1st ODI: England vs Sri Lanka

I'll spare you any a long introduction as I'm a couple of days behind and you should really know the result by now. To sum up: rain, some cricket, more rain, cricket, then Sri Lanka do a Cardiff but not as impressively. Here's the first ODI between England and Sri Lanka, where Alastair Cook made his home debut as England ODI captain. If makes the Essex supporting heart swell with pride.

Captain Cook loses the toss (hat inspired by this photo) and Sri Lanka put England into bat.

Unfortunately, just as the players are ready to take to the field, like the Test series, the ODI series begins with rain.

However, the match begins and Cook and Kieswetter (who will change a lot over the following photos...) open. Cook, on 5, chases a poor delivery from Malinga...

And is caught by Sangakkara.

Cook departs for single figures. The cricketing world reaches for the smelling salts.

In the England dugout, Finny tries to impress Chris Woakes with his sandwich making skills. He makes a bit of a hash of it.

After a three hour rain delay, in which I could come up with nothing to do for the duck cricketers due to my life being in plastic carrier bags and suitcases, the players come back on. Kieswetter smashes a six off Quackmal.

Having shocked Bob Willis by having a decent strike rate and finding the ropes three times in one over, Trott succumbs to Quackmal.

Trott wants to review the decision, but there are no reviews in this ODI series...

So reluctantly, Jonny Trotter trotts waddles off. England are 53-2.

KP decides to give England fans a heart attack by going for a single...

Dilshan gets a direct hit...

And celebrates like a duck possessed.

However, these celebrations are short lived as the TV replays make it difficult to give Pietersen out. He survives by a missing frame.

Craigy K decides to go to his half century in style.

He hits a six off Randiv...

And celebrates his half century. 

KP takes on Mendis (no, the other one) first ball. He gets a long hop...

But ends up hitting it straight to Dilshan. England are 109-3 and Pietersen goes for 26.

Morgan plays a reverse sweep...

That flies to the boundary then bounces and goes for four.

Kieswetter miscues a shot off Randiv.

It goes up in the air...

Where it's caught by Quackmal, who's shrunk in the wash again.

Morgan, attempting to emulate Craigy K and go to his half century in style takes on Quackmal.

He hits it high in the air, hoping to clear the boundary...

But ends up being caught by Kandamby. England are 175-5. 

Bell soon follows. He attempts a sweep off the 800 year old Jayasuriya...

But misses and is out LBW. It proves to be Jayasuriya's last wicket in ODI cricket. England are  179-6.

Bressie Lad comes in, after having a long lay-off due to injury and missing the entire Test series. He  takes advantage of some legside filth from Quackmal and hits a four.

However, in the final over, Timmy B gets hit on the pads.

Slinga Malinga appeals...

And Billy Beakdon raises his crooked feather of fate. Replays, however, show that the ball pitched outside leg and was missing the leg stump by miles, so Bressie Lad was very unlucky. England are 226-7 though and Bressie Lad has really helped boost that total with 23 off 14.

Broad decides to get some wood on the ball...

But can only sky it to Kandamby. England finish on 229-8. Duckworth/Lewis method means that Sri Lanka require 232 runs to win. 

Things start off badly for Sri Lanka. Dilshan hits a terrible Anderson delivery up in the air...

But it ends up going straight down Bressie Lad's throat. In the first over, Sri Lanka are 2-1 and things only get worse.

In the next over, Jayasuriya plays a shot that he could probably play in his sleep...

But instead finds Eoin Morgan, who takes a brilliant catch. It is the first of many examples of England's good fielding in this match, but it also brings to an end a fine career.

Jayasuriya, having been playing for longer than I've been alive, walks off for only 2 in his final innings. It has been a superb career and even though I came in at the tail end of it (story of my life), I'll never forget the 2006 ODI series...

Jayawardene soon follows as Anderson gets him trapped in front LBW.

Jayawardene is not happy and had the UDRS been there, may well have reviewed it. But Hawkeye shows that the ball was hitting the leg stump, so the decision would've gone with the umpire's call anyway.

Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's hero of the Rose Bowl Test, succumbs to Jimmy Anderson too.

He hits a chance back to Anderson who takes a fine catch to reduce Sri Lanka to 15-4. It would take something special for Sri Lanka to come back from a position like this.

Unfortunately for them, things go from worse to even worse as Angelo Mathews gives Jade Dirtbag his first wicket in ODI cricket. He goes for a pull, mistimes it and...

Finds a leaping Jimmy take a stonking catch. Sri Lanka are 40-5.

The Other Mendis decides he's had enough too. He tries to go to the boundary off Swann...

But ends up hitting the ball straight to Swanny's best mate. Sri Lanka 57-6 and England hope that the rain stays away.

Sri Lanka are facing an embarrassing score now. Kulasekara hits one in the air...

And the skipper takes the catch. 65-7.

Dernbach picks up another wicket on his ODI debut.

Kandamby hits one in the air...

And Broad takes the catch. 69-8. 

Malinga decides to give the crowd a bit of entertainment...

He hits Swanny for a six.

But the end is nigh for Sri Lanka. Malinga soon goes for one big shot too many and...

The substitute fielder of Bopara takes the catch. 121-9.

Swanny wraps up the Sri Lankan innings. Randiv shimmies down the wicket, only to miss the ball...

And be stumped by Kieswetter. Sri Lanka are 121 all out and England win by 110 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method.

Cook leaves the field a happy chappy with a home ODI captaincy debut match to remember. 

Compared to some of the games at the World Cup, actually on, most of the games involving England at the World Cup, this one was relatively mini-heart attack causing free. It was one sided, but so was the World Cup quarter final. Hopefully this series won't be ravaged by rain, but at least Sri Lanka have four matches in which to stage a fight back, rather than the two. I'm off to the second ODI and I'll probably be taking the KP/Bressie Lad duck on a day trip across the Pennines, because I like to do that kind of stuff.

Anyway, I'll be back on Monday doing the second ODI highlights (seriously, I've got a busy, busy weekend of travelling and cricket related activities. Can't even watch the Wimbledon final on Sunday!) and the third ODI highlights. Then I'm off on holiday for a week, so you'll have to be patient for the duck version of the 4th/5th ODI. I hope it'll be worth the wait!