England win opening ODI as Will Jacks’ all-round display beats Sri Lanka in Chester-le-Street
England defeated Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Chester-le-Street on 22 September 2026, being bowled out for 265 in 48.1 overs before bowling the tourists out for 176; Harry Brook top-scored with 67 and Will Jacks contributed an unbeaten 46 with the bat and five wickets with the ball.
Brook had urged his side to sustain the “high octane” cricket evident in their recent Twenty20 clean sweep, but the first ODI on a tired end-of-season surface under a warm September sun was a slower contest; England now lead the series 1-0 and head to Headingley for the second match on Thursday. The result was Brook’s 11th win as England’s ODI captain, taking him to 11 victories against 10 defeats, and the piece notes England will need greater volume in the coming 12 months as they build towards the next 50-over World Cup.
Will Jacks’ unbeaten 46 in the lower middle order included 18 runs off the 48th over and proved crucial in getting England to a defendable total when wickets fell around him. The article records that since returning to a lower middle-order role last year — a position at odds with his preferred top-three spot — Jacks has averaged 43 and struck at over 100.
With the ball Jacks finished with five for 22 from seven overs, including the wicket of top-scorer Dunith Wellalage, lbw for 45, and repeatedly punched holes in Sri Lanka’s batting lineup. The piece cites historic comparison that only Vic Marks’ five for 20 against New Zealand in Wellington in 1984 produces better ODI figures by an England spinner; Brook said of Jacks: “[Jacks] is not a part-timer, he’s a very good off-spinner,” said Brook. “He can spin the ball big and contain. He could have moaned and groaned about playing as an all-rounder but he’s accepted that and become a very vital player for us over the past 18 months. He’s a very good leader, with bat, ball and in the field.”
England’s attack kept Sri Lanka under pressure throughout, allowing them to defend a sub-300 total for the first time since 2022; Jamie Overton took two wickets bowling cross-seamers and the absence of Adil Rashid — out of the series with a hand injury — was not felt. The article also notes Jofra Archer “took a bit of tap at the end of his all-format summer” but provides no further detail on his outing.
Sri Lanka struck early with Asitha Fernando bowling Tom Banton and the hosts reached 61 for one after the initial 10-over power-play; a notable debut for Sachindu Colombage produced three for 44. Colombage, who played for Downham Stow in the East Anglian Premier League last summer and has an unremarkable domestic record, found drift and dip that troubled Joe Root and Jos Buttler — Root was out for 44 and Buttler lbw for 31 — and later produced the delivery that bowled Overton, described as a leg-break that went above the eyeline and spun sharply.
Root’s dismissal in the 23rd over ended a long run without being out in ODI cricket: the article gives the figure as the first time he had been dismissed in ODI cricket for some 416 deliveries, a streak of 404 runs that goes back to England’s 2-1 win in Sri Lanka last winter. Brook’s innings, which had held England together, ended when he charged Dushmantha Chameera and skewed one to deep point; his departure precipitated four wickets for 29 runs in 46 balls as England slipped from 182 for three to 211 for seven, including Rehan Ahmed’s run out from a direct hit by Charith Asalanka.
Jacks, with support from Gus Atkinson, pushed England to a defendable total and then completed the victory by bowling No 11 Dilshan Madushanka with a delivery described as a ripper, registering his first five-for. England travel to Headingley for Thursday’s second ODI with a 1-0 lead in the series.