England vs Sri Lanka: Tom Banton notches maiden ODI century as Harry Brook's side secure series victory after tourists collapse

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.

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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.

Banton brilliance headlines complete England performance

Despite England's eventual victory, it took just eight balls for Sri Lanka to take their first wicket as Ben Duckett (0) was clean bowled by Dilshan Madushanka (1-49), before Joe Root was dismissed by Janith Liyanage in an uncharacteristically stiff cameo that saw him notch just 18 off 37 balls.

It was then the partnership of Brook and player-of-the-match Banton that made the difference for England, putting on 150 runs in a lucrative partnership that was eventually ended when the former was caught on the boundary by Dunith Wellalage.

Banton's majestic innings - featuring 21 boundaries and including five sixes - came to a conclusion when his effort to hit a sixth maximum was caught by Malinga at long-on.

But England were not done there - alongside Will Jacks (25 off 21), Cox spearheaded a late flurry of runs, notching his half-century off 42 balls before Fernando took his and Dawson's wickets with the final two balls of the 49th over, leaving England in the ascendancy after posting a formidable score of 355-7.

Sri Lanka were immediately left reeling after Baker's early wicket and found it difficult to recover, with no batter scoring above 20 bar their captain Mendis, with their woes being immediately compounded by the controversial run out of Pavan Rathnayake.

Cox appeared to have made a mishap after taking the bails off the stumps before he was in control of the ball, but - after a near five-minute period of discussion involving both umpires and players - Archer's direct-hit throw uprooting the stump was ruled legitimate.

His dismissal was followed by that of Charith Asalanka and Wellalage within the next eight balls, leaving Sri Lanka on the brink of defeat at 82-6 with no recognised batters left, before the excellent work of Dawson - taking three of the last four Sri Lanka wickets - ensured England's dominant victory was confirmed with 21.5 overs to spare.

Brook: That was a near-perfect performance

England captain Harry Brook, speaking to Sky Sports:

"I thought that was a near-perfect performance there - I thought everyone chipped in and it was an exceptional win.

"There was some tough periods, but I thought the patience we showed, it was exceptional.

"We want to be able to adapt to conditions every game. Every surface has been slightly different. That is the side we want to be - we want to win when they are not in our favour and when they are, we want to nail sides.

"We are building towards a squad where someone can come into roles and fill it exceptionally well. We are building to a strong squad and I have full trust in anyone who comes in."

Mendis: We made too many mistakes

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis:

"We struggled with the batting and then we made some mistakes in the field, including me.

"I think we played good cricket in the second ODI and when go to Pakistan after this, we need to be better.

"We made too many mistakes."

England vs Sri Lanka results and fixtures

All times UK and Ireland; all games live on Sky Sports

• First T20 (Utilita Bowl) - England won by 119 runs
• Second T20 (Sophia Gardens) - England won by six wickets
• Third T20 (Emirates Old Trafford) - England won by eight wickets
• First ODI (Durham) - England won by 89 runs
• Second ODI (Thursday September 24) - Sri Lanka won by 16 runs
• Third ODI (Sunday September 27) - England won by 223 runs

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