This was not vintage England. For the first time since 2019 they did not hit a six batting first.
Captain Brook and coach Brendon McCullum should not mind that, however. For too long, England have only been able to win when piling up big scores.
Yes, they were dismissed for the 12th time since McCullum took charge of the white-ball sides last year and, as so often this summer, the quality of the opposition can be questioned.
But Brook was the only batter to fall in a middle order collapse of 4-29 playing an aggressive shot.
He sliced a drive to deep cover after batting in a restrained manner, while Sri Lanka’s debutant leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage, who found a hint of turn to hit Root’s off stump, had Jos Buttler lbw for 31 and bowled Overton with a googly for eight, was impressive.
After the collapse, Jacks could have swung hard but batted responsibly to stretch out the innings from 211-7 in the 39th over.
He took 18 runs from the 47th over and was primed to cut loose before Asitha Fernando, having dismissed opener Tom Banton for 10 with a bail-trimmer in the powerplay, found reverse swing to bowl Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
Jacks’ importance to England’s white-ball sides is growing with every match.
They will need bigger scores by the time the World Cup comes around in a year’s time but, after beating Sri Lanka at the start of the year and toppling India in July, they are now primed to enter two months of white-ball cricket overseas on the back of another series win.
