Imperious Banton century propels England to Sri Lanka series victory
Tom Banton posted an imperious 126 off just 105 balls to guide England to a dominant 223-run win in the third ODI against Sri Lanka to secure a 2-1 series victory at the Oval.
England secured a 2-1 ODI series victory over Sri Lanka in the third ODI at the Oval after Tom Banton notched an imperious 126 off 105 balls; Jordan Cox and Harry Brook notched fifties on the way to England's 356; Pavan Rathnayake's run-out dismissal caused confusion
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Tom Banton posted an imperious 126 off just 105 balls to guide England to a dominant 223-run win in the third ODI against Sri Lanka to secure a 2-1 series victory at the Oval.
Banton top scored with his career-best but was aided by sizeable contributions by skipper Harry Brook (77 off 66) and the in-form Jordan Cox (76 off 52) as the batting side set the tourists a mammoth target of 356 after their 50 overs, with Dilhara Fernando (3-52) the pick of the bowlers - albeit with two of his wickets coming with the final two balls of the innings.
That target loomed even larger over Sri Lanka's innings when Sonny Baker nicked off Pathum Nissanka (1) for his maiden ODI wicket with just the eighth ball of their innings.
From there the wickets started to tumble for Sri Lanka who - despite the best efforts of captain Kusal Mendis (35 off 26) - went from 36-1 to 82-6 in just 10 overs, including the confusing run-out dismissal of Pavan Rathnayake (18), which was still given as out despite Jordan Cox taking the bails off before Archer's direct-hit throw dismantled the stumps.
The impressive bowling of Liam Dawson (3-17) and Gus Atkinson (2-26) then ensured Sri Lanka's tail went out with a 50-run whimper, handing England the series victory and marking a successful end of the home summer for Brendon McCullum's side after 12 wins in 14 white-ball games.
