England v Sri Lanka
At Nottingham, June 27 (day/night)
15-Apr-2003
At Nottingham, June 27 (day/night). England won by 44 runs. England 4 pts. Toss: England.
Cheeky innovation from Stewart and glorious violence from Flintoff left Sri Lanka with a mini-mountain
to climb. But razor-sharp English fielding prevented them from gaining more than a
fleeting foothold. Hussain dived breathtakingly to his left at short cover to dismiss a disbelieving
Jayasuriya; Irani got rid of the fluent Atapattu with an athletic one-handed effort at mid-off; and
Thorpe held on superbly at short mid-wicket to defuse Kaluwitharana's explosiveness. At 214 for
four in the 41st over, Sri Lanka still had an outside chance, but Arnold was run out by Hoggard's
deflection on to the stumps at the non-striker's end, and Flintoff and Kirtley then did the rest.
England's total of 293 was an unexpected bonus after Fernando had removed Hussain and Thorpe
in the same over to make it 104 for four. First Stewart showed off his new-found confidence
against the spinners with a sequence of searing cuts and delicate dabs. Then, after Irani's patient
and crucial 39, Flintoff combined power, timing and placement to belt a brutal half-century in
just 28 balls, the quickest by an England player in one-day internationals. It was the sort of innings
England fans had been waiting for.
Man of the Match: A. Flintoff.