Gary Ballance has said that it was a "great feeling" to hit his maiden century for England on the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

The batsman reached 104 not out at the close of play as the home side finished the day 267-8 to leave them with a lead of 389 going into the final day.

The 24-year-old told BBC Test Match Special: "It's a great feeling and I can't really describe my emotions right now. It helped that [Chris Jordan] and [Stuart Broad] played positively, they really pushed me.

"I didn't really think about getting a hundred tonight but I went for it. They bowled well but I knew I just had to bat time and scoring would become a lot easier. We were always going to bat through the day I think and try and score in this last session.

"We have put ourselves in a good position to win the game. Hopefully a few will keep a bit low and if we can nip one or two out we have a good chance."

Ballance made his Test debut during the winter Ashes tour in Australia.