Alex Hales, James Taylor and Samit Patel played leading roles as England Lions swept Sri Lanka A aside to secure a 3-2 ODI series victory in Colombo.

Taylor, captaining the side, elected to bat first and watched his Nottinghamshire teammates put on 51 for the first wicket before Patel fell for 19.

Hales went on to score 46 with 7 fours whilst Taylor hit a boundary-free 41.

Patel’s haul of 3-55 included a successful lbw shout against Ashan Priyanjan and the clean bowling of Mahela Udawatte before Danny Briggs caught Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

The hosts were all out for 213 chasing 331 for victory.