England are gearing up for their first Test match of the three-match series against Sri Lanka, set to get underway on Wednesday at Old Trafford Cricket Stadium, without their skipper Ben Stokes, who has been ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury sustained during the Hundred competition. In Stokes’ absence, vice-captain Ollie Pope will lead England, looking to continue with the same approach that Stokes has created. 

Stokes’ absence is a significant blow for England, as he has been pivotal in recent years, providing both leadership and crucial contributions with bat. In his stead, English team will need to rally together and find new strategies to overcome their opponents. 

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be looking to capitalise on England’s misfortune as they are riding a wave of success, having thrashed India by 110 runs in the third ODI to clinch the series 2-0. The format is different but many of the players, who played the ODI series against India, have been included in the Test squad.

That energetic victory for Sri Lanka against India will embolden them to come out more strongly against England. With a well-balanced squad, Sri Lanka could potentially take advantage of the situation to set a challenging tone for the series.

Head to Head

Both teams have played 36 matches against each other. Of those, England have won 17, while Sri Lanka have recorded victories in 8 games. 

England Playing XI: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), 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 (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.