England vs Sri Lanka: Hosts finally secure series victory as Alastair Cook reaches 10,000 Test run landmark

England 498-9d & 80-1*, Sri Lanka 101 & 475: *Cook becomes the youngest player, first Englishman to reach 10,000 Test runs

Alastair Cook reached 10,000 Test runs (Getty)

England’s series-sealing victory here and Alastair Cook’s successful pursuit of 10,000 Test runs had both seemed inevitable for days. It was fitting then that each of those objectives were achieved on the same afternoon as Sri Lanka’s manful resistance was finally broken.

The result of this second Investec Test was never in doubt once the tourists had been routed for 101 to concede a first-innings deficit of 397.

So it should have come as no surprise that the biggest cheer on this final day at the Riverside came when Cook, 31, steered Nuwan Pradeep to the midwicket boundary to become the youngest-ever player to reach 10,000 Test runs, beating Sachin Tendulkar by five months.

By then England had been set a victory target of 79 as Sri Lanka, powered by Dinesh Chandimal’s brilliant century, avoided the humiliation of a second successive innings defeat by posting 475.

Amid the errors and frustrations of England’s second-innings bowling performance, James Anderson shone like a beacon, the leader of England’s attack gaining the man of the match award with yet another five-wicket haul.

Anderson had taken 10 Sri Lankan scalps during the first Test at Headingley and now has 18 in this series at a quite staggering average of 7.72.

However, Anderson apart, England’s struggles with the ball offered Cook another chance to make history and he did just that to become only the 12th batsman - and first Englishman - to breach the 10,000-run barrier.

Cook had started the summer needing 36 to reach the landmark and, after scoring 16 in his only innings at Headingley and 15 on the opening day here, he not only gained the five more runs he needed to get the monkey off his back but scored an unbeaten 47 to guide his side home to victory with nine wickets to spare.

James Anderson celebrates dismissing Milinda Siriwardana (Getty)

The belated resistance shown by Sri Lanka was welcome given this series had threatened to become embarrassingly one-sided following the three-day walkover at Headingley and their first-innings capitulation here.

Chandimal may have helped only delay the inevitable, his 116-run seventh-wicket stand with Rangana Herath wiping out the 88-run overnight deficit and forcing England to bat again.

Nevertheless, it was some effort from a player who had never previously scored a Test century outside of Asia.

While ultimately this was still a comfortable win, this series success is an important step for an England team who have ambitions to reach the top of the world Test rankings.

The victory in South Africa last winter was far more satisfying and, in truth, significant for this group of players.

However, following that up here means this is the first time since the summer of 2013, when New Zealand and Australia were conquered in succession, that England have won back-to-back Test series.

England struggled on the morning of day four (Getty)

If a whitewash can be completed at Lord’s next week, Cook’s side would need just two more victories from the four Tests against Pakistan later this summer to rise to No2 in the world.

Only Australia would be ahead of them then and, with an away Ashes series scheduled for the winter after next, the team’s upward trajectory might reach a glorious peak in Sydney in January 2018.

There is much cricket to be played before then, with a tough winter in Bangladesh and India followed by home series against South Africa and West Indies next summer.

So being made to work hard for this win was no bad thing for England.

The coaching staff have been preaching the need for improvement even in the afterglow of victory.

And there’s no doubt they’ll be saying the same again following this performance.

Things seemed straightforward enough when Anderson dismissed Milinda Siriwardana 20 minutes into the start of a cold and gloomy day.

But errors then crept in, including a costly drop from wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow that reprieved Chandimal on 69 and another from Vince shortly after lunch that spared Herath on 46.

The spinner eventually went 20 minutes into the afternoon session, trapped lbw by Anderson, who then bowled Shaminda Eranga to bring up his 21st five-wicket haul in Tests.

By then, though, Chandimal had his century and Sri Lanka, on 442 for eight, a lead of 45.

Chandimal finally fell for 126, bowled by Stuart Broad, and Sri Lanka’s last-wicket pair added 22 before Suranga Lakmal holed out to Woakes.

It left England with a straightforward chase that, after the early loss of Alex Hales, Cook was able to see through with Nick Compton.

England then named an unchanged squad for the final Test at Lord's.