England vs Sri Lanka: James Anderson takes delight in banishing 2014 memories and targets series whitewash

Anderson admitted England were pleased to put their 2014 defeat by Sri Lanka behind them after First Test victory at Headingley

James Anderson embraces Steven Finn after securing victory on the First Test against Sri Lanka (Getty)

James Anderson believes England have started to lay the bad memories of 2014's Test series defeat against Sri Lanka to rest after a comprehensive victory over the same opponents by an innings and 88 runs at Headingley.

Two years ago it was the Sri Lankans celebrating in Leeds, with Anderson last out in the final over as the tourists won the second Test by 100 runs to seal a first Test-series victory in England.

Revenge over the last three days has been brutal as Anderson spearheaded an attack that comfortably dismantled the tourists twice without them threatening to pass England's first-innings 298.

"It's very different," Anderson told Sky Sports 2 when asked how we was feeling compared to two years ago.

"It's nice to put that to bed well and truly. We were frustrated last time by Sri Lanka, losing that series when they were last over here.

"We've got off to a good start here and hopefully we can carry that on at Durham next week."

Jonny Bairstow's 140 and 86 from Alex Hales after the hosts had slipped to 83 for five on day one laid the platform for victory, before Anderson picked up match figures of 10 for 45 - becoming the sixth most prolific Test wicket-taker of all time in the process.

"It's been a good week for us," he added.

"The knocks from Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales - it's just shown how crucial they've been to this win.

"On a pitch that's helping the bowlers, conditions helpful for the bowlers, cloudy all week - not nice for batting - so those two guys deserve a lot of credit for getting us into the position we got into and then all four seamers did a fantastic job.

"We stuck at it and I thought they played quite well second innings, but we were relentless with the ball and thankfully got home in the end."

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews admitted his side have plenty of work to do before the second Test at the Emirates Riverside starts on Friday.

"It was a bad game for us," he said. "We started off pretty well but let them off the hook by dropping a couple of catches but Jonny Bairstow batted well.

"I'm a bit worried, but we've got to bounce back really hard. We can't let ourselves down."

PA