As he nears the end of a hectic summer Harry Brook was offered the chance to rest rather than play this series and how Sri Lanka must wish Pakistan’s red-ball side had extended him enough to force a lay-off. As it turned out the 27-year-old could hardly have looked fresher as he inspired his side to an overwhelming win over emphatically outclassed opponents, a brilliant century powering them to a 19th victory in just 22 games since he took over the captaincy, secured by the margin of 119 runs.
It was Brook’s second T20 century, making him the third Englishman to score more than one. He cavorted to triple figures off 42 balls of which precisely a third were dispatched to the boundary, six of them beyond it, and ended unbeaten on 114. But as much as his power impressed, using the size of the ground and manipulation of angles to maximum advantage, aided occasionally by the tourists’ imperfection in the field, he also scurried a succession of twos.
Brook’s first international T20 century was scored in Sri Lanka, against Pakistan during the World Cup earlier this year, also the first time that he batted for his country at No3. He has now done so eight times, scoring in addition to those two tons two unbeaten half-centuries and compiling an average of 95.2 at a ludicrous strike rate of 200.84.
Ben Stokes, posting on X in the moments after England’s innings concluded, described him as “an absolute freak” who “not even the genius of KP [Kevin Pietersen] could come close to talent-wise”. The same may well be true of Jos Buttler, by general acclaim England’s greatest ever white-ball batter, who scored a 44-ball 80 – aided by being dropped on 45 – but languished in deep shade opposite his successor as both captain and inspiration.
Sri Lanka arrived with a record of five wins in 16 T20s this year, all but one of those victories coming at home – though the team with the best record in their country in 2026 is England, who won 100% of their six games there last winter.
This was the ninth meeting of the senior men’s teams of these two nations this year, with at least five more to come before the end of next month: two more T20s in this series, the three ODIs that follow, and two more 50-over games as part of a tri-series in Pakistan that could end with one final confrontation in Lahore on Halloween. Brook left them punch-drunk here, and if they fail to recover their senses and create a plan to counter him they are in for a miserable few weeks.
Aneurin Donald, at 29 England’s oldest debutant since Dawid Malan in 2017, started strongly, hitting Maheesh Theekshana for a six and a four off the final two balls of the first over, but the next one he faced, the opening delivery of the third over and Dunith Wellalage’s first of the night, was skewed into the air, straight down the ground, and easily caught. Encouraged by an over that brought a wicket and just five runs Wellalage – who would return to top score for Sri Lanka from No 8 – stayed on for a second, off which Brook flayed three sixes and as many fours, and from there England never let up.
There were 15 dot balls in England’s innings, a total Sri Lanka were more than halfway to matching inside two overs and had passed by the end of the powerplay.
After six overs England had 90 for the loss of one wicket; then the tourists at the same stage had 32 and had lost three, their task already far beyond forlorn.
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It did not help that Sonny Baker, expensive against Ireland on T20 debut almost exactly a year ago, looked like a player transformed on his second appearance, his four overs bringing three wickets and just 12 runs.
There were a few brief moments of fun as Dasun Shanaka hit Adil Rashid for successive sixes, struck with enormous power either side of long-off, but the next ball found his edge and Buttler’s gloves, and Wellalage’s cameo was the only succour for the tourists thereafter.
England seem to have taken a liking to this ground, and in their last three appearances here have thrashed South Africa by 342 runs in a record-breaking ODI, comfortably beaten India in a T20, and now this.
So perhaps giving Southampton an Ashes Test is not such a bad idea after all.