ALASTAIR Cook became the first England batsman to score 10 000 Test runs as his side beat defiant Sri Lanka by nine wickets to seal a series victory after Dinesh Chandimal made a magnificent century on day four.Cook must have been expecting to become the youngest player to reach the landmark in the third and final Test at Lord’s, with England looking set to wrap up another innings victory at Chester-le-Street yesterday.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Chandimal (126) and spinner Rangana Herath (61) had other ideas, putting on 116 for the seventh wicket to frustrate England before James Anderson (5-58) took his third five-wicket haul of the series.
Anderson also passed 450 wickets in Tests as Sri Lanka were all out for 475 after making only 101 in the first innings and captain Cook’s historic moment finally came after England were set only 79 to win.
The 31-year-old opening batsman needed only five runs to reach five figures and made an assured 47 not out as England took an unassailable 2-0 lead.
England looked to be heading for another innings victory when Milinda Siriwardana (35) was caught by Alex Hales in the gully off Anderson without adding to his overnight score.
The tourists still trailed by 83 with England needing only four wickets to seal the series and Chandimal ought to have been on his way when he edged Anderson behind on 69, but wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow put him down.
Chandimal rubbed salt into the wounds of England’s leading Test wicket-taker by drilling him through the covers for four from the final ball of the same over and continued to play expansive shots to frustrate Cook’s side.
The composed Chandimal continued to make the most of a flat pitch and bellowed out a roar of delight after edging Woakes to the boundary to bring up his sixth Test century.
Burly spinner Herath ensured England would bat again when he pulled Woakes to midwicket for a single and had a second Test half-century to his name after being given a life on 46 when James Vince dropped a skier off Anderson.
Anderson finally ended a magnificent stand when he trapped Herath leg-before to reach the 450-mark and flattened Shaminda Eranga’s off stump to complete yet another five-wicket haul.
Chandimal drove Moeen Ali down the ground for four and dispatched the spinner’s next ball over midwicket for six with a slog sweep before he was bowled by Broad, who took a catch off Woakes’ (2-103) bowling to end the innings.
Cook’s historic moment came when he guided Nuwan Pradeep to the midwicket boundary to get a sparse crowd on their feet and saw England to a comfortable victory along with Nick Compton (22 n.o.) after Hales had fallen for 11.

ENGLAND 1st innings 498 for 9 decl. (M. Ali 155 n.o., A. Hales 83, J. Root 80; N. Pradeep 4-107)
SRI LANKA 1st innings 101 (S. Broad 4-40)
SRI LANKA 2nd innings (Overnight: 309-5)
D. Karunaratne c Root b Woakes 26
K. Silva c Bairstow b Finn 60
K. Mendis c Bairstow b Anderson 26
L. Thirimanne b Ali 13
A. Mathews c Bairstow b Anderson 80
D. Chandimal b Broad 126
M. Siriwardana c Hales b Anderson 35
R. Herath lbw b Anderson 61
S. Eranga b Anderson 1
S. Lakmal c Broad b Woakes 11
N. Pradeep not out 13
Extras:(b-5, lb-11, nb-6, w-1) 23
Total: (all out, 128.2 overs) 475
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-79, 3-100, 4-182 5-222, 6-314, 7-430, 8-442, 9-453
Bowling: J. Anderson 27-9-58-5, S. Broad 24-6-71-1 (nb-2), C. Woakes 27.2-8-103-2 (w-1), S. Finn 19-0-78-1 (nb-1), M. Ali 28-5-136-1 (nb-3) J. Vince 1-1-0-0, J. Root 2-0-13-0.
ENGLAND 2nd innings (Target: 79 runs)
A. Cook not out 47
A. Hales b Siriwardana 11
N. Compton not out 22
Extras: 0
Total: (for 1 wickets, 23.2 overs) 80
Fall of wickets: 1-35.
Bowling: R. Herath 10-3-18-0, N. Pradeep 2-0-12-0, M. Siriwardana 7.2-0-37-1 S. Lakmal 3-0-9-0, S. Eranga 1-0-4-0.