MANCHESTER: Chris Jordan claimed five wickets as England bowled Sri Lanka out for 67 runs, their third lowest total in One-day Internationals, to help win the third ODI with a resounding 10-wicket victory at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

England have a 2-1 lead in the five-match series heading into the fourth encounter at Lords on Saturday.

Jordan, who secured the man-of-the-match award after impressing with bat and ball in the first ODI, continued to press his claim for a place in England’s Test squad with another performance full of aggression and enthusiasm.

With rain in the air, England won the toss and elected to bowl first and that decision paid immediate dividends in the third over with James Anderson grabbing the wicket of the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan (2), who scored 88 in the second match.

Anderson then accounted for Dilshan’s opening partner Lahiru Thirimanne for seven, also caught behind, before Jordan tore through the visiting middle-order.

First the 25-year-old had the talismanic Kumar Sangakkara (13) caught by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler trying to play an extravagant shot before Dinesh Chandimal followed with a soft dismissal for six.

England’s Chris Jordan reacts after dismissing Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga.—Reuters

England’s fielding, a problem area recently, was notably better than in the lost second one-dayer as England increased the pressure on the shell-shocked batsmen.

Spinner James Tredwell ousted Mahela Jayawardene lbw for 12 before captain Angelo Mathews became Jordan’s third victim on 60-6.

Ashan Priyanjan was run out for two and then Jordan brought up his five-wicket haul with two further dismissals either side of Tredwell’s second victim as England took the last six wickets for the loss of nine runs.

Chasing the low score, England cantered across the finishing line with returning captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell carrying England to the required total in 12.1 overs.

Cook (30) and Bell (41) were rarely troubled chasing the meagre total and the easy victory was assured in style with Bell hitting Rangana Herath for six as England hit back just three days after being bowled out for 99 during Sri Lanka’s 157-run win at Chester-le-Street.

“The lads came out firing, desperate to prove a point today, and we did that,” Cook told Sky Sports.

“When we got the chance Jords really hit the mark,” explained the left-handed opener, who missed the second ODI with a groin strain.

Jordan added: “It was really emphatic today and, after we lost at Durham, we wanted to fight back hard. We were surprised at how quickly we won but we’re happy.

“Playing international cricket fires me up and it was nice to get one over on them today.”

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews slammed his side’s top order, saying: “The poor shot selection was the main reason why we only got 67.”

However, he added: “The English team is hard to beat on home soil but I’ve got the team to do it.”

*Scoreboard*

SRI LANKA:

H.D.R.L. Thirimanne c Buttler b Anderson 7

T.M. Dilshan c Buttler b Anderson 2

K.C. Sangakkara c Buttler b Jordan 13

D.P.M.D. Jayawardene lbw b Tredwell 12

L.D. Chandimal c Bell b Jordan 6

A.D. Mathews c Buttler b Jordan 11

S.M.A. Priyanjan run out 2

K.M.D.N. Kulasekara c Tredwell b Jordan 5

S.M.S.M. Senanayake c sub b Tredwell 0

H.M.R.K.B. Herath not out 0

S.L. Malinga lbw b Jordan 2

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-4) 7

TOTAL (all out, 24 overs) 67

FALL OF WKTS: 1-4, 2-13, 3-32, 4-45, 5-58, 6-60, 7-65, 8-65, 9-65.

BOWLING: Anderson 7-2-10-2 (1w); Gurney 6-1-23-0; Jordan 8-0-29-5 (3w); Tredwell 3-1-2-2.

ENGLAND:

A.N. Cook not out 30

I.R. Bell not out 41

EXTRAS (W-2) 2

TOTAL (for no wkt, 12.1 overs) 73

DID NOT BAT: G.S. Ballance, J.E. Root, E.J.G. Morgan, R.S. Bopara, J.C. Buttler, C.J. Jordan, H.F. Gurney, J.M. Anderson, J.C. Tredwell.

BOWLING: Kulasekara 3-0-14-0 (2w); Malinga 3-0-13-0; Herath 3.1-0-29-0; Senanayake 1-0-4-0; Priyanjan 2-0-9-0.

RESULT: England won by 10 wickets.

UMPIRES: M.A. Gough (England) and C.B. Gaffaney (New Zealand).

TV UMPIRE: M. Erasmus (South Africa).

MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Chris Jordan.

NEXT MATCH: Lord’s, Sunday.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2014