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02/03 12:19 CST Bethell stars as England warms up in style for T20 World Cup by
routing Sri Lanka 3-0 in series
Bethell stars as England warms up in style for T20 World Cup by routing Sri
Lanka 3-0 in series
PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) --- England rounded off its T20 World Cup
preparations in style by sweeping the series 3-0 against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Left-arm spinner Jacob Bethell (4-11) was the unlikely hero as he grabbed the
last four wickets in eight balls and Sri Lanka crumbled to 116 all out in the
third and final game.
Sam Curran's career-best 58 off 48 balls had earlier lifted England to 128-9.
Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera also took a career-best 5-24 in his first game
of the series.
"That was awesome, a great win to be part of," England captain Harry Brook
said. "We've shown we can adapt to surfaces. Tonight was a tricky one to bat on
. . . the World Cup is here so when we have the opportunity to play here, we
have the experiences to carry over."
Sri Lanka needed 17 off 17 balls before Bethell ran through the tail by
claiming three wickets in the 18th over. He then had Maheesh Theekshana caught
at short third man.
In Bethell's game-turning over, Jos Buttler hung onto a brilliant diving catch
to dismiss Dunith Wellalage, Chameera offered a tame catch in the covers and
skipper Dasun Shanaka was stumped while trying to go for a big shot on a dusty
wicket.
For the second game in succession, Sri Lanka's batters struggled to cope with
England's spinners, losing their last eight wickets for just 54 runs with Will
Jacks (3-14) also starring.
Kusal Mendis top-scored with 26 and Pathum Nissanka (23) hit three sixes in his
12-ball knock before slicing Liam Dawson to Jacks on the edge of the circle in
the covers.
Earlier, England crashed to 34-4 inside the power play after Brook had won his
third successive toss and elected to bat.
With the ball gripping on the surface, Chameera varied his pace intelligently
and made an immediate impact when he had Ben Duckett trapped leg before wicket
for a first-ball duck.
Matheesha Pathirana struck twice with his slingy action when Bethell was caught
behind and Brook lobbed an easy catch to extra cover after being beaten by a
slower delivery.
England slipped to 47-5 when Theekshana hit the top of Buttler's stumps with a
delivery that zipped back in. Curran then held one end up with a gritty knock
that featured six fours and a six.
Chameera picked up three wickets towards the end, while Curran fell when he top
edged to third man in the final over.
"Very disappointed," Shanaka said. "We lost 3-0. As captain I need to address
the areas really well to play a good World Cup. We are looking forward to it
and we desperately want to deliver something special."
The World Cup starts Saturday.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
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