An over the moon Sri Lanka A Captain Sadeera Samarawickrama was full of praise for his young new look side that routed the England Lions by 6 wickets in Tuesday’s decisive third and final unofficial ODI to take the series 2-1, “I’m so pleased over the triumph today and the overall series triumph where we as a mainly young side played very positive, competitive cricket in out playing the English. What was remarkable was that several youngsters made the most of the opportunity that came their way in delivering with both the bat and ball, ” quipped Samarawickrama who went on to praise the batting efforts of Nipun Dhananjaya and Sahan Arachchige in the decisive third game. He also singled out the 11-wicket Bowler of the Series effort of Dushan Hemantha. “Hemantha did a great job with the ball in helping the side to get the better of the England Lions.”
Samarawickrama, the wicket-keeper batsman, who scored a half century in the opening game that went England’s way, and 40 and 23 in the victorious second and third games, said of his own batting, “As the captain I always tried to do the basics right and bat to the very end of an innings. I am pleased with the overall performances of our batsmen who rose to the occasion in delivering with the bat.” Of the bowlers, he commented that particularly the spinners had done a tremendous job.