Joe Root and Jos Buttler laid the platform for England’s dominant 122-run win over Sri Lanka in the fifth and final one-day international in Cardiff yesterday. Root top-scored with 93 as England made 324 for seven. Together with man-of-the-match Buttler, who made a typically rapid 70, he put on 109 for the fifth wicket.
Sri Lanka’s chase never got going and they were bowled out for 202 with more than seven overs to spare. That gave England a convincing 3-0 series win, with one tie and one no result. It was further proof of the progress England had made in ODI cricket since their humiliating first-round exit from last year’s World Cup, which included a nine-wicket thrashing by Sri Lanka in Wellington.
“The belief in the changing room has been outstanding,” said England captain Eoin Morgan. “Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Buttler, Joe Root — everybody has contributed with the bat apart from myself.”
For Sri Lanka this latest series loss came after a 2-0 reverse in a three-Test campaign against England. It emphasised the worth of England’s battling tie in the ODI series opener at Trent Bridge. “Either batting, bowling or fielding has let us down,” said Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews. “The first game was a big game and England did well to tie and get the momentum. We went down from there.”
Mathews opted to bowl first Saturday after winning the toss on a green-tinged pitch. Man-of-the-series Jason Roy, who scored a superb 162 on his Surrey home ground during England’s six-wicket win at The Oval on Wednesday, again looked in good touch with a run-a-ball 34.
But there was to be no third hundred this series after his 112 not not out at Edgbaston, with Roy hoisting paceman Suranga Lakmal to deep square leg. James Vince, opening in place of the injured Alex Hales, marked his maiden ODI innings with a stylish fifty before getting himself stumped off spinner Danushka Gunathilaka.
Morgan made 20 that included a soaring six over long-on off leg-spinner Seekkugge Prasanna. However, the left-hander also fell to Gunathilaka when he sliced him to cover. It was the 21st successive innings in all international cricket where the Irishman had failed to make a fifty. Gunathilaka took an ODI best three for 48. Buttler, scooping fours and launching Lakmal for a spectacular six over long-off, added fresh impetus.
His 45-ball innings ended when he was bowled by debutant Chaminda Bandara for the left-arm seamer’s first international wicket. “I’ve had a bit of success and felt in good form,” said Buttler.
Root reverse-swept a Bandara full toss for four to bring up England’s 300. At the start of the last over of the innings Root — dropped on 90 — was 93 not out. But there was to be no ninth ODI century for the Yorkshireman, as the first delivery of the 50th over saw him bowled by Nuwan Pradeep to end a 106-ball knock including six fours.
Sri Lanka were soon nine for one at a sunny Sophia Gardens when Kusal Perera was lbw to David Willey. Gunathilaka made 48 before he was lbw to fast bowler Liam Plunkett. Mathews drove Plunkett down the ground for four but next ball the same bowler knocked his stumps over to the joy of a crowd where many fans were still celebrating Wales’s shock 3-1 Euro 2016 football quarter-final win over Belgium in Lille on Friday.
Willey ended the match with three wickets in seven balls, including Dinesh Chandimal, who top-scored for Sri Lanka with 53. Nine wickets were shared by Yorkshire bowlers with the other Sri Lanka dismissal seeing their county colleague Jonny Bairstow run out Kusal Mendis in conjunction with Lancashire wicket-keeper Buttler.
Sri Lanka will have one last chance for a win on either English or Welsh soil this tour when they face England in a lone Twenty20 international at Southampton on Tuesday.

Scoreboard
England innings
J. Roy c Perera b Lakmal  34
J. Vince st Chandimal b Gunathilaka  51
J. Root b Pradeep  93
E. Morgan c Mendis b Gunathilaka  20
J. Bairstow c Shanaka b Gunathilaka  22
J. Buttler b Bandara  70
C. Woakes not out  17
L. Plunkett run out (Pradeep)  9
Extras (lb4, w4)  8
Total (7 wkts, 50 overs)  324
Did not bat: C Jordan, D Willey, A Rashid
Fall of wickets: 1-67 (Roy), 2-108 (Vince), 3-137 (Morgan), 4-182 (Bairstow), 5-291 (Buttler), 6-314 (Root), 7-324 (Plunkett)
Bowling: Lakmal 10-0-65-1 (1w); Bandara 10-0-83-1 (1w); Pradeep 8-0-59-1; Gunathilaka 10-0-48-3 (1w); Prasanna 10-0-52-0 (1w); Mendis 2-0-13-0

Sri Lanka innings  
K. Perera lbw b Willey  6
D. Gunathilaka lbw b Plunkett  48
K. Mendis run out (Bairstow/Buttler)  22
D. Chandimal b Willey  53
A. Mathews b Plunkett  13
U. Tharanga b Rashid  0
D. Shanaka st Buttler b Rashid  22
S. Prasanna c Willey b Plunkett  5
S. Lakmal c Morgan b Willey  10
N. Pradeep c Woakes b Willey  7
C. Bandara not out  1
Extras (lb7, w8)  15
Total (all out, 42.4 overs)  202
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Perera), 2-66 (Mendis), 3-83 (Gunathilaka), 4-105 (Mathews), 5-105 (Tharanga), 6-141 (Shanaka), 7-170 (Prasanna), 8-194 (Lakmal), 9-195 (Chandimal), 10-202 (Pradeep)
Bowling: Woakes 9-0-36-0 (2w); Willey 8.4-0-34-4; Jordan 7-0-40-0 (5w); Plunkett 8-0-44-3; Rashid 10-0-41-2 (1w);
Result: England won by 122 runs
Man-of-the-match: jos Buttler (ENG)
Series: England win five-match series 3-0
Man-of-the-series: Jason Roy (ENG)