Will Jacks shone with both bat and ball as his all-round show helped England secure a comfortable 89-run win over Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Will Jacks came down the order and rescued England, helping them reach a competitive total on that pitch. Harry Brook scored a half-century as he made 67, while Joe Root made 44, and Will Jacks was unbeaten with a crucial knock of 46 runs. There were starts from the others as England reached 265 in 48.1 overs.
In the defence of the total, Will Jacks stood up with his superlative 5-wicket haul as England got the job done easily in the end. Jacks picked up 5 wickets while Kusal Mendis fought hard with 42, but no one really crossed 50 in this innings. It was a team effort made by Jacks to bowl Sri Lanka out for just 176 in 37 overs, losing the match rather tamely in the end.
Sachindu Colombage’s impressive debut display limits England to 265 in 48.1 oversÂ
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first on a glorious day and drier pitch, Tom Banton and Ben Duckett came out to open the batting for England while Asitha Fernando had the ball in hand for Sri Lanka. The duo started positively against the new ball and took the attack to Sri Lanka. They could add only 16 runs for the first wicket before Banton fell for 10 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name to Asitha Fernando, who cleaned him up. Joe Root came out to bat next.
The duo of Root and Duckett were off the blocks and played positive cricket and took full toll of the bad balls. They made sure that England amassed 64/1 in the first power play of 10 overs. The duo added a crucial 51-run stand for the second wicket before Duckett fell for 32 off 29 balls with 5 fours to his name to Dunith Wellalage, who struck in his first over to break the stand. Captain Harry Brook came out to bat next.
The duo of Root and Brook looked in control of the proceedings in the middle phase and looked at ease out there. They complemented each other really well while they were there at the crease. The duo added 68 runs for the third wicket to keep England on track before Root was dismissed for 44 off 52 balls with 5 fours to his name by Sachindu Colombage, who cleaned him up with a beauty. Keeper-batter Jos Buttler came out to bat next.
Buttler and Brook also got together and forged another important partnership, as consistent partnerships were the order of the day in the end. The duo added 47 runs for the 4th wicket before Brook, the captain, fell for a well-made 67 off 69 balls with 7 fours to his name. Will Jacks came out to bat next. Jacks and Buttler also tried to add some runs to their side as the duo added 14 runs for the 5th wicket before Buttler fell for 31 off 33 balls with 2 fours to his name to Colombage. Rehan Ahmed came out to bat next as half the side was out below 200 runs.
Just 3 more runs were added to the score before Rehan fell for 2 off 7 balls thanks to a brilliant run out from Charith Asalanka. Jamie Overton came out to bat next. Jacks and Overton added 12 runs for the 7th wicket before Overton fell for 8 off 13 balls with one four to his name to Colombage again. Gus Atkinson came out to bat next as the score was 214/7 in 40 overs for England with Atkinson and Jacks at the crease. Jacks and Atkinson forged a crucial stand with Jacks taking the lead role.
Atkinson gave him the required support and added some crucial runs for his side. The duo added 30 runs for the 8th wicket before Atkinson fell for 14 off 20 balls with one four to his name. Jofra Archer came out to bat next. The duo of Archer and Jacks added 6 more runs to the score before Archer fell for 2 off 6 balls to Asitha Fernando. Josh Tongue came out to bat next.
Jacks took over and took the bowling to the cleaners. The last-wicket duo added crucial runs for the side. Jacks hit 4 consecutive boundaries to end the over. The duo added 18 runs off 7 balls with Jacks at the non-striker’s end. Eventually, a 18-run last-wicket stand helped England cross 260. Eventually, England were bowled out for 265 in 48.1 overs with Tongue cleaned up by Fernando for a golden duck. Jack remained unbeaten on 46 off 47 balls with 5 fours to his name as England were bowled out for 265 in 48.1 overs. 9 extras were given by the fielding side.
From Sri Lanka’s point of view with the ball in hand, debutant Sachindu Colombage finished with 3/44 in 10 overs. Asitha Fernando finished with 3/53 in 9.1 overs. Dilshan Madushanka finished with 1/45 in 10 overs; Dushmantha Chameera finished with 1/61 in 9 overs. Dunith Wellalage finished with 1/60 in 10 overs. This meant that on a dry, slow and low pitch, Sri Lanka would need a miraculous 266 runs to win to upstage England, the hosts, in 50 overs.
Will Jacks’ 5-wicket haul skittled Sri Lanka out for 176 in 37 overs
Chasing 266 for the win, Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis came out to open the batting for Sri Lanka. Jofra Archer had the ball in hand for England. The openers gave Sri Lanka a steady, sedate start as they put on 27 for the first wicket before Kamindu fell for 14 off 19 balls with 3 fours to his name to Gus Atkinson. Captain and keeper-batter Kusal Mendis came out to bat next. The two senior pros tried to forge a stand and got starts in their innings.
They helped Sri Lanka muster 40/1 in the mandatory 10 overs of the powerplay. The duo added 21 runs for the second wicket before Nissanka fell for 27 off 37 balls with 4 fours to his name to Josh Tongue. Pavan Rathnayake came out to bat next. The duo of Kusal and Rathnayake added 36 runs for the third wicket before Rathnayake fell for 13 off 23 balls with one four to his name to Jamie Overton. Charith Asalanka came out to bat next.
Just one run was added to the score before Asalanka fell for 1 off 3 balls to Will Jacks LBW, and the DRS was burnt as well. Janith Liyanage came out to bat next. Kusal Mendis was carrying the hopes of Sri Lanka but was slowly fighting a losing battle. The duo added 15 runs to the score before Liyanage fell for 4 off 8 balls to Overton. Dunith Wellalage came out to bat next. Sri Lanka were 100/5 and tottering out there.
Just 5 runs were added to the score before the set batter Kusal fell for 42 off 60 balls with 4 fours to his name to Jack. Sachindu Colombage on debut came out to bat next. Wellalage played his shots and showed defiance, but it was too little, too late in the end. The duo added 28 runs for the 7th wicket before Colombage fell for 14 off 14 balls with 3 fours to his name to Rehan Ahmed LBW. Dushmantha Chameera came out to bat next.
Wellalage then played his shots and took the attack to England to give them a tiny scare. Chameera was a mere spectator in the end, but it was the Wellalage show as he gave Sri Lanka something to cheer about. The duo added 43 runs for the 8th wicket before Will Jacks came to clean up the tail. He first removed the set batter Wellalage, who fell for 45 off 36 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name, to Jacks as the end was near now.
Asitha Fernando came out to bat next. Jacks got another as he removed Asitha for a silver duck, as he was caught in the deep. Dilshan Madushanka came out at the end and was knocked over on the first ball for a golden duck as Jacks finished with 3 in the over, and 5 in the match. He got wickets in the 3rd, 5th and 6th ball of the over to finish the match. Chameera remained unbeaten on 7 off 19 balls as the Lankans were skittled out for 178 in 37 overs. 9 extras were given by the fielding side.
Will Jacks was the pick of the bowlers for England with figures of 5/22 in 7 overs. Jamie Overton chipped in with 2/21 in 5 overs. Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 1/25 in 7 overs. Josh Tongue chipped in with 1/23 in 5 overs. Rehan Ahmed finished with 1/46 in 7 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 0/38 in 6 overs. So, England win this match by a convincing margin of 89 runs to go 1-0 up in the 3-match ODI series. Will Jacks, for his all-round contributions with the bat and the ball, was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, England lead the series 1-0 with a thumping win at Durham. The caravan moves to Leeds, Headingley for the second ODI to take place on Thursday, 24th September, 2026 at 5 PM IST onwards. England will aim to seal the series with a game to spare, but it will be a must-win game for Sri Lanka to keep the series alive. Can they do it though?
We shall see how the second ODI pans out, with England running out easy victors at the end of the first ODI.
Also Read: ENG vs SL: Sachindu Colombage’s Dream Debut Spell Restricts England To 265