Archer moves atop bowling list; England chasing 233 to win

LEEDS, England (AP) — Jofra Archer set the tone by removing Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne in his first over on Friday, helping to set England a target of 233 to retake the lead in the World Cup standings.

Archer finished 3-52, his fifth three-wicket haul in six games, and pulled even with Australian paceman Mitchell Starc at the top of the tournament’s bowling list with 15.

Fellow fast bowler Mark Wood took 3-40 to improve his tally to 12, and wrist-spinner Adil Rashid took two wickets with consecutive balls in a haul of 2-45.

Angelo Mathews scored a defiant, unbeaten 85 from 115 balls to guide Sri Lanka to 232-9 at the end of the innings.

The Sri Lankans had three 50-plus partnerships but didn’t consolidate, and twice lost wickets in pairs.

It started badly for them after winning the toss and electing to bat, slumping to 3-2 in the third over after Archer had the captain caught behind and Chris Woakes dismissed Kusal Perera two balls later.

Avishka Fernando scored 49 from 39 balls and was within a shot of his half-century when he guided a ball from Wood to third man to end a 59-run third-wicket stand.

That brought Mathews to the crease and he shared a 71-run partnership with Kusal Mendis, who scored a patient 46 from 68 balls before Adil Rashid struck twice in two deliveries.

He had Kusal Mendis caught at mid-wicket by Eoin Morgan and then took a return catch for a soft-dismissal against Jeevan Mendis as Sri Lanka slipped to 133-5.

Dhananjaya de Silva (29) nonchalantly drove the hat-trick ball for two runs and combined with Mathews in a 57-run stand before Archer struck with a slower ball and Joe Root took a diving catch at mid-on in the 44th over.

Archer had Thisara Perera (2) caught at third man in his next over and Wood picked up two tail-end wickets.

After 26 games at the World Cup, it’s the first match at Headingley.

England took advantage of a pitch offering some turn and used three spin bowlers, with Rashid the most successful. All-rounder Moeen Ali marked his 100th one-day international with an economical 10-over spell costing 0-40.

England move back to the top of the standings with its fifth win, edging ahead of defending champion Australia on run-rate.

Sri Lanka needs a win to remain in serious contention after a win, two washed-out games and two losses.