Clarke rampage seals England A's win

England A 252 for 5 (Bell 72, Shah 63, Clarke 44*) beat Sri Lanka A 248 for 8 (Arnold 71) by five wickets
Scorecard

A thrilling late assault from Rikki Clarke and Alex Gidman, who smashed an unbeaten 63-run partnership from just 39 deliveries, guided England A to a five-wicket victory over their Sri Lankan counterparts with just seven balls to spare, in their opening match of the one-day triangular series in Colombo.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat second, England had been wobbling at 28 for 3 in pursuit of Sri Lanka's 248 for 8. Vikram Solanki and Graeme Swann fell in the space of eight deliveries, and Matt Prior soon followed for an aggressive 22 from 21 balls, but the innings was stabilised by the captain Ian Bell and Owais Shah, who both scored half-centuries in a 127-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

At 155 for 4 with just 14 overs remaining, England were more or less in the hunt, but the dismissal of Bell, who was trapped lbw for 72 by Malinga Bandara, Sri Lanka's matchwinner in last week's second Test, brought about a dose of the jitters. Shah was forced to retire hurt on 63, and when Alistair Cook soon followed for 8, England were 190 for 5 and facing defeat.

Their response, however, was emphatic, as Clarke and Gidman lashed the bowlers to all parts of the ground, racking up nine fours and a six between them as Sri Lanka's bowlers wilted. Thilan Thushara's crucial penultimate over was dispatched for 15 runs, and three fours in the first five balls of Nandika Ranjith's follow-up wrapped up the win.

Clarke and Gidman had earlier picked up a wicket apiece to restrict Sri Lanka's run-scoring. Their top-scorer was the former Test batsman, Russel Arnold, who cracked 71 from 80 balls to give the innings some late momentum. Malintha Gajanayake added a half-century of his own in a 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but two late run-outs brought England back into contention.