When England's Barmy Army lost one of their traveling members, Peter Marples, whilst on tour in Sri Lanka, former English cricketer Derek Pringle tweeted his wish, "All Armies mourn the loss of their own though you don't expect causalities when the "fight" is for England and Test cricket. RIP Peter Marples and may England honor your support with a clean sweep over Sri Lanka."

Just a few hours later, Pringle's successors fulfilled his wish as they notched up a 42-run victory on the fourth day of the third and final Test of the series in the island nation to accomplish a 3-0 clean sweep in Colombo on Monday.

Earlier, the Sri Lankans batsmen resumed the day at 53 for four while chasing a significantly high target of 327 runs at Sinhalese Sports Club. However, Kusal Mendis and Roshen Silva salvaged the situation with a brilliant 102-run partnership for the sixth wicket and bailed the hosts out of a humiliation. Mendis made a patient 86 while Silva chipped in with 65 as they hung on for almost 30 overs. 

However, Mendis ran himself out jeopardizing Sri Lanka's chance of winning the Test as a saving grace. But there was yet another twist to the story as Malinda Pushpakumara survived a massive blow to the helmet before raising hopes for his side. His unbeaten knock of 42 and a 58-run final wicket partnership with last man and stand-in skipper Suraj Lakmal gave some jitters to the tourists before Joe Root's side went for the kill. England's victory came in the first over after the tea.

England's spinning duo of Jack Leach and Moeen Ali picked up four wickets each to guide their side to a memorable whitewash over the hapless home side. England won the first Test at Galle to end a 13-match winless streak in overseas Tests while an easy victory at Pallekele helped them double their lead, apart from ensuring a series victory in Sri Lanka after 17-long-years. Buoyed by the unassailable 2-0 lead, the triumphant English side tightened the noose on their rivals as they accomplished a blemishless performance to win the third Test over the underfire Sri Lankans in style. 

Incidentally, the English players didn't forget to wear the black armband to pay their last respects to their deceased fan, Marples before fulfilling Pringle's wish for the man, who breathed his last a night ahead of his beloved side scripted a historic 3-0 win.