Our aggression paid dividends, says skipper Mathews

Colombo: Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews attributed his team`s Test series win against England to the aggressive brand of cricket that they played during the two Test matches.

"We gave it back as good as we got," Mathews said referring to on field verbal sparring with the England batsman Joe Root in the final Test match which Sri Lanka won by 100 runs at the Headingley, Leeds. Sri Lanka also won the one off T20 match and the ODI series making it a clean sweep for the Sri Lankans. The tour was undertaken with a note of acrimony when the Sri Lankans accused Engand of poaching their Head Coach Paul Farbrace. Asked for impact on Paul Farbrace`s departure, Mathews said the Englishman could not have given any inside knowledge about his team to the English. "There are no secrets available in cricket with so many videos available to choose from," the Sri Lankan captain said. Mathews said recruiting the former Sussex player Chris Adams as a consultant came in good stead. "His knowledge of English conditions was valuable", Mathews said. The platform for the historic victory was laid in good preparations, feels Mathews. "For example, we practised in early morning to simulate the movement of the ball which you face under English conditions," the Sri Lankan captain said.