CHESTER-LE-STREET (England), June 25: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene led Sri Lanka to a one-day series victory over England on Saturday with a chanceless unbeaten century (partly reported in Sunday’s edition).

Sri Lanka completed an eight-wicket victory with nearly eight overs to spare to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

England's pace bowlers produced one of their most abject displays in recent years as the 1996 World Cup champions, deprived of match-winning spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, waltzed to their victory target of 262.

Jayawardene, a graceful, wristy right-hander, was as sublime as England were wretched. His run-a-ball 126 not out included 19 fours while his first 50 came off only 40 balls.

He reached three figures with a perfect back-foot drive to the boundary off strike bowler Steve Harmison.

To put the carnage in perspective England, having opted to bat, managed 23 fours and one six in their 50 overs as they made 261 for eight, with Ian Bell top-scoring with 77.

Sri Lanka had hit 15 fours and a six in their first 10 overs and equalled England's boundary total just after the halfway stage in their innings.

Captain Andrew Strauss was forced to throw the ball to part-timers Paul Collingwood and Bell after just 11 overs, by which time the score had raced to 88 for one as the Sri Lankan batsmen gleefully cut a succession of short, wide deliveries over gully and point.

Liam Plunkett's first three overs went for 28 while Sajid Mahmood, who began by running out Sanath Jayasuriya for a 13-ball 23 off his own bowling, conceded 27 off his first three.

With victory assured, Sri Lanka's batsmen eased off against England's off spinners before ambling home.

England's pace bowling, deprived of the likes of the injured Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, looked as unfit for purpose as their leading batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Pietersen went into the game with a badly bruised knee, made six and then limped painfully through the rest of a one-sided contest after the umpires refused to allow him to be substituted as a fielder.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND:

M.E. Trescothick b Vaas 36

A.J. Strauss lbw b Vaas 32

I.R. Bell run out 77

K.P. Pietersen c Sangakkara b Malinga 6

P.D. Collingwood c Dilshan b Bandara 33

J.W.M. Dalrymple b Malinga 35

G.O. Jones not out 22

A.G.R. Loudon run out 0

L.E. Plunkett not out 6

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-6, NB-3) 14

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 261

FALL OF WKTS: 1-62, 2-75, 3-92, 4-145, 5-208, 6-252, 7-253.

DID NOT BAT: S.I. Mahmood, S.J. Harmison.

BOWLING: Vaas 9-0-38-2; Malinga 10-0-50-2 (2w); Fernando 10-0-68-0 (2nb, 1w); Maharoof 8-0-38-0 (1nb, 2w); Bandara 8-0-35-1 (1w); Jayasuriya 5-0-27-0.

SRI LANKA:

W.U. Tharanga c Strauss b Dalrymple 41

S.T. Jayasuriya run out 23

D.P.M.D. Jayawardene not out 126

K.C. Sangakkara not out 58

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-6, W-5, NB-5) 17

TOTAL (for two wkts, 42.2 overs) 265

FALL OF WKTS: 1-28, 2-125.

DID NOT BAT: T.M. Dilshan, R.P. Arnold, M.F. Maharoof, W.P.U.J.C. Vaas, C.M. Bandara, C.R.D. Fernando, S.L. Malinga.

BOWLING: Harmison 10-0-55-0 (2nb); Plunkett 5.2-0-46-0 (1w); Mahmood 5-0-36-0 (3nb, 1w); Collingwood 6-0-33-0; Bell 1-0-12-0; Dalrymple 9-1-40-1 (2w); Loudon 6-0-36-0 (1w).

RESULT: Sri Lanka won by eight wickets.

UMPIRES: M.R. Benson (England) and B.R. Doctrove (West Indies).

TV UMPIRE: N.J. Llong (England).

MATCH REFEREE: C.H. Lloyd (West Indies).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mahela Jayawardene.

NEXT MATCH: At Old Trafford on Wednesday.—Agencies