bowled or stumped, but I’m damn certain he’s out.

9.05am GMT09:05

6th over: England 34-1 (Ali 25, Taylor 8)

Moeen Ali, looking, ahem, marvellously fluent, swishes Dilshan over midwicket for a superlative six, and then given a bit of space hits over the covers for another, before settling for a four off the final delivery. Those 16 runs off four balls means he’s now at a run-a-ball 25. Remarkable.

9.01am GMT09:01

5th over: England 17-1 (Ali 9, Taylor 7)

“Still cannot understand why selectors stuck with Cook when he cannot add anything to the team – it’s not that his captaincy is so good that he can be a passenger in the team,” rages Ash, as Ali drives handsomely through the covers for four. “They should make Morgan captain for World Cup.” I don’t think you’re the first person to suggest that.

8.58am GMT08:58

4th over: England 12-1 (Ali 5, Taylor 6)

Dilshan’s over starts with five – five – dot balls, before Ali finally works one away for a couple. The other England opener has started very scratchily here, and has five runs from 16 deliveries so far.

8.56am GMT08:56

3rd over: England 10-1 (Ali 3, Taylor 6)

Senanayake’s over starts with four – four – dot balls, before Ali finally works one away for a single. There could have been another single off the last, I think – Taylor certainly seemed up for it – but Ali isn’t so keen.

8.53am GMT08:53

2nd over: England 9-1 (Ali 2, Taylor 6)

Dilshan starts proceedings at t’other end and Taylor gets the day’s first boundary by doing precisely what Prior was telling the world England should do before Sky cut him off – playing the ball extremely late, and in this instance tickling it down to third man. Prior was suggesting that this was the technique Cook should use, though in the end England’s captain never got the chance.

8.49am GMT08:49

1st over: England 3-1 (Ali 1, Taylor 1)

Sky – and by extension all their viewers, including me – are surprised by the start of England’s innings, cutting off some Matt Prior analysis and switching to the live feed while the first delivery was already on its way from Senanayake’s hand to Cook’s bat. England work the first couple of balls for singles before Cook’s wicket, which was a little bit dozy if you ask me.

8.46am GMT08:46

WICKET! Cook lbw b Senanayake 1 (England 2-1)

So, England are batting! And Alastair Cook isn’t! He completes his stroke a little early and his pad gets in between the ball and leg stump!

8.34am GMT08:34

I must say I like these match tickets. Good to see a modicum of effort put into making these things. Incidentally, 1,000 Sri Lankan Rupees works out at precisely £4.85.

8.30am GMT08:30

Hello everyone! So, England should knock these off no problem, no? “Good morning from drizzly Piedmont,” writes Finbarr. “293? perfectly doable – just move Chris Jordan up, avoid Joss being asked to score 35 off the last over and ask Alastair politely not to hang around too long.”

Meanwhile the big cricket news of the day came at the end of a spectacular day – and Test – in Adelaide with Michael Clarke injuring a hamstring that not only rules him out of the rest of Australia’s series with India but also means “there’s a chance I may never play again”. Crumbs.

8.13am GMT08:13

Sri Lanka 292-7

So Mendis finishes 12 not out and England are going to have a tough chase on their hands here. I’m afraid I have a train to catch, so will hand over now to the estimable Simon Burnton. He’s on simon.burnton@theguardian.com, those of you who haven’t worked out how our email addresses work yet.

Bye!

8.11am GMT08:11

Wicket! Chandimal b Jordan 35

The last over of the innings then. It’s here! It’s finally here! Jordan to bowl and his first ball is a filthy short ball pitched miles outside leg and flicked through square leg for the by-now-obligatory early boundary by Mendis. Next up, a yorker about two yards outside leg and bundled away for a single to square leg. Jordan follows Chandimal to leg but gets pushed to mid-on for two. One more pulled away into the on-side and Chandimal trusts Mendis with the final two balls. Or not, as Mendis nudges a single. The final ball of the innings is full and straight and clatters into the stumps.

8.06am GMT08:06

49th over: Sri Lanka 283-6 (Mendis 6 Chandimal 32) Chris Woakes in to bowl is final over, round the wicket to Mendis and the left-hander heaves him to deep mid-wicket for one. Another predictable bumper to Chandimal who has a thrash and somehow manages to get it to land between the two fielders converging at fine leg. Away for four it dribbles but Woakes comes back well, conceding just two singles from the next three. It should only be a single from the last ball, clumped towards cow corner by Chandimal, but a misfield allows them through for two.

Adam Levine – the singer in Maroon 5? – emails. “When the ECB is planning the next tour they should go back and analyse the OBO for email and twitter activity to see which games are attracting the most attention. You could call this the who-gives-a-sh1t-ometerTM.

They could look at this particular one day game in SL at 4.30am GMT with Oz playing India in an absolute stonker at the same time and realise that on the who-gives-a-sh1t-ometerTM games like this sit firmly in the red. I know this is wishful thinking but such a device might save us from 7 ODI snoozathons in SL in the future. Probably more chance of KP being picked for the ashes than the ECB actually creating a schedule of cricket matches that any of us might actually want to watch.”

8.01am GMT08:01

48th over: Sri Lanka 274-6 (Mendis 4 Chandimal 25) Jordan, not Finn, is being entrusted with the last over then by the looks of things. He’s on for Finn now. 65 runs have come from the last seven overs and three of those have been since Sangkarra went. After Mendis scrambles a single, Chandimal thumps it back over the bowler’s head for a firm four. It’s been excellent death batting this: getting a boundary early in the over and working the ball around into the gaps thereafter. We’re two minutes after the scheduled finish time, so Alastair Cook may be looking at another slow-over rate charge.

7.56am GMT07:56

47th over: Sri Lanka 265-6 (Mendis 2 Chandimal 18) Woakes replaces Jordan, and his first ball is is hooked to the boundary for four by Perera, who then shuffles back a couple of paces to hoik the second for another. He goes trying to smash a third, though. After such an impressive first 10 overs, England’s wheels are wobbling about very badly. Crashing into that Kumar Sangakkara-shaped barrier had a lot to do with it, but England haven’t helped themselves at times. 11 from the over.

7.53am GMT07:53

Wicket! Perera c Cook b Woakes 16

Slapped to extra cover and Cook manages to hold on to one. Well done him, but 16 from 10 is a very useful contribution from Perera.

7.49am GMT07:49

46th over: Sri Lanka 254-5 (Perera 8 Chandimal 17) Finn gives Perera width and gets carved through point for four. 280 is very much on from here, which will be a tough ask given the highest successful chase on this ground is 240, by England a couple of days ago. Perera looks to repeat the trick and picks out a fielder, but it’s only half stopped and they get a single. A couple more of those and that’s decent damage control by Finn after conceding a boundary of the first ball.

7.43am GMT07:43

45th over: Sri Lanka 247-5 (Perera 2 Chandimal 16) Sangakkara looks to flick the ball over the keeper’s shot and no one has a clue where it’s gone. Jordan shies at the stumps but misses, then gets dispatched over long-on for an enormous six the next ball. That’s it for this wonderful innings though, one that’s kept me going despite having had two hours of sleep in the past 24 hours. Perera is the new batsman.

Updated at 7.44am GMT

7.40am GMT07:40

Wicket! Sangakkara c Ali b Jordan 112

Booooo! Sangakkara backs away and looks to carve a short one over cover, but picks out Moeen. That was a quite brilliant innings from Sangakkara, who acknowledges the crowd’s rapturous reception.

7.37am GMT07:37

44th over: Sri Lanka 237-4 (Sangakkara 106 Chandimal 15) Four more to Sangakkara, down on one knee and sweeping Tredwell over backward square leg. He looks to thrash the next one through point but it turns a long ol’ way and gets away from bat and keeper to go away for four byes. Another wide takes extras up to 22 and three more singles takes the damage for the over up to 12. You’ve dropped the seven-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, Alastair.

7.32am GMT07:32

43rd over: Sri Lanka 225-4 (Sangakkara 100 Chandimal 14) Jordan comes into the attack now and Simon Burnton comes into the office to provide some blessed company. A single to Sangakkara takes him to 99, before Chandimal whips one gloriously off his legs to fine leg for four more. It was too full and a poor line from Jordan, but that was a fantastic shot. It’s followed by a seventh leg-side wide of the innings, then a single to get Sangakkara on strike with two balls left in the over. Jordan serves up a half volley and it’s driven, elegantly to the man at deep extra-cover and that’s a 20th ODI century for Sangakkara.

7.27am GMT07:27

42nd over: Sri Lanka 217-4 (Sangakkara 98 Chandimal 9) Tredwell, who has, along with Woakes, been England’s best bowler, returns to the attack. He nearly has Chandimal as he brilliantly flummoxes the advancing batsman with a flighty delivery, that brushes the pad and is deflected away for a couple of leg byes. Four from another excellent over from Tredwell.

7.23am GMT07:23

41st over: Sri Lanka 213-4 (Sangakkara 97 Chandimal 8) Sangakkara moves into the 90s as Finn gives him far, far too much width and the batsman drives through cover for four. They’re appealing for a catch behind off the next ball though and the umpires are consulting, and indeed will go to the third umpire. As everyone else watching this suspected though, it’s a bump ball. Short next from Finn and Sangakkara gets a bottom edge on it that flies past off-stump and down to fine leg for a fortuitous four. A couple of singles make it 10 from the first five balls, and you make that 11 thanks to another leg-side wide to take the Extras score to 14. The final ball is cut behind point for a couple more to make it 13 from the over. Sangakkara has his highest score of the series.

7.16am GMT07:16

40th over: Sri Lanka 200-4 (Sangakkara 86 Chandimal 7) Sri Lanka will want around 260-270 from here I reckon. Woakes bowls the final over of the powerplay and bowls it rather well, the first three balls being dots and the next a single clipped to deep square leg. Sangakkara takes a single but the final ball is crashed square on the on-side by Chandimal and beats Bopara’s dive to go for four. 200 is up.

7.13am GMT07:13

39th over: Sri Lanka 194-4 (Sangakkara 85 Chandimal 2) A little bit of a wicket from nowhere that, as there didn’t seem to be much of an appeal but the Sri Lanka captain walked. The recalled Chandimal is the new batsman and he gets off a blob with a push out to square leg. Four from the over and England have come back well in the past couple.

Congratulations are due to Australia, as they have won.

7.08am GMT07:08

Wicket! Mathews c Buttler b Finn 1

Finn bowls on leg, Mathews steps across and feathers it down the leg-side where Buttler takes a good catch.

7.06am GMT07:06

38th over: Sri Lanka 190-3 (Sangakkara 83 Mathews 1) Woakes offers a little bit of width to Sangakkara but the great batsman can’t force it past the man at cover. They get a single though to bring Mathews on strike for the first time. He works a single to mid-on to get off the mark and there are just three from this over. England mightily needed that.

Australia are one wicket away, with 50 still needed for India. It’s been a marvellously topsy-turvy match. You’d have made India the favourites just ahead of the draw an hour ago.

7.02am GMT07:02

37th over: Sri Lanka 187-3 (Sangakkara 81 Mathews 0) “When Dilshan got out,” notes Sir Iron Bottom, “Sangakkara just looked around as if to say ‘so what?’.” The guy is genuinely just making events up now, ignoring the long discussion of the wicket that Sangakkara had with the umpires.

This is horrible batting from Prassana. He launches it up into the stratosphere again and Buttler goes running after it... it should be Taylor’s catch but Buttler yells at him to move out the way even though he has no chance of getting the ball. Had Buttler left that then Taylor would have had the catch. Prassana makes the most of his life by running two, then launching a short one over fine-leg for six, then turning a bumper around the corner for four more. That’s where his luck runs out though, much to England’s relief. 25-1 off two powerplay overs.

7.00am GMT07:00

Wicket! Prassana c Morgan b Finn 20

Looks to slog a full one and gets a big loopy edge to gully. Thank god that ugly, ugly, effective rubbish is over.

6.54am GMT06:54

36th over: Sri Lanka 173-2 (Sangakkara 79 Prassana 8) Woakes is back into the attack and begins with a wide down the leg-side. He drops short and Prassana plays the most extraordinarily ugly shot, flat-batting it over mid-on for six. The batsman looks to go again, heaving into the leg-side and it goes straight up but lands between the fielders. 11 from the over.

Australia have an eighth wicket and are closing in on victory in a fine Test match.

6.49am GMT06:49

35th over: Sri Lanka 162-2 (Sangakkara 77 Prassana 1) Well, Kumar Sangakkara isn’t happy about something and has been discussing that wicket with the umpires at great length. Can’t see anything wrong with it myself. As Bumble points out on Sky, it’s a little odd that Sri Lanka haven’t sent Mathews or Thirimanne – the hitter – out for the powerplay. The powerplay that we will have now.

6.45am GMT06:45

Wicket! Dilshan c Bopara b Tredwell 68

One last over before the powerplay then and Tredwell will bowl his eighth. Oh and he’s broken the partnership at the perfect time! Dilshan launches it down to long-on where Bopara swallows the catch.

6.44am GMT06:44

34th over: Sri Lanka 160-1 (Sangakkara 76 Dilshan 68) England go to a third spinner now, with Joe Root coming into the attack for the first time. It’s interesting that Cook bowled Root ahead of Bopara in the last match, on this same pitch, but went the other way around here. Dilshan stands and delivers as Root offers up a half-volley, slamming it through cover for four. They’re the only runs off the over though and England have managed to ever so slightly slow things down.

6.41am GMT06:41

33rd over: Sri Lanka 156-1 (Sangakkara 76 Dilshan 64) Tredwell comes back. If England can get a wicket in the next two overs – just as they got rid of Sangakkara just before the powerplay last time around – then they can still restrict Sri Lanka to a low score. Tredders doesn’t get the wicket, but only goes for five runs.

SCENES in Adelaide, where Virat Kohli has been caught in the deep for a magnificent 141. The stands are depressingly empty there, but what a match. You’d say Australia are the favourites now with India at 304-7.

6.38am GMT06:38

32nd over: Sri Lanka 151-1 (Sangakkara 73 Dilshan 63) Sri Lanka are playing their shots without a care in the world now, Dilshan reverse-slog-sweeping over square leg for a one-bounce four then exchanging singles with Sangakkara to bring up the 150. He tries the reverse slog again, but doesn’t connect.

The average first-innings score at this ground is 242. Sri Lanka should go long, long past that.

6.34am GMT06:34

31st over: Sri Lanka 144-1 (Sangakkara 72 Dilshan 57) 32 off the last three overs for Sri Lanka and Chris Jordan doesn’t look like the man to break this partnership any time soon. Still, this is better from him and the over only goes for three.

Nathan Lyon has a maiden 10-wicket match haul in Adelaide. India need just 65, but are six down.

6.30am GMT06:30

30th over: Sri Lanka 141-1 (Sangakkara 71 Dilshan 55) Moeen Ali comes back on with England desperate for a wicket like it’s a wee they’ve been holding in on a long car journey. There’s half an appeal for LBW as Dilshan misses with a slog-sweep, but it’s pitched outside leg. Sangakkara then steps down the pitch and clips it over wide mid-wicket for another four, then rocks back and cuts behind point for one more. 10 from the over.

Incidentally, those two boundaries bookended a cover drive on my second screen from Virat Kohli as beautiful as any you’ll see. I’m essentially watching Sangakkara and Kohli bat together and it’s making me feel all funny inside.

6.25am GMT06:25

29th over: Sri Lanka 131-1 (Sangakkara 62 Dilshan 53) Chris Jordan, whose three overs so far have gone for an unremarkable 17, returns. Dilshan takes a single then Sangakkara adds four more to the total with a deft glance to fine third man. Jordan then drops short and Sangakkara flicks wristily – shut up, at this time of morning that’s a word – over fine leg for as elegant a six as you’ll see! It’s become cliché to talk about what a wonderful batsman this man is.

Meanwhile Nathan Lyon strikes again, removing Rohit Sharma with hep from an excellent catch by David Warner at leg slip. India need 87 from 20 overs with five wickets in hand.

6.20am GMT06:20

28th over: Sri Lanka 119-1 (Sangakkara 51 Dilshan 53) Short and wide from Bopara and that ball is so doomed it might as well be played by Sean Bean. Sangakkara absolutely mullers it to the mid-wicket boundary to bring up his 50, then is disappointed to miss out on a full toss. Still, he now has five 50s in a row in this series, which is quite something. Bopara then drops short again and Dilshan flicks it off his legs to the fine leg fence for four more and a 50 of his own. 10 off the over and Sri Lanka are looking very, very comfortable now.

6.16am GMT06:16

27th over: Sri Lanka 109-1 (Sangakkara 46 Dilshan 48) Tredwell is such a good middle-overs bowler: against two set, excellent ODI batsmen, he once again only gives up four singles. Although, in mitigation, just after I wrote that sentence Sangakkara did look to come down the track and hit over the top but didn’t get hold of it. Hundred partnership is up.

Harsh, but funny.

Seems Cook drops everything but himself.

6.13am GMT06:13

26th over: Sri Lanka 105-1 (Sangakkara 44 Dilshan 46) A single brings up the hundred before Dilshan swipes and gets an outside edge down to third man for four. They’re stepping things up now and could do worse than take the powerplay now. England, on the other hand, look low on ideas. Apart from “drop easy catches off their best batsman” and I’m not sure that’s a good one. That boundary takes Dilshan back ahead of Sangakkara in the scoring stakes.

6.09am GMT06:09

25th over: Sri Lanka 98-1 (Sangakkara 43 Dilshan 40) Tredwell has an LBW appeal against Dilshan and on first look it’s pretty close. No matter as it’s given not out and Dilshan responds with a fine reverse sweep for four. Hawkeye says “umpire’s call” on the point of impact on that LBW shout, but other than that it was plumb.

6.07am GMT06:07

24th over: Sri Lanka 92-1 (Sangakkara 42 Dilshan 35) Alastair Cook grudgingly acknowledges Ravi Bopara’s existence and gives him a disappointingly rare bowl. Dilshan likes the look of him and clumps it out towards deep mid-on, but it’s not a clean hit and they can only get one. Oh and then FOR EFF’S SAKE ALASTAIR. Sangakkara looks to drive over extra-cover, doesn’t get hold of it, presents the captain with the simplest of catches and Cook drops a dolly off Kumar bloody Sangakkara. As easy a catch as you could hope for that.

6.02am GMT06:02

23rd over: Sri Lanka 90-1 (Sangakkara 41 Dilshan 34) Seriously, the Test match is an absolute belter. 120 needed off 25 overs with six wickets left and Virat Kohli, two centuries in the match to his name, at the crease and looking magnificent.

Here, impressively tight from James “James Milner” Tredwell, with just two singles given up here.

5.59am GMT05:59

22nd over: Sri Lanka 88-1 (Sangakkara 40 Dilshan 33) In spite of the tap he took in that last over – nine runs’s worth – Ali carries on. He nearly gets Dilshan with the final ball as the opener has a wild slash at one turning in from outside off, beating everyone and it’s given as byes. I thought there might have been a slight inside edge but the umpires clearly disagree.

5.55am GMT05:55

21st over: Sri Lanka 82-1 (Sangakkara 37 Dilshan 32) Dilshan reverse-hocks Tredwell for a single off the first ball, what a bizarre shot. Three from the over. You’re all following the Test blog, aren’t you?

5.52am GMT05:52

20th over: Sri Lanka 79-1 (Sangakkara 36 Dilshan 30) Well where did that come from? Dilshan brings out the slog-sweep and gets it over mid-wicket and just wide of Chris Woakes for four runs. Dilshan is looking to go after Ali here and tries to go over mid-on two balls later but doesn’t time it and only gets a single. Sangakkara gets in on the act with a flick over mid-on that’s so close to being brilliantly taken by a diving Taylor on the boundary rope. Good over that for Sri Lanka.

5.50am GMT05:50

19th over: Sri Lanka 70-1 (Sangakkara 32 Dilshan 25) A return to the attack for James Tredwell. In Adelaide, Nathan Lyon has got a second wicket in quick succession, albeit thanks to a dodgy decision, to put Australia back on the victory trail.

@GeoffLemonSport how long until @DanLucas86 abandons his england reporting duties to watch Oz vs India à la bill werbenick / cliff thorburn?

I am a consummate professional and am therefore steadfastly focussed on reporting that one run came from that utterly forgettable over.

5.47am GMT05:47

18th over: Sri Lanka 69-1 (Sangakkara 32 Dilshan 24) This is very good from Moeen, bowling tight and flat, into Sangakkara’s pads from around the wicket. It brings five dots before Sangakkara remembers he’s rather good and sashays down the track to loft it over mid-on for four.

5.42am GMT05:42

17th over: Sri Lanka 65-1 (Sangakkara 28 Dilshan 24) Five singles are your lot for this over, but holy crap I’ve got an email!

“Morning Dan. Morning, the fantastically named Danny Fontana.

“After a night of pretty much no sleep with my one-year old waking up my three-year old then vice versa, I was dismayed when the baby decided that she was not going back to sleep (this was at 5am). Fetching her in, I realised that I could take advantage of the wife being away for the weekend by banging on the cricket.

Fascinated by the bright colours, my baby managed to stay awake and watch for all of two mins. Now at long, long last the house is quiet and both children are asleep. And I am watching cricket from the comfort of bed. The moral of the story? If all else fails, cricket is like kryptonite to a baby who refuses to sleep.”

5.37am GMT05:37

16th over: Sri Lanka 60-1 (Sangakkara 25 Dilshan 22) Ali induces a leading inside edge from Sangakkara but it loops up towards short leg and out of Buttler’s reach. After inside-edging the next ball on to his pad, Kumar knocks a couple to mid-wicket and in doing so brings up the 50 partnership. They’ve bided their time but these two at least look settled now.

Oh Nathan Lyon has just got rid of Murali Vijay for 99!

5.34am GMT05:34

15th over: Sri Lanka 57-1 (Sangakkara 22 Dilshan 22) Chris Jordan gets to carry on. Poor ol’ Tredders. England have been a bit loose since the fielding restrictions were lifted: 27 runs conceded in the 10 powerplay overs followed by 25 in the ensuing three. This one is sanguine enough, three singles and a wide on height.

England’s rolling and bouncing the ball towards the stumps when the batsmen are well back in their crease is rather galling to see. They do seem to have a habit of rubbing everyone they play up the wrong way, from “broken fucken’ arm” to the Jadeja push and grassing up Senanayake after he mankaded Buttler. As that Mitchell and Webb sketch put it: are we the bad guys?

5.29am GMT05:29

14th over: Sri Lanka 53-1 (Sangakkara 20 Dilshan 21) Ah-ha! (Fun fact: my granddad’s name is Alan Partridge) Moeen is only changing ends. He concedes two singles from this one, which is better.

My inbox has been quiet today.

@DanLucas86 evening Dan. With Oz Vs India turning into an Edgbaston '05-esque thriller you may well be covering the wrong match tonight...

5.27am GMT05:27

13th over: Sri Lanka 51-1 (Sangakkara 19 Dilshan 20) So much for Cook not being interested in one-over spell nonsense: Jordan replaces Ali. His first ball from round the wicket to Sangakkara is overpitched and wide, and thus driven to the backward point boundary where it beats Moeen’s dive. Jordan then drifts on to Kumar’s pads, a poor delivery, and gets flicked to square leg for four more. A short ball finishes the over but Sangakkara can only find the man at point. The fielder hurls it at the stumps and England get a warning as they’ve repeatedly, pointlessly, done that.

In Adelaide, India need 138 from 32 overs with eight wickets in hand and two set batsmen at the crease.

5.22am GMT05:22

12th over: Sri Lanka 43-1 (Sangakkara 11 Dilshan 20) Spin from both ends as Tredwell comes into the attack. It’s tidy enough until the final ball of the over, which yields an overthrow. Both sides fielded pretty woefully in the last match.

Anybody out there?

5.19am GMT05:19

11th over: Sri Lanka 38-1 (Sangakkara 8 Dilshan 18) That was the lowest mandatory powerplay score for Sri Lanka this year,

nerds

stat fans. Anyway, it’s time for the first bowling change and, as expected, it’s Moeen Ali on for Finn. An uneventful over until the ball slips out of Moeen’s hand and arrives at Dilshan chest-high on the full. Ali responds by dropping short and wide, and Dilshan cuts to third man for four. The final ball is a lovely, dipping, turning delivery that sadly brings the same number of runs as it beats everybody, Buttler included, and runs away for four byes.

5.15am GMT05:15

10th over: Sri Lanka 27-1 (Sangakkara 7 Dilshan 13) Root has gone off the field for some treatment on something or other, with Stokes replacing him. Morgan fumbles one at gully to allow Dilshan a single, before England go up enthusiastically for a leg-side strangle. I reckon they might have reviewed that if they had any left, but it would have been a waste as it flicked Sangakkara’s pocket. Still, it distracted the umpire enough that he didn’t give a wide. Then, after another single, Dilshan is pinned back in the crease and struck on the pad yet again, but this one is sliding down leg. He pushes the next ball to cover and that’s the over.

Indeed that’s the powerplay and it’s been excellent from England. They’ve restricted Sri Lanka to 2.7 runs an over. 1-12 for Woakes, 0-15 for Finn. Well bowled, guys.

5.11am GMT05:11

9th over: Sri Lanka 24-1 (Sangakkara 6 Dilshan 11) A bit of a shock for Dilshan as he looks to work Finn to leg and the ball loops up off the shoulder of the bat and into his grille. Grille? Grill? I’ve just realised I don’t know. Or am too tired to know. A wide down the leg-side then an LBW appeal more optimistic than a thick person on a reality singing contest. In fact that didn’t even hit the pad, it was, er, painfully higher. Dilshan responds by thrashing a pull shot at a short one and toe-ending it along the floor to gully for a single.

The Test match over in Adelaide, incidentally, is shaping up rather nicely with all three results still possible. What a chase this would be from India if they do it. My counterpart over in Australia, Geoff Lemon, has the OBO.

5.06am GMT05:06

8th over: Sri Lanka 22-1 (Sangakkara 6 Dilshan 10) Woakes, for just about the first time today, offers a bit of width but Sangakkara can’t get it past the man at point. Another outstanding over and Woakes is starting to convince me he’s actually an international cricketer and not a 12-year-old impostor after all. A single to Dilshan and two off the hips to Sangakkara are yer lot for the over.

5.03am GMT05:03

7th over: Sri Lanka 19-1 (Sangakkara 4 Dilshan 9) Wide from Finn and Dilshan’s eyes light up moments before he creams the ball to the cover point fence: Trescothick-esque lack of footwork there but it’s hit hard and timed nicely. There’s an appeal next ball though as Woakes strikes the opener high above the knee-roll. England review but it’s umpire’s call as it was barely brushing the corner of the bail above leg-stump. After a single, Finn overpitches again but Kumar doesn’t time his cover drive.

Statgasm time:

Chris Woakes have now taken 6 Sri Lankan wickets in his last 27 balls! #SLvEng

5.01am GMT05:01

Not out

Not a good review that one, from Cook.

4.58am GMT04:58

England review, Dilshan lbw

Woakes strikes Dilshan on the pad. It’s given not-out but we’ll have a review...

Updated at 4.59am GMT

4.56am GMT04:56

6th over: Sri Lanka 14-1 (Sangakkara 4 Dilshan 4) Nick Knight has just suggested that Chris Woakes might open the batting for England. I’m more awake now, I’m not hearing things, he really said that. He has made a good point, in fairness, that Woakes is bowling quicker than Finn in this series and he’s just got a jaffa to move past Dilshan’s outside edge. You wonder, if Finn’s pace is down in the low-to-mid-80s, what his role is given he doesn’t move the ball. Dilshan hoicks a single to mid-wicket to get the only run of another good over.

4.52am GMT04:52

5th over: Sri Lanka 13-1 (Sangakkara 4 Dilshan 3) Finn surprises Sangakkara with a back-of-a-length ball that tucks him up, but then overpitches and his juicy full toss is caressed through extra cover for four by Sangakkara.

4.49am GMT04:49

4th over: Sri Lanka 8-1 (Sangakkara 0 Dilshan 2) I was about to harshly impugn Woakes for drifting on to Jayawardene’s pads and getting flicked to fine leg for four, but then a very similar ball brought the wicket as the batsmen closed the face too early. Good length that from Woakes, although it brings Sangakkara to the crease.

My t-shirt, incidentally, is not an endorsement.

4.46am GMT04:46

Wicket! Jayawardene c Taylor b Woakes 5

Mahela looks to turn it into the on-side and gets a leading edge, which loops up to James Taylor at extra cover! Great start this from England.

4.42am GMT04:42

3rd over: Sri Lanka 3-0 (Jayawardene 1 Dilshan 1) Finn continues. None of this one-over spell nonsense for Cap’n Cook. He gets one to flash past Dilshan’s attempted cut; it’s a poor choice of shot from the opener, far too close to his body – are the dot balls getting to him already? Surely not? A push to cover gets Dilshan off the mark and produces the only run of the over.

4.38am GMT04:38

2nd over: Sri Lanka 2-0 (Jayawardene 1 Dilshan 0) Chris Woakes, who bowled pretty nicely for his six wickets in the last match, will bowl from the other end and he beats Mahela on the inside with a lovely swinging ball that Jayawardene just wafted at. It’s a lovely over, right on the money and produces six beautiful dots.

4.34am GMT04:34

1st over: Sri Lanka 2-0 (Jayawardene 1 Dilshan 0) So with Chandimal coming back into the side, Mahela Jayawardene moves up to open. He’ll face Steven Finn, but it’s a false start as someone is moving in front of the sight screen and Finn abandons his first ball. Oh and then he starts with a drifting legside wide – England’s 201st of the year. Better next ball as he strikes Jayawardene on the pad and there’s a shout for LBW, but it’s going well over. Jayawardene gets off the mark with a guided shot off the face of the bat down to third man before Dilshan edges the final ball of the over short of slip. That’s that for the over.

4.25am GMT04:25

Alastair Cook says he would have bowled. “Bit of a pointless toss” he calls it. It makes sense for Sri Lanka to bat first though, with all those spinners in the side, as this ground tends to take spin later on. This ground also looks lovely.

Ah, there are no pictures yet.

4.13am GMT04:13

So, those teams in full for you:

Sri Lanka

TM Dilshan, DPMD Jayawardene, KC Sangakkara†, AD Mathews*, HDRL Thirimanne, LD Chandimal, BMAJ Mendis, NLTC Perera, SMSM Senanayake, S Prasanna, RAS Lakmal

England

AN Cook*, MM Ali, JWA Taylor, JE Root, RS Bopara, EJG Morgan, JC Buttler†, CR Woakes, CJ Jordan, JC Tredwell,ST Finn

4.11am GMT04:11

There’s a 4:30 in the morning now?

– Bart Simpson

4.08am GMT04:08

The toss: Sri Lanka win it and will have a bat. England name an unchanged side while the hosts bring in Chandimal, Seekuge and Lakmal for Mendis, Kusal and Prasad.

4.06am GMT04:06

Hey again. We should have toss and team news imminently, but let’s begin with the weather forecast for Pallekele, where a torrential downpour at the interval in the last match forced a two-day ODI. It’s sunny at the moment, according to that internet they have now, but rain is due around 3pm local time (or 10.30am GMT).

1.00am GMT01:00

Morning folks. Or evening, night, afternoon, whatever. It’s about four in the bloody morning, London time, and here we are, watching bloody England under Alastair bloody Cook playing bloody one-day cricket. Is there anything more depressing, less appealing, more of a Christmas spirit hoover?

Well, er, yes, actually. Take a look at the scoreline now, because against all odds England are somehow in with a shout of getting something from a seven-match ODI series in Sri Lanka; even getting close to the hosts would be a mighty fine achievement for this much-maligned side. England are 3-2 down with two to play and, while no one would be surprised if it finished up 5-2, you have to give them a healthy, if measured, dollop of credit for staying in it to this stage after two miserable defeats to open the tour.

What’s most impressive is that the two wins haven’t been freak results or the consequence of underperforming or complacent opponents. Rather it’s been proper, 21st-century ODI batting from the middle order, which is ideal when they’re more often than not the men facing the most deliveries. Root and Taylor in particular look excellent: busy, wristy and keen to move down the track to force the game to be played on their terms rather than the bowler. Previously, England getting bogged down in the middle overs was as inevitable as a tenuous OBO simile; now they have batsmen capable of playing like, well, a good ODI side.

England aren’t there yet and they won’t win the World Cup. No third/fourth seamer has convinced, the number of wides bowled has been embarrassing, James Tredwell is bizarrely in and out of the side and there’s the issue of him at the top of the order, dragging things down like the title track on Meat Is Murder. Still, it’s Christmas (oh bugger me it’s bloody Christmas), let’s look on the bright side.

Play begins at 4.30am GMT, or 10.30 in Pallekele. I’m off for a nap, because I’m writing this at midnight. See you in a bit!

1.00am GMT01:00

Dan will be here shortly.