England thrash Sri Lanka following brilliant Harry Brook century

England thrash Sri Lanka following brilliant Harry Brook century

England captain hits unbeaten 114 off 49 balls in first T20 Sonny Baker claims three wickets in 119-run victory As he nears the end of a hectic ­summer Harry Brook was offered the chance to rest rather than play this series and how Sri Lanka must wish Pakistan’s red-ball side had extended him enough to force a ­lay-off. As it turned out the 27-year-old could hardly have looked fresher as he inspired his side to an overwhelming win over emphatically outclassed opponents, a brilliant century powering them to a 19th victory in just 22 games since he took over the captaincy, secured by the margin of 119 runs. It was Brook’s second T20 century, making him the third Englishman to score more than one. He cavorted to triple figures off 42 balls of which precisely a third were dispatched to the boundary, six of them beyond it, and ended unbeaten on 114. But as much as his power impressed, using the size of the ground and manipulation of angles to maximum advantage, aided occasionally by the tourists’ imperfection in the field, he also scurried a succession of twos. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Simon Burnton at the Utilita Bowl