Friday 24 June 2016 13:02, UK
After 100 overs, England and Sri Lanka could not be separated as the first ODI at Trent Bridge ended in a tie.
However, it looked for all the world that Sri Lanka were going to emerge victorious as they first reduced England to 82-6 and then left the hosts needing 40 from 18 balls.
That became a deficit of nine from two deliveries and after Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett had somehow scrambled three from the penultimate ball, the latter launched Nuwan Pradeep over long off to level the scores.
Here we look at the reaction to a thrilling finish in Nottingham…
Liam Plunkett
"It was nice to get that one out. Woakesy and Jos put us in a great position and we bat all the way down. We scrambled that three, then hoped he'd just miss it a bit. It's good for the team to know we bat all the way down.
"We bat all the way down which gives us the best chance. It just shows the depth we've got. It's good for the team you know you can carry on all the way through the innings and if you have a wobble up top you can carry on."
Eoin Morgan, England captain
"To come out of the game with a tie is pleasing in a way because a performance today can almost mask the poor day that we've had. We had a poor day with the ball, in the field and with the bat, particularly early on. Probably three special mentions: Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett at the end got us out of a hole.
"Jos Buttler called on his experience to guide the innings through and Chris Woakes played out of his skin. We'll take a lot of belief from that."
Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka captain
"I thought we had the game in the bag for most of the overs but unfortunately the yorker fell just off line and went for a six, Plunkett got them through. Unfortunately for bowlers, it happens, Pradeep bowled well. I thought all the bowlers bowled really well. We just fell short by 15 or 20 runs, we could have got at least 300 on that wicket, it was a brilliant wicket."
Chris Woakes
"It's been a good game, we were in a bit of a hole and I just tried to build a partnership with Jos - obviously, he batted brilliantly and it was a shame he couldn't get to three figures. It's great to tie it after being in a tricky position. When you're in that position you don't really think about it too much, you just get on with it."
Mahela Jayawardena
"I think for sure Sri Lanka will feel like they've lost. I think they were the better team for the better part of the game. They had England 82-6 and there was a period when the Sri Lankans went flat. I felt they had to do something, they got the wicket [of Jos Buttler] and then the bustle was there again. They bowled brilliantly at the death but it was just so unfortunate that they missed the mark. Now you see the margins in one-day cricket. Miss by that little bit and it disappears.
"Before that delivery there were a lot of people coming in and talking to Pradeep. There were too many people putting different things in his head. Before then, no one came to him, he just went in and kept things simple, bowled good yorkers and executed his skills. But all of a sudden there was lots of ideas coming in, at that particular moment you just need to let the guy do the job. Let him be in his zone."
Michael Holding
"If they had just managed two runs of the second last delivery then Sri Lanka would have been safe and I think the fielder at deep backward square missed a trick there. He should have been racing in, making sure it is only two runs. Once it's three, England are back in the game because the six tied it. He had bowled so many good yorkers previous to that. In the end he bowled a little bit of nothing, it was a length ball and, of course, length balls disappear in the modern game."
Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne)
"Great game of 50 over cricket at Trent Bridge tonight. Was fun in the comm box with @nassercricket calling the last few overs, go the #beard."
Ian Botham (@BeefyBotham)
"So 50 over cricket is dead, get rid of it?? It's the shorter version that can ebb and flow of the wonderful game!! Awesome!!!"
James Anderson (@Jimmy9)
"Great viewing @englandcricket!! Serious batting from @josbuttler and @chriswoakes and decent strike at the end @Liam628!"
Sam Billings (@sambillings)
"Wow! What a game of cricket....@josbuttler @chriswoakes awesome knocks! @Liam628"
Watch the second ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on Friday, from 1.30pm, on Sky Sports 2.
