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England 171 for 0 (Cook 95*, Kieswetter 72*) hit Sri Lanka 174 (Sangakkara 75, Anderson 3-24) by ten wickets - D/L
Alastair Cook prove nothing new to himself but much, he hopes, to plenty of others as he led England to a 10-wicket NatWest Series-levelling victory.
England's new 50-over captain has come in for much flak over his seeming incapability to up his tempo sufficiently at the top of the order in the shorter formats.
But after his of necessity watchful hundred in Sunday's beat at Lord's, he cracked 16 fours from 75 balls in an winning 95 as he and Craig Kieswetter made no mistakes in response to Sri Lanka's inadequate 174.
James Anderson (three for 24) was primarily accountable for the tourists missing their total - despite Kumar Sangakkara's 75 - and Cook and Kieswetter (72no) then made nonsense of a revised target of 171, to total the job with almost 25 overs to spare.
"It's very satisfying, for all the hard work I've been putting in," said Cook. "I've always recognized I can play the one-day game; it's just a matter of trying to prove it to people.
"If I can keep bat like that, at that tempo - which I've exposed this series - it holds me in good stead." Cook was not tempting either to take Kieswetter up on his present to help him reach his third one-day international hundred.
He had been critical of Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews shepherd youngster Dinesh Chandimal to his hundred as Sri Lanka coast home at Lord's - and was not about to be part of something similar in Nottingham.
"Everyone enjoys a 'red-ink' - so watching Kiesy hit a six and a two was pleasing," he said. "He did ask which is fair sufficient. But this is the way we want to play our cricket, and proves that the team is always more significant than those personal milestone.
"He immediately said 'Shall I look for ones, or hit a six?' So he hit a six." The outcome was only ever in doubt - after Anderson and his member seamers Jade Dernbach (three for 38), Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad had hustle Sri Lanka out so inexpensively - because of the threat of rain.
But England's openers were unfazed by the meeting clouds, which in the end did not deliver. "When you win by 10 wickets and play as well as that, it doesn't get much better," added Cook.
"The way we bowled up front clearly put us on the front foot, and then I consideration that catch Bresnan took distorted the game - because they were getting a partnership going.
"Then the way Jade bowled in the power play - an area where we haven't done well and can get better our skills in - was very good as well."
As for Anderson's strange knack of taking wickets at this venue, Cook said: "I truthfully don't know why he does it as well as that. He just loves it here. It must be his favorite ground."
Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was Anderson's first victim. He said: "He bowled really well and second-hand the conditions.
"They took three wickets in the first six overs, and it pressed us back after that. "But if somebody had batted really well in the middle order we might have passed 250. Then it might have been a dissimilar story."
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