Modern masters of ‘White Ball’ cricket – Sri Lanka will change their kits into whites and the playing ball to red ’Duke’ ball when they take on the new look England in a two-match test series commencing on 12th June at the Mecca of International Cricket, The Lord’s.
ODI series ended with controversies surrounding both teams with the visitors bagging the trophy. Members of either team have predicted a ‘heated’ test series and Sri Lanka’s newest foe in the cricketing field; England will look to settle the grudges with a sparkling Test performance in their own backyard. England had a disastrous ‘Ashes’ down-under and only 7 survivors are left from that squad and the remolding of English ‘test’ cricket is officially in motion. Of course, the squad is one without a certain Kevin Pietersen who is known to thrash Lankan bowlers. Earlier in the week, Kumar Sangakkara cited that he’s not disappointed in not having the Englishmen playing in what will be the Sri Lankan legend’s final test series in England.
The tourists will be confident of their ability to upset the applecart, their adaption to English conditions thus far being quite remarkable winning four games out of six in the shorter forms of the game. England is almost certain to field three debutants for the 1st Test which will be played under weather conditions that have been predicted to be fine and against the well acclimatized South Asian islanders. The illustrious Lord’s grounds have brought good performances from Sri Lanka as they have drawn all of their Tests at the ground in modern era; 2002, 2006 and 2011.
Key Battles
Sri Lankan top order vs England fast bowlers – Sri Lanka are less secure in the Test arena and the experienced batting lineup will have to deal with one of the most potent fast bowling attacks in the world. James Anderson will lead the attack and his main target will be removing Sri Lanka’s opening pair of Dimuth Karunarathne and in-form Kaushal Silva early on. England will play four fast bowlers and Sri Lanka will have not have it easy against the opposing seamers. The Lord’s pitch has been known to favor pace and swing in the first session and it is reported that the hosts have asked the curator to leave the grass in order to blow apart the Lankan batting order. Stuart Broad will share the new ball with Anderson and the visiting top order consisting of the two stalwarts; Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will have to bring their ‘A’ game into this clash.
Rangana Herath vs England middle order – England are sans of the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott in their lineup. Ian Bell will be the prized wicket for the Lankans in a rusty English middle order. Rangana Herath will most probably be the only frontline spinner in two teams and the match winning hero for Sri Lanka is determined to make an impact with his left arm spinners. Rangana Herath will have to do the bulk of the bowling for Sri Lanka and if the visitors do win the 1st test, Rangana Herath would most certainly have a big hand in that course.
Team Compositions
England – selectors named a 12 man squad for the first test minus a specialist spinner in the team. Two debutants will be featured in the top six. Sam Robson is a young player who has shown plenty of promise and is touted to open the innings alongside captain Alastair Cook. Five centuries for Robson in the English development sides last season has displayed his aptitude for building a big innings and his style complements a middle-order comprised of Gary Ballance, Joe Root and Ian Bell. England’s only gamble will be on the 3rd and 4th seaming options. Chris Jordan will be the most likely contender with his success over Sri Lanka in the ODI series and Chris Woakes will battle Liam Plunkett for the role of fourth seamer.
Probable XI: 1. Alastair Cook 2. Sam Robson 3. Gary Ballance 4. Joe Root 5. Ian Bell 6. Moeen Ali 7. Matt Prior 8. Chris Jordan 9. Chris Woakes 10. Stuart Broad 11. James Anderson
Sri Lanka – Dilruwan Perera scored a half-century and took four wickets with his off-spin in the warm-up, however it is unlikely that Sri Lanka will overlook Rangana Herath as the primary spin option, a necessity for three seamers required in English conditions. With Suranga Lakmal out from injury, Shaminda Eranga will be the leader of the attack. Dhammika Prasad showed signs of aggression in the warm-up game and he will fight it out with Nuwan Pradeep and left arm seam of Chanaka Welagedara for the other two remaining spots in the Lankan lineup.
Dimuth Karunarathne has failed to impress in England so far and his techniques against the moving ball will face a severe test. The question on everyone’s mind will be if the selectors would persist with the left hander or will they give struggling Dinesh Chandimal a chance at the top of the order.
Probable XI: 1. Kaushal Silva 2. Dimuth Karunarathne 3. Kumar Sangakkara 4. Mahela Jayawardene 5. Lahiru Thirimanne 6. Angelo Mathews 7. Prasanna Jayawardene 8. Rangana Herath 9. Chanaka Welagedara 10. Shaminda Eranga 11. Nuwan Pradeep
Pitch and Weather Conditions
Reports from England have stated that the weather have been good last couple of days and the shining sun will help the tourists on a track which will help the faster bowlers early on but will be much suited for the batsman later in the Test match. England surfaces will be familiar for the Sri Lankans after having been in England for the last month and with no rain predicted, the first test will be a keen tussle.
Prediction
Can Sri Lanka inflict more salt into England’s wounds? Can Sri Lankan bowlers take 20 wickets? Can the inexperienced England batting lineup fire? Many questions are on paper in the lead up to the Test match. England will be favorites to win but the Sri Lankans will not go down without a fight and Sri Lanka will fancy a draw with their settled batting unit.
