Ivor Tennant of 'The Sunday Times' under the headline: ``Mighty Jayasuriya proves left can be right'' said:
``To watch (Sanath) Jayasuriya and (Aravinda) de Silva glide the ball around the vast, open spaces of the Oval was to celebrate cricket that has gone out of vogue in this country since the advent of the heavy bat, the railway sleeper as it is known in the dressing room.
``The wristiness of the Orient coupled with the demands that the one-day game has imposed upon this pair resulted in a splendid display of leg-glance and placement of the ball as is possible to see''.
The paper's cricket correspondent Simon Wilde wrote: ``Jayasuriya and De Silva should rank among the world's most entertaining strokemakers. Batting more like the one-day champions they are, that at a tempo familiar to Test audiences Sri Lanka challenged England's complacent thought of sending themselves off to Australia with three victories behind them by scoring 367 runs in a day for the loss of just two wickets''.
Scyld Berry in the 'The Sunday Telegraph' titled: ``England are made to suffer by Jayasuriya and De Silva'' wrote: ``Perhaps no other pair of Test batsmen in the world could have batted so brilliantly and for so long at so rapid a rate. Brian Lara and Carl Hooper might have matched the brilliance, but not the appetite of the Sri Lankans. Australians would not have allowed themselves such panache, not against England. Sachin Tendulkar of course could have surpassed the pair off his own bat, but Mohammed Azharuddin in his dotage, does not care to bat all day, like de Silva''.
Peter Roebuck in the same paper wrote under the title: ``Quick wrists and wits create victory chance'': ``Jayasuriya was magnificent. England could not contain him. In some respects he resembles Graeme Pollock for he too, seems to grab the bat as much as hold it and, he too waits ages for the ball before dispatching with a plump of the bottom hand''. Stephen Fay of 'The Independent' under the heading: ``The elegant executioner'' wrote: ``De Silva we knew about. He scored one of the finest one-day centuries at Lord's for Kent in the Benson and Hedges Cup final in 1995. Jayasuriya we knew about only by reputation. He is the man who revolutionised one-day cricket hitting wildly from the outset and who scored 340 against India last year, the fourth highest score in Test history. He had not done much on the tour before yesterday, but we know about him now''.
In the same newspaper, Stephen Brenkey wrote under the headline: ``Jayasuriya from dasher to dashing - Sri Lanka puts England to the sword and puts paid to Salisbury's international career'' said:
``Sri Lanka broke a multitude of records. For a couple of the most carefree hours each over seemed to bring a new landmark, but none of the statistics could convey the masterly control and panache of their strokeplay.
``Jayasuriya came on this tour with a reputation as an impudent, innovative one-day dasher. The innings of 213 with which he tormented England should ensure that particular canard is never raised again''. 'The Sunday Express' under the headline: ``England in a Stew, brilliant Sri Lanka turn the screws'' said:
``Sri Lanka's capital is a paradise city for batsmen, where placid pitches and long, hot days sap the will from the most determined bowler. But if the English authorities ever insult Sri Lanka again by offering them just a one-off Test match home or away - well, its utterly unthinkable. Yesterday proved beyond reasonable doubt a single contest this summer against these thrilling visitors is a sporting disgrace. They used to argue that it was hard to sell tickets for matches against Sri Lanka. Not any more''.
Will Buckley in 'The Observer' wrote under the headline: ``Sunny boy makes hay as England fans kip'':''With Jayasuriya and De Silva in full flow, captain Ranatunga's much -criticised decision to put England in to bat might prove to be as canny as he is tubby''.
In the same paper Viv Marks wrote under the headline: 'Imperious Jayasuriya shreds the dream team':''It is a mark of Sri Lanka's current status in world cricket that none was in the least surprised when their batsmen elegantly shredded the England attack''.
The only sour note came from England coach David Lloyd who blamed the Oval surface.
``The placid Oval pitch is the real villain of the piece in this Test'' said Lloyd.His sentiments mirrored those of England captain Alec Stewart when he said: ``I am disappointed with the surface. It was the kind of wicket just made for the Sri Lankan batsmen.
``Lloyd said he had looked for the kind of pitch produced all summer for the South African series. ``A surface with pace and bounce and a little movement. This was bland, no movement whatsoever and no pace. I am disappointed,'' he said.Lloyd was also unimpressed with the single Test. ``A one-off isn't enough. It almost becomes an exhibition match,'' he said.