Sri Lanka exceed skipper's hopes

Jayasuriya's innings reminded fans of his World Cup winning form

Sri Lanka went far beyond captain Mahela Jayawardene's expectations in sealing a 5-0 one-day whitewash over England an tying the Test series.

"We wanted to compete but we did much better than that," he said after the eight-wicket win at Headingley.

"It's all to do with hard work so hats off to (the team).

"We showed a lot of faith in the young guys. It's been a great season. It's been a challenge as a captain but I've thoroughly enjoyed it."

The tourists' final victory was completed by players at opposite ends of their career as 21-year-old Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya, 37, both hit tons.

Jayasuriya was a controversial inclusion in the Test portion of this tour.

He was talked out of Test retirement by new chairman of selectors Asantha de Mel, although neither captain Mahela Jayawardene nor coach Tom Moody were consulted.

But his innings on Saturday reminded fans of his form of 10 years ago, when he was a key factor in the side's World Cup triumph.

"Anything above 300 would be a tough ask but I was delighted to see him do what he did in 1996/97," said Jayawardene.

Jayasuriya added: "I think this is one of my best innings because we are chasing 322, we played positively and it went our way."