England will take on Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series starting from 21st August. The first Test match between the both sides will take place at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Match preview:
The host will take on England confidently as they overpowered West Indies smoothly and effortlessly. England won the three-match series by 3-0, squashing the tourists side dominantly. But this time, the Three Lions will play without the service of Ben Stokes which means Ollie Pope will lead the side. However, Pope thinks the team will carry on the “Bazball” approach even in the absence of Ben Stokes.
“It’s still Stokesy’s team. I think everyone’s pretty clear how they want to go about this week and this series in general. Having Stokesy in the changing room is great … If I want to lean on him, I can lean on him and I think he’s going to let me do my own thing for the course of this test series as well.”
Ollie Pope and Joe Root were among the runs from the last series as both of the said batters scored 200 runs, respectively. Gus Atkinson, who was given the responsibility to replace the mighty James Anderson, did not disappoint either as he was adjudged player of the series as he took 22 wickets in the series. And of course, one cannot forget Shoaib Bashir as he is just 20-years-old and has taken 26 wickets in 6 matches so far
Talking about Sri Lanka, the side lost to the inexperienced England Lion side in a built-up match. Nevertheless, they should treat it as a practice game to keep their morale high.
Sri Lanka, so far, has maintained a 100% record in Test cricket (this year) and currently sit above the England side in the WTC standings. The side will be relying on their batting unit comprising the likes of Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal. Moreover, Silva the new captain has been in a good touch as well and can bowl brilliantly. The team lastly played a home Test series against Bangladesh, winning the series – effortlessly.
Currently, the Sri Lanka’s spinner averaged 56 with the bat in the Test format. Talking about bowling, the high-hopes will be associated with Prabath Jayasuriya, meanwhile Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando will ask to bring up their county cricket experience.
The Sri Lanka’s skipper has high hopes from his bowling unit as in his own words:
“It could be overcast conditions for a few days, so it might help the seamers, and we have one world-class spinner with us. If he comes into the game in the second innings, we have a good chance to win.”
Pitch and weather report:
Well, the pitch is supposed to assist spinners as the game goes on, like the typical Trafford pitch but the team winning the toss and opting for ball first have never stood victorious at this venue. About the weather, it is expected to rain on all five days of the play.
Head-to-head record:
A total of 36 games have been played between the side and 17 games have been won by the English side while Sri Lanka stood victorious in 8 games.
Predictions:
Although Sri Lanka holds the ability to upset the best in business, England have a strong chance to win this game even in the absence of Ben Stokes. Also, the leading head-to-head record will also boost the confidence of the home side.
Playing XI:
England:
1 Dan Lawrence, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Matthew Potts, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Shoaib Bashir
Sri Lanka:
1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Prabath Jayasuriya, 9 Asitha Fernando, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Milan Rathnayake
Where to watch:
Pakistan: Tapmad
UK: Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Go app, TNT sports
India: Sony Sports network, Sony Liv, FanCode app
South Africa: Super Sports app, Super Sport cricket
Others: CricHD
