(REUTERS) – A combination of brutal batting and aggressive bowling ensured England beat Sri Lanka by 81 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis Method in a rain-interrupted first one-day international at the Oval yesterday.

All-rounder Chris Jordan bludgeoned 38 runs with the bat before claiming three wickets, as he staked his claim for a place in the England Test squad, while there were promising performances from relative newcomers Gary Ballance and Harry Gurney.
The hosts did not win the toss and were put in to bat by Sri Lanka and, having lost captain Alastair Cook (11) early in the innings, England progressed nicely with Ian Bell registering his 31st ODI fifty before being dismissed four balls later.
Torrential rain halted proceedings for 2-1/2 hours with the game being limited to 39 overs per side.
Upon resumption, Ballance top-scored with 64 and Joe Root added 45 before a swashbuckling cameo by Jordan of five fours and two sixes in a breathless knock of 38 from 13 balls as England scored 60 runs in the final four overs of their innings.
Sri Lanka’s reply got off to the worst possible start with James Anderson claiming the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne inside the first over while star batsman Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed for just eight.
After a second rain delay Sri Lanka were set a revised target of 226 from 32 overs and Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with 35 as the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals, struggling to keep pace with the required run rate and eventually collapsing to 144 all out and a 1-0 deficit in the five-match series.