England to host Sri Lanka for a three-match Test series during August-September
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Sri Lanka will tour England for a three-match Test series which is set to begin on August 21 this year. The three Tests of the series will be played at Manchester, Lord's, and the Oval respectively.
The first Test will be played from August 21-25, the second Test from August 29-September 2, and the last Test of the series will be played from September 6-10.
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Series to be a part of WTC Cycle
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) also confirmed that the series will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
England is currently 6th in the WTC points table with six wins, six defeats, and one drawn match. They have 57 points currently at a win percentage of 36.54.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka is in 4th position with two wins and two defeats so far. They have 24 points at a win percentage of 50.
With both teams struggling in the current WTC cycle, they will be aiming to pick up some crucial points and move higher up the table.
England have been excellent in Test cricket recently and will be high in confidence after their recent home Test series win over West Indies, in which they clean-swept the visitors 3-0.
England's batting in good form
Their batters are in good form with Joe Root leading from the front with the bat. Root scored 292 runs in three Tests against West Indies at an average of 72.75.
VIce-captain Ollie Pope was also amongst the runs while the highly-talented Harry Brook also shone with the bat. Skipper Ben Stokes' return to bowling has given them a huge boost.
With James Anderson having retired, the onus is on Chris Woakes to use all his experience and be England's frontline new ball bowler.
Gus Atkinson has also shown his credentials as a quality Test match bowler. With Ashes just more than a year away, England aims to prepare a perfect squad for the historic tour.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have last played a Test in March 2024. They will be tested in conditions assisting seam movement. They have a young team with Dhananjaya de Silva leading the side. However, constant injury concerns have been a troubling sign for them.
England squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka
England have already announced their squad for the series. Zak Crawley has been ruled out after he fractured his right little finger.
Jordan Cox has received a maiden call-up to the Test squad. Fast bowler Dillon Pennington has also been ruled out due to a hamstring injury and Olly Stone has replaced him.
Offspinner Shoaib Bashir has been retained as the No. 1 spinner of the team after his brilliance against West Indies. Bashir finished with 9 wickets in 3 Tests at an average of 27.22 with the best of 5-41 at Nottingham.
Jamie Smith, who had a brilliant maiden Test series recently, has also been retained ahead of experienced wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.
Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
The last Test series played between these two nations in England was way back in 2016 when they faced each other in a three-match Test series. England won the series 2-0.
Since then, England have been to Sri Lanka twice for a Test series, once in 2018 for a three-match Test series and in 2021 for a two-match Test series. England emerged victorious in both the series, clean-sweeping Sri Lanka in both of them.
