Home Cricket National Cricket Will Jacks’ all-round brilliance powers England to win in the ODI series...

Will Jacks’ all-round brilliance powers England to win in the ODI series opener

Sri Lanka tour of England 2026

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Sri Lanka tour of England 2026

England registered a comfortable victory over Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the three-match series played yesterday (22nd September) at Chester-le-Street.

Having won the toss, England skipper Harry Brook opted to bat first. Sri Lanka made a couple of notable changes to their playing XI, leaving out senior spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana while handing an ODI debut to wrist-spinner Sachindu Colombage.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers produced an impressive effort to restrict a strong England batting lineup to 265 runs. Debutant Colombage and fast bowler Asitha Fernando were the pick of the bowlers, claiming three wickets each.

Colombage, in particular, enjoyed an impressive debut with the ball, making an immediate impact by dismissing two of England’s biggest names, Joe Root and Jos Buttler. The wrist-spinner showed excellent composure on debut as Sri Lanka kept England from posting a bigger total.

Chasing 266 for victory, Sri Lanka’s batting struggles continued from the T20I series as they were bowled out for 176 runs, falling 89 runs short of the target.

Captain Kusal Mendis starred with a fighting 42, while Dunith Wellalage provided further resistance with a spirited 45 from the No. 7 position. However, the rest of the batting lineup failed to make significant contributions as England’s bowlers kept Sri Lanka under pressure throughout the chase.

Off-spinner Will Jacks was the standout performer with the ball for England, producing a sensational spell to claim five wickets for just 22 runs.

Result
Sri Lanka
176/10 (37)
England
265/10 (48.1)
Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
Tom Banton  b Asitha Fernando 10 12 2 0 83.33
Ben Duckett lbw b Dunith Wellalage 32 29 5 0 110.34
Joe Root b Sachindu Colombage 44 52 5 0 84.62
Harry Brook c Dilshan Madusanka b Dushmantha Chameera 67 69 7 0 97.10
Jos Buttler lbw b Sachindu Colombage 31 33 2 0 93.94
Will Jacks not out 46 47 5 0 97.87
Rehan Ahmed run out (Charith Asalanka) 2 7 0 0 28.57
Jamie Overton b Sachindu Colombage 8 13 1 0 61.54
Gus Atkinson b Dilshan Madusanka 14 20 1 0 70.00
Jofra Archer  b Asitha Fernando 2 6 0 0 33.33
Josh Tongue b Asitha Fernando 0 1 0 0 0.00
Extras 9 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 7, pen 0)
Total 265/10 (48.1 Overs, RR: 5.5)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Asitha Fernando 9.1 0 53 3 5.82
Dilshan Madusanka 10 0 45 1 4.50
Dushmantha Chameera 9 0 61 1 6.78
Dunith Wellalage 10 0 60 1 6.00
Sachindu Colombage 10 0 44 3 4.40

Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
Pathum Nissanka c Jos Buttler b Josh Tongue 27 37 4 0 72.97
Kamindu Mendis c Ben Duckett b Gus Atkinson 14 19 3 0 73.68
Kusal Mendis lbw b Will Jacks 42 60 4 0 70.00
Pavan Rathnayake c Tom Banton  b Jamie Overton 13 23 1 0 56.52
Charith Asalanka lbw b Will Jacks 1 3 0 0 33.33
Janith Liyanage  c Jos Buttler b Jamie Overton 4 8 0 0 50.00
Dunith Wellalage c Jamie Overton b Will Jacks 45 36 5 2 125.00
Sachindu Colombage lbw b Rehan Ahmed 14 14 3 0 100.00
Dushmantha Chameera not out 7 19 0 0 36.84
Asitha Fernando c Tom Banton  b Will Jacks 0 2 0 0 0.00
Dilshan Madusanka b Will Jacks 0 1 0 0 0.00
Extras 9 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 8, pen 0)
Total 176/10 (37 Overs, RR: 4.76)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Jofra Archer  6 1 38 0 6.33
Gus Atkinson 7 0 25 1 3.57
Josh Tongue 5 0 23 1 4.60
Rehan Ahmed 7 1 46 1 6.57
Jamie Overton 5 0 21 2 4.20
Will Jacks 7 0 22 5 3.14