Sri Lanka wins the toss and opts to bat against England the first Test between England and Sri Lanka being played at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Greater Manchester.
England heads into the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford starting Wednesday with several players given a chance to prove a point after captain Ben Stokes’s series-ending injury.
Star all-rounder Stokes is set to play no part at all in the three-match contest after tearing his hamstring during the Hundred.
That means England will be without its inspirational leader for the first time since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum launched the team’s dynamic ‘Bazball’ era two years ago.
Ollie Pope, the England vice-captain, will now lead the side even though he has led county team Surrey in just one First-Class match. England announced its team on Monday, with fast bowler Matthew Potts recalled as it opted for a five-man attack.
Meanwhile, Dan Lawrence rarely deployed as an opener in county cricket returns to the England side for the first time in two-and-a-half years after Zak Crawley’s fractured finger created a vacancy at the top of the order.
LINEUPS
England playing XI: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.
Sri Lanka playing XI: Dhananjaya De Silva (Captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.
Source: Sports Star
--Agencies
