Sri Lanka are playing a Test match in England after eight years and the hosts may never be as vulnerable as now due to the unavailability of their full-time captain Ben Stokes. Ollie Pope will lead the side in his absence. (More Cricket News)
England have former captain Joe Root, who is the form of his life at the moment. Harry Brook, who was named Pope's deputy earlier, will come to bat at Stokes place. New wicket-keeper batter Jamie Smith has also shown his class in the recent Test series against West Indies.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, may need to play an extra batter in their playing XI. With a packed pace-bowling attack, they are dependent on former captains Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal for most of their batting. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Dhananjaya de Silva need to play some big knocks.
England have announced their playing XI two days before the first Test but Sri Lanka, who have roped in Ian Bell as their new batting coach, have kept their last XI secret and will announce at the toss time.
England Vs Sri Lanka, Head-To-Head Record In Test
Both teams have played against each other in 36 Test matches. England have won 17 matches whereas Sri Lanka have won only eight Tests. 11 Test matches ended in a draw.
Total Matches Played - 36
England Won - 17
Sri Lanka Won - 8
Drawn - 11
England Vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Full Squads:
England: Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir, Jordan Cox, Olly Stone
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kasun Rajitha, Pathum Nissanka, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake, Nisala Tharaka, Jeffrey Vandersay, Ramesh Mendis
England Vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Predicted Playing XIs:
England: Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kasun Rajitha, Jeffrey Vandersay
England Vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test Weather Report:
Rain is expected in the first session of the opening day. The rest of the day is expected to go unaffected by rain. Day 2 and 3 will also witness some rain as per the weather reports for the next three days. Players will have to adjust and groundsmen need to do extra work.
England Vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test Pitch Report
The pitch at Old Trafford usually helps batters hence both teams are playing a pace-heavy attack. No visible help from the surface for the spinners but rain may change the attitude of the pitch as the match goes to the third or fourth day.
England Vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test Match Prediction
Despite not having Ben Stokes in their squad, England have a high chance of winning the first Test match against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford. The Ollie Pope-led English side has a 60% chance of winning the match in comparison to Sri Lanka's 15%. There is a 25% chance of this match ending as drawn.
