Eight years have passed since Sri Lanka last played a Test in England and their return is long overdue. They are an established Test‑playing nation who over the years have produced wonderful players who have shone on these shores – I remember facing them at the Oval in 1998, when Sanath Jayasuriya scored a double century, Aravinda de Silva got 150, Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets and they won at a canter.
The current team has an established batting lineup with a lot of experience, certainly a lot more than the West Indies side that was convincingly beaten last month, but their bowling attack lacks real pace or the brilliant mystery spin they’ve had in the past. Perhaps that is why in a blockbuster sporting summer, after Euro 2024 and the Olympics and with the Premier League back under way, the imminent arrival of this series has gone under the radar.
I was at Edgbaston for the third Test against West Indies, when on a very good batting wicket, albeit with England bowling terrifically well, the tourists looked so vulnerable. In theory Sri Lanka should provide a stiffer test, though losing against England Lions in their only warmup was not a good sign. They have played only nine Tests in the past two years – England have played 21 – and none since March, and though their batting looks good on paper that lack of preparation could make a difference.
England might be missing their captain but they seem to be in a healthy place, with young players progressing and establishing themselves in the side, good recent results, the team moving forward as a group towards potentially more stringent tests. In the absence of Ben Stokes an extra bowler has come in, presenting an opportunity for Matt Potts which will help both his and the team’s development.
With Shoaib Bashir their only spinner perhaps England will ask for pitches with pace and bounce, possibly with a bit of grass on them. Not long ago pitches for home Tests were often green, the ball swung around, and we had that real home advantage and made the most of it, especially through the skill of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.
This team have looked to play on flatter, drier surfaces and to find a way of taking wickets – it’s a different approach and at Old Trafford, where the first game is being played, the surface is often of that type. Of course that is not necessarily the kind of surface on which you would choose to face Sri Lanka, and their batters will be adept at playing spin, their bowlers at working hard on dry wickets.
Zak Crawley’s broken finger means Dan Lawrence will open the batting. As a traditionalist that does raise an eyebrow: he has some experience there but he normally bats in the middle order for Surrey, and I have always felt that he looks very awkward technically. In his early days he had a massive movement across the stumps, and anything straight he looked to flick into the leg side, but if the ball moved he would struggle.
More recently he has dropped that movement and instead stands quite still. Then, at the point of release, he crouches down and his head tends to go outside the line of off stump, which means he is battling to retain his balance. Of course technical proficiency is not a prerequisite for being successful but at times I feel he makes runs in spite of his technique. He is an accomplished middle order player and England see him as the next cab off the rank, and want their batters to just go out and play, regardless of whether they’re opening or coming in at No 5.
Perhaps the feeling is that no one around the counties or in the Lions has made a pressing case to be considered a more likely Test opener, but this will be a challenge for Lawrence, and he may struggle if the ball swings and moves.
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Stokes’s leadership will be missed but Ollie Pope will benefit from the knowledge that he has this entire series to look forward to. I remember Mark Butcher coming in as captain for one game in 1999 and that is a very difficult task. Pope has little personal experience of captaincy to fall back on so he is learning on the job, and the support he gets from the people around him will be important.
I often felt in cricket that too much was put on the shoulders of the captain, but more recently some coaches have carried a bit more of the burden, and a good coach can really help in reviewing a session or a day’s cricket, asking good questions about what was learned and what could have been done differently, or what went well. Brendon McCullum, with his huge experience as a captain, should be an ideal foil and Pope will learn a great deal over the next few weeks. He is helped also by the fact the team’s mindset is well established, and they will simply look to continue their “refinement”.
Thanks to a couple of injuries England have been forced to deal with some adversity, but this has added interest and intrigue to a series that could really accelerate their development.