Joe Root said "there are big strides being made" as England prepared for the fifth and final ODI against Sri Lanka at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff on Friday (1st July), having already clinched the series with a 2-0 lead.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Joe Root, England:

"We've played some really strong stuff bar the five/six over blip at the start of our batting in the first game. We've been really ruthless throughout so if we can continue that and we can continue winning and taking all that form forward and gaining momentum then that sets us up really nicely for the rest of this summer and obvously what's to come further down the line."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Joe Root, England:

"I suppose our challenge moving forward is we've got all this excitement and flair and the ability and potential, but at the end of the day it's about winning big trophies, big series, and we're going to have to become more and more consistent and if we're going to be serious about contending for champions trophies, for world cups. It's fine if we put in the odd performance here and there, but if we're really serious about it we've got to make sure that we win games like tomorrow (2nd July) and series like this and you know the ones away from home as well."