Ben Duckett's magnificent 167 off 132 balls and Liam Dawson's four-wicket haul guided England to a 55-run consolation victory over Sri Lanka in the final match of the ODI tri-series in Lahore.
England posted 386-5 in their 50 overs, with Duckett reaching his highest ODI score and becoming only the third England opener to pass 150 twice in the format. Tom Banton contributed 74 in an opening stand of 163, while Harry Brook (44), Will Jacks (30) and Jordan Cox (43 off 27) added late impetus.
Sri Lanka's chase never fully recovered after losing five wickets for 16 runs in the closing stages. Pavan Rathnayake's brilliant 118 off 77 balls and Kusal Mendis' 89 had kept them in contention, but Dawson (4-49) removed Rathnayake in the 45th over to seal the win as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 331 in 45.1 overs.
Dawson leads bowling fightback
After England's inexperienced attack had struggled in the middle overs, the experienced Dawson turned the game. He broke a second-wicket stand of 82 by dismissing Avishka Fernando, then trapped Dasun Shanaka lbw. With the run-rate climbing, he returned to claim Rathnayake and Asitha Fernando, while Sam Curran and Sonny Baker executed well at the death.
Selection headache for Australia tour
Duckett's form alongside Banton — who has five fifty-plus scores in his last six innings — gives England coach Brendon McCullum a welcome dilemma ahead of the Australia tour in November, especially with Jacob Bethell returning from injury. "You want options, and guys to push their case when they get their opportunities," McCullum told Sky Sports. "They're good problems for us to have. We will learn more about that in Australia, but we will always do what's right for the team depending on conditions and the opposition."
Sri Lanka now face Pakistan in the tri-series final on Sunday, while England travel to Australia for three ODIs and five T20 internationals.
