England vs Sri Lanka Tests 2012: Drawn 1-1 — Herath 19 Wickets, Swann 16, Jayawardene 354 Player of Series, Pietersen 151 at Colombo, England Retain No. 1 Ranking
The two-match Test series between England and Sri Lanka in March-April 2012 was drawn 1-1. England retained their ICC No. 1 Test ranking. Mahela Jayawardene was Player of the Series with 354 runs (180 at Galle, 105 at Colombo). 1st Test Galle: Sri Lanka won by 75 runs (SL 318 & 214; ENG 193 & 264; Jayawardene 180; Herath 12 wickets — 6/74 in England's 1st innings; Trott 112 in ENG's 2nd innings; Swann 6/82). 2nd Test P Sara Oval Colombo: England won by 8 wickets (ENG 460 & 97/2; SL 275 & 278; Pietersen 151 off 165 balls — his 20th Test century; Swann 10/181 match figures; Jayawardene 105). Rangana Herath took 19 wickets in the series; Graeme Swann 16. Andrew Strauss captained England; Mahela Jayawardene captained Sri Lanka.
The two-match Test series between England and Sri Lanka in March-April 2012 was drawn 1-1, with England retaining their ICC No. 1 Test ranking. 1st Test Galle International Stadium (Mar 26-29): Sri Lanka won by 75 runs — SL 318 & 214; England 193 & 264. Jayawardene scored 180 in Sri Lanka's 1st innings. Rangana Herath took 6/74 in England's 1st innings and 6 more in their 2nd innings — 12 wickets in the match, winning Player of the Match. Graeme Swann took 6/82 in one innings. Jonathan Trott scored 112 in England's 2nd innings of 264 — a fighting 4th-innings century that could not quite save the match, England losing by 75 runs. 2nd Test P Sara Oval, Colombo (Apr 3-7): England won by 8 wickets — England 460 & 97/2; SL 275 & 278. Kevin Pietersen scored 151 off 165 balls — his 20th Test century — dominating Sri Lanka's spinners. Swann took 10/181 in the match (4 in SL's 1st innings + 6/106 in SL's 2nd innings). Jayawardene scored 105 in Sri Lanka's 2nd innings. England chased 97 in 97/2. Player of the Match: Pietersen. Player of the Series: Mahela Jayawardene — 354 runs. Series wicket leaders: Herath 19, Swann 16. Andrew Strauss captained England; Mahela Jayawardene captained Sri Lanka.
Herath's 12-Wicket Galle Masterclass and 19-Series Haul
Rangana Herath's 12-wicket match haul at Galle — 6/74 in England's 1st innings of 193 and 6 more in their 2nd innings of 264 — gave Sri Lanka a 75-run win on a surface that allowed left-arm orthodox spin to grip and turn. Herath's match figures at Galle were the second-best match return for a left-arm spinner against England in Test history, behind only Vinoo Mankad's 12/108 in 1952, and made him only the fifth Sri Lankan to take 10 wickets in a Test match. His 19 series wickets — across just two Tests — placed him among the most dominant individual bowling series performances of the era. Combined with Swann's 16 wickets for England, the two spinners combined for 35 of the wickets, confirming this was a series decided entirely by spin on both sides.
Pietersen 151 at Colombo: His 20th Test Century on a Turning Surface
Kevin Pietersen's 151 off 165 balls at the P Sara Oval — his 20th Test century — was the decisive innings that levelled the series and preserved England's ICC No. 1 ranking. Pietersen attacked Sri Lanka's spinners from the outset, hitting 16 fours and 6 sixes in an innings of fierce clean hitting that gave England a first-innings total of 460 and a 185-run lead. Swann's 10-wicket match haul (4 + 6/106) dismissed Sri Lanka for 275 and 278, and England strolled to the 97-run target in 97/2. The 2nd Test confirmed that England, despite losing the opening Test at Galle, had the batting quality and spin bowling to compete in Sri Lankan conditions when they struck form. Trott's 112 in the Galle 4th innings (joining just three England batsmen previously to score a 4th-innings century in the subcontinent) had already shown that quality before Pietersen's Colombo bravura.
England Retain No. 1 Ranking by Levelling the Series
England entered the Sri Lanka series as the world's No. 1 ranked Test team and needed to level the series at 1-1 after losing the opening Test to retain their ranking. The 2nd Test result at Colombo — an 8-wicket England win — delivered exactly that. Graeme Swann's 16-wicket series performance gave England the bowling parity with Herath's 19 that turned the draw into a strategic success rather than a failure. Andrew Strauss's captaincy across both Tests — his last series as England captain before his August 2012 retirement following the subsequent South Africa home series — ended with the ranking preserved and England's credentials on the subcontinent partially vindicated after a difficult 1st Test.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the England vs Sri Lanka Test series in 2012?
The series was drawn 1-1. Sri Lanka won the 1st Test at Galle by 75 runs (Herath 12 wickets; Jayawardene 180); England won the 2nd Test at Colombo by 8 wickets (Pietersen 151; Swann 10 wickets). England retained the ICC No. 1 Test ranking. Mahela Jayawardene won Player of the Series with 354 runs; Rangana Herath led all bowlers with 19 wickets.
How many wickets did Rangana Herath take against England in the 2012 series?
Herath took 19 wickets across the 2-Test series — 12 in the 1st Test at Galle (6/74 in ENG's 1st innings + 6 in their 2nd) and 7 in the 2nd Test at Colombo. His 12-wicket Galle match haul was the second-best match return by a left-arm spinner against England in Test history.