HEADINGLEY (England), July 3: Marcus Trescothick paved the way for England’s remarkable three-wicket

victory over Sri Lanka in a triangular series one-day international on Tuesday (briefly reported in Wednesday’s edition)

Trescothick’s 82 was the cornerstone of England’s winning total of 241 for seven, with Alec Stewart — unbeaten on 38

— and Paul Collingwood (38) also producing handy contributions.

Sri Lanka had put themselves in the driving seat by taking early wickets as England lurched to 136-5 as they chased a target of 241 after a rain delay reduced each innings to 32 overs.

Chaminda Vaas struck twice and England captain Nasser Hussain was dismissed second ball for a duck as Sri Lanka looked set to post their first victory of the tournament.

But Trescothick hit 11 fours in his 60-ball innings to give England hope. He added 45 in 30 balls with Collingwood for the sixth wicket as England’s fortunes changed.

Trescothick looked set to emulate Sanath Jayasuriya’s earlier century but fell 18 runs short when he chipped a catch off the Sri Lankan captain to Vaas at long-on.

Collingwood, who is maturing into a useful one-day international player, teamed up with Stewart to guide England to within four runs of victory with a 66-run stand off 54 balls in the fading light.

Sri Lanka failed to bowl consistently as England upped the tempo with Stewart hitting one six and five fours.

Dilhara Fernando bowled Collingwood for his second wicket, which only allowed Darren Gough to hit the winning runs with four balls to spare on his return from injury.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA