Cricket-England complete T20 sweep over Sri Lanka to go back on top of world rankings

Cricket - Third Twenty20 International - England v Sri Lanka - Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, Britain - September 19, 2026 England's Harry Brook holds the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after winning the series Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

MANCHESTER, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Jos Buttler hit an ⁠unbeaten half-century as dominant England beat a sorry Sri Lanka by eight wickets to complete a 3-0 series ⁠whitewash and replace India on top of the T20 world rankings after the final match of the series ‌in Manchester on Saturday.

The win, with 62 balls to spare, was a 15th in a row for England over Sri Lanka in the format.

Chasing a modest 125, after Sri Lanka collapsed to 124 all out with seven balls remaining, the hosts were 22-1 after opener Aneurin Donald was stumped for ​13 but Buttler and captain Harry Brook then stepped up and took control, ⁠ending thesix-over powerplay at 82-1.

Buttler, who on Thursday ⁠became the first batsman to reach 15,000 career T20 runs, brought up his half-century with a six and sent England ⁠to ‌a winning 126-2 with another as he added a top-scoring 62 from 32 deliveries to his tally while Brook contributed 33 before being run out.

Brook ended as top overall scorer and player of the series.

"I think everybody stepped up ⁠in this series," said Brook. "Every game has been slightly different and we're ​playing the conditions extremely well."

Sri Lanka bowled ‌nine wides, two going all the way to the boundary.

England, unchanged from the side that won the second ⁠T20 by six wickets ​in Cardiff on Thursday, again won the toss and opted to bowl as they chased the sweep, with a strong breeze blowing at Old Trafford.

Will Jacks, Jofra Archer and Player of the Match Sonny Baker took two wickets each as Sri Lanka faded after ending their ⁠powerplay at 47-2.

Opener Pathum Nissanka (36 off 24) top scored for the visitors ​before being caught by Brook off Jacks while Kamindu Mendis was caught by Jacks off Archer for 35 from 28 balls.

Wanindu Hasaranga (seven from six) knocked a bail off his own wicket after taking a hefty swing at an Archer delivery and tail-ender Eshan ⁠Malinga was run out for a duck by Liam Dawson while seeking a single.

Captain Charith Asalanka was needlessly run out for 16 as Sri Lanka slumped to 83-4.

"A very disappointing series for us in both the major departments, batting and bowling... this is an important eye-opener for us of where we stand right now in T20 cricket comparing to the best teams in ​the world," said Asalanka.

"This is a time to get together as players, support staff, ⁠and our Sri Lanka cricket board as well to find solutions for these T20 problems. These are the best 15 players right ​now so we have to find solutions in the right way."

England won thefirst ‌T20 in Southampton by 119 runs, with Brook scoring an ​unbeaten 114.

England play three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka next week, starting at Durham's Chester-le-Street ground on Tuesday with matches at Leeds' Headingley on Thursday and London's Oval on Sunday.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)

Thank you for your report!

板球——第三场二十20国际赛——英格兰对阵斯里兰卡——英国曼彻斯特老特拉福德板球场——2026年9月19日。英格兰队的哈里·布鲁克在赢得系列赛后与队友庆祝，并举起奖杯。（图片来自路透社/杰森·凯恩达夫）

曼彻斯特，9 月 19 日（路透社）——乔斯·巴特勒打出不败的半个世纪，帮助实力强劲的英格兰队以 8 个小门击败状态低迷的斯里兰卡队，以 3-0 横扫对手，并在周六曼彻斯特举行的系列赛最后一场比赛后取代印度队登上 T20 世界排名榜首。

英格兰队以62球的优势赢得了比赛，这是英格兰队在该赛制中对斯里兰卡队的15连胜。

斯里兰卡队在还剩 7 个球时全部出局，仅得 124 分，而主队在追逐 125 分的目标时，开局球员阿纽林·唐纳德被击中三柱门，得 13 分，比分变为 22-1。但巴特勒和队长哈里·布鲁克随后挺身而出，控制了比赛，在 6 局强力进攻阶段结束时，比分达到 82-1。

巴特勒周四成为首位职业生涯 T20 得分达到 15,000 分的击球手，他用一记六分球达到了半个世纪，又用一记六分球帮助英格兰队以 126-2 的比分获胜，他在 32 个球中获得了最高的 62 分，而布鲁克在被跑出局前贡献了 33 分。

布鲁克最终获得总得分王和系列赛最佳球员称号。

布鲁克说：“我认为每个人在这轮系列赛中都发挥出色。每场比赛都略有不同，我们都非常适应各种比赛条件。”

斯里兰卡队投出了9个宽球，其中2个球直接滚到了边界。

英格兰队与周四在卡迪夫以六个小门赢得第二场 T20 比赛的阵容相同，再次赢得掷硬币，并选择先发球，因为他们要追赶横扫，当时老特拉福德球场吹着强劲的微风。

威尔·杰克斯、乔弗拉·阿彻和本场最佳球员索尼·贝克各取两分，斯里兰卡在强力进攻阶段以 47-2 结束后逐渐衰落。

客队开局球员帕图姆·尼桑卡（24球36分）是得分最高的球员，之后被布鲁克接住杰克斯的球出局；卡明杜·门迪斯（28球35分）也被杰克斯接住阿切尔的球出局。

瓦尼杜·哈萨兰加（6 球 7 分）在猛击阿切尔的投球后，不慎将自己球门上的横木击落；尾棒击球手埃沙恩·马林加在试图跑一分时被利亚姆·道森跑出局，一分未得。

斯里兰卡队队长查里特·阿萨兰卡（Charith Asalanka）被无谓地跑出局，仅得16分，斯里兰卡队以83-4的比分跌落谷底。

“这对我们来说是一个非常令人失望的系列赛，我们在击球和投球这两个主要方面都表现不佳……这让我们清楚地认识到，与世界上最好的球队相比，我们在T20板球方面目前的水平如何，”阿萨兰卡说道。

“现在是球员、后勤人员以及斯里兰卡板球协会齐聚一堂，共同寻找解决T20比赛问题的方案的时候了。这些是目前最优秀的15名球员，所以我们必须找到正确的解决方案。”

英格兰队在南安普顿以 119 分的优势赢得了第一场 T20 比赛，布鲁克取得了 114 分的不败战绩。

下周，英格兰将与斯里兰卡进行三场一日国际赛，首场比赛将于周二在达勒姆的切斯特勒街球场举行，随后周四将在利兹的海丁利球场进行比赛，周日将在伦敦的椭圆球场进行比赛。

（艾伦·鲍德温报道，托比·戴维斯编辑）

感谢您的报告！