Ollie Pope admitted his side “weren’t good enough”, “weren’t up to it” and were “outplayed for the last day and a session” after Sri Lanka wrapped up victory by eight wickets in the final Test of the English summer on Monday. It was a result hailed by the touring captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, as “one of the happiest moments in my career and my life”.
After emerging from the first innings with a 62-run first‑innings lead, England were skittled for 156 inside 35 overs on Sunday and Sri Lanka cantered to victory from there, with the opener Pathum Nissanka scoring an unbeaten century.
