Sachindu Colombage shines on debut as Sri Lanka limit England

Sachindu Colombage, an unheralded 28-year-old legspinner, took three wickets on an extraordinary international debut as Sri Lanka bowled England out for just 265 at the Riverside in Durham.

Colombage spent last summer playing club cricket for Downham Stow in the East Anglian Premier League, but won his call-up after impressing in the recent Lanka Premier League. He was picked ahead of Wanindu Hasaranga as Sri Lanka's legspinner, and removed Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Jamie Overton as England's middle order wobbled in the first ODI.

For Root, who lost his off stump to a ball that drifted in then turned past his outside edge, it was a first dismissal in five ODI innings, ending a stretch of 404 unbeaten runs in the format. He fell six runs short of a half-century after a 68-run stand with top-scorer Harry Brook, the first time in seven ODI innings this year that he has failed to reach 50.

Brook was the only England batter to play with any real fluency on a slowish, end-of-season surface, and threw his head back in disgust when he picked out deep backward point while charging Dushmantha Chameera on 67. It prompted a mid-innings stumble, as England slipped from 182 for 3 after 31 overs to 211 for 7 in the 39th.

Sri Lanka struck early after Brook chose to bat. Asitha Fernando ended Tom Banton's first innings as an ODI opener after 12 balls, thanks to an outswinger that squared him up and trimmed the top of off stump. But Root started positively, and England reached 64 for 1 after the initial 10-over Powerplay as he added 51 with Ben Duckett.

Duckett was then trapped lbw on the sweep by Dunith Wellalage, and Colombage's introduction gave Root a scare when he was struck on the front pad, surviving an lbw review. Brook and Root were busy during the middle overs, scampering between the wickets, though perhaps slightly too enthusiastic: Brook very nearly ran Root out on 42 with an optimistic single.

But Colombage did for him one over later, finding just enough turn to beat Root's outside edge, and Brook's miscued slap to deep point set a collapse in motion. Buttler was pinned on the pad and given out on review, Charith Asalanka's direct hit accounted for Rehan Ahmed, and Colombage had a third when Overton played all around one that slid on.

Will Jacks, Brook's vice-captain for this series, offered some resistance from No. 6, hitting four fours in a row off Chameera when the field came up due to Sri Lanka's painfully slow over rate. But Dilshan Madushanka pegged back Gus Atkinson's off stump, and two Asitha yorkers accounted for Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue to leave Jacks stranded on 46 not out.

England have not defended a total below 300 in a full-length 50-over game since July 2022. They also failed to hit a single six in an ODI innings while batting first since they were bowled out for 113 by West Indies in March 2019.

But they will take some hope from Sri Lanka's underpowered batting in last week's T20I series, as well as the fact the surface did not look straightforward to bat on, with several balls gripping or keeping slightly low through England's innings.