Friday, June 16 2006 15:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Southampton: Sri Lanka kept their nerve to beat England by two runs at the Rose Bowl here Thursday in what was the tourists' first Twenty20 international.

The visitors, dismissed for 163 after winning the toss, held England to 161 for five from their 20 overs.

"It's always good to start like that," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said as he celebrated victory in the curtain-raiser to a five-match one-day series starting at Lord's on Saturday.

"The way we came back again today was brilliant. We made lots of mistakes but to come back from them was a great effort," he said.

England's Paul Collingwood, with four for 22, returned the best figures in the seven-match history of Twenty20 international cricket but it was not enough to give his team a win.

Opener Marcus Trescothick then took England to the brink of victory with 72 off 57 balls including one six and nine fours.

But when he was alertly run out by wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara, England still needed 12 off eight balls.

That became nine off the final over, bowled by paceman Dilhara Fernando. The target ultimately came down to five off one ball with Tim Bresnan, on his senior England debut, facing.

It was too much for the 21-year-old Yorkshire bowler, who finished on six not out with wicket-keeper Geraint Jones unbeaten on 14.

Arguably more concerning for England, was the ankle injury sustained by batsman Ed Joyce in only the second over of the match.

Irish-born Middlesex left-hander Joyce, going for a catch at third man after man-of-the-match Sanath Jayasuriya uppercut a Stephen Harmison delivery, slipped as his right ankle gave way underneath him.

Joyce, clearly in pain, signalled immediately for help and play was held up for 12 minutes while he received treatment.

The 27-year-old was eventually helped into an ambulance driven onto the outfield and taken to hospital.

An England statement said Joyce, whose condition was to be re-assessed Friday, had suffered soft tissue damage after spraining his ankle but X-rays had shown no fracture.



"We came out pretty pumped up," England's stand-in captain Andrew Strauss, skipper in the absence of the unfit Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff," he said.

"That injury took some steam out of us. It was terrible to watch," added Strauss, a Middlesex team-mate of Joyce's.

"But I think it's better than it looked. It (the ankle) was dislocated at first but has popped back in," he said.

Earlier Thursday Glen Chapple (abdominal strain) withdrew from the squad as he too joined a growing England injury list featuring fellow pace bowlers Simon Jones (knee) and James Anderson (back) as well as left-arm spinner Ashley Giles (hip).

Sri Lanka, who had been 75 without loss, collapsed after a rapid opening stand between Jayasuriya (41) and Upul Tharanga (34), as Collingwood struck.

The Durham all-rounder, the hero of England's 100-run win over Australia in the home team's only previous Twenty20, at the Rose Bowl last year, when he took two for eight and top-scored with 46, saw his return Thursday beat England team-mate Jon Lewis's four for 24.

But it was Jayasuriya who produced the all-round heroics this time, taking two for 32 with his left-arm spin.

Sri Lanka's victory was all the more creditable as they had omitted their two most experienced bowlers in off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and left-arm quick Chaminda Vaas, the heroes of their 1-1 drawn Test series against England concluded earlier this month.

England were behind the rate at 92 for one at half-way, lost three middle-order wickets in quick succession, including Kevin Pietersen (17), on his Hampshire home ground, and Collingwood (five).



Approching the finish, England needed 32 off 16 balls. Trescothick gave them hope with three successive fours off Lasith Malinga before falling late on.



Earlier medium-pacer Collingwood revived England in the field when Tharanga played on. After Jayawardene was run out for nought, Collingwood had Jayasuriya lbw before he dismissed Russel Arnold and Kumar Sangakkara.