More pain for Brook as batters get battered

ENGLAND were left in a spin as they allowed a morale-boosting victory to slip through their fingers in Colombo.

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Half-centuries from Joe Root and Ben Duckett appeared to have Harry Brook's men well placed in their chase of 272 under lights to win the first ODI but they slipped from 129-1 to 165-6 and eventually fell 19 runs short.

None of the England batters could match the key contribution of Kusal Mendis, whose unbeaten 93 guided the hosts to an imposing 271-6.

Just two weeks on from their 4-1 Ashes humbling, England began their preparations for next month's T20 World Cup against a backdrop of speculation over the future ofthe team, with head coach Brendon McCullum's position still in question.

Brook said on Wednesday that he is lucky to still be captain after his altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand during their last white-ball engagement in October.