Collingwood's Men Become Asian Tigers As England Triumph

Failure has long become a state of mind for England one-day sides in Asia. It has crept insidiously into limbs exhausted by the heat. It has preyed upon minds mangled by the clamor of the streets and the torpor of the pitches. It has drained a procession of England teams of optimism and vitality.

Finally, at around 10.55pm here, England forcibly put the disappointments and debacles of the past 20 years behind them. A third successive one-day international win against Sri Lanka gave them an unassailable 3-1 lead in a five-match series and secured a first series win in Asia - the novices of Bangladesh apart - since Mike Gatting's side beat Pakistan 3-0 in 1987.

There were no frills, and fewer thrills, just a thoroughly professional performance on another attritional surface, enough to bring England a five-wicket win with 19 balls to spare. When they restricted Sri Lanka to 211 for nine, the match felt too close to call, but they fashioned victory with utter certainty. Sri Lanka's pace bowlers were comfortably addressed; Kaushal Lokuarachchi's leg-spin, seen for the first time this series, held no alarms.

Alastair Cook played with equilibrium in making 80 from 123 balls, his poise briefly giving way to irritation when he fell 18 runs short of victory, chopping on a short ball from Dilhara Fernando. Paul Collingwood, the captain, then fell first ball, but Kevin Pietersen strolled home with 63 not out from 75 balls.

This has been an unexpected triumph. England had gained belief from a 4-3 defeat of India at home this summer but after a misconceived campaign in the Twenty20 World Cup few gave much for their chances, especially with Collingwood and his coach, Peter Moore's, in charge of an overseas tour for the first time. Heavily beaten in the opening match in Dambulla, an experimental side hit back, first defiantly, then astutely.

"After the defeat in the first game, it is unbelievable how quickly they have learned," said Collingwood. "It looks like these guys like a challenge."

Ryan Sidebottom's part in England's three successive wins has been immense. His combined bowling figures in the last two games in Dambulla and one at the Premadasa Stadium has amounted to eight for 69 in 28.1 overs - a redoubtable show of disciplined bowling.

Side bottom has not found the swing that gave him such Test success last summer, but his accuracy has been unwavering, he has mixed up his pace wisely but extravagantly, and he bowls a mean block-hole ball. He is also an incurable scruff, and when he spiritedly chased a ball to the boundary in the penultimate over and flung it in with his trousers tumbling down his thighs it rather summed him up.

That disheveled air also reminds us that fast bowling is a sweaty, sometimes unforgiving job and that he is a laborer committed to a fair day's work. He is a bowler with few adornments, just someone who has learned a lot during a long apprenticeship and who, with a ball in his hands, tells it as it is.

He had a leading part in Sri Lanka's abysmal start: 20 for three in the 11th over. Upul Tharanga edged a routine ball to slip, but he had earned it by an insistent start. Two more wickets came late on. At the start of his last over, Jehan Mubarak moved across his stumps and Side bottom rattled a yorker beneath him as if to say: "Stop mucking about."

Jimmy Anderson's first two wickets of the series took a long time coming but they were invaluable: Sanath Jayasuriya, duped by a slower ball and uncomfortably caught by Pietersen at mid-off, and Mahela Jayawardene out for nought. He has now moved above Phil DeFreitas as England's fourth-highest one-day wicket-taker. Darren Gough, Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff lie ahead of him.

A vigilant stand of 126 in 29 overs between Kumar Sangakkara and Chamara Silva weakened England's hold, but they fell in successive Stuart Broad overs, Silva upper-cutting to third man and then Sangakkara pulling to deep square. "It will have no effect on the Test series," vowed Sangakkara. "None whatsoever."