England’s second home series of the summer will begin on Wednesday in Manchester with a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka. The series is scheduled to begin after England’s 3-0 rout of the West Indies.
England and Sri Lanka will both be looking to improve their positions in the current ICC World Test Championship 2023–25 cycle, hence the Test series will be important for them both. Having played in four Tests so far this cycle, Sri Lanka, presently ranked third, has won two of those matches while also losing two. England, meanwhile, has only won six of their 13 games played.
Ben Stokes will not be captain of the team because of an injury, thus Ollie Pope, who has been inconsistent, will lead the team. As the team’s vice-captain, daring batsman Harry Brook has gained a significant elevation.
However, Sri Lanka recently achieved an incredible 2-0 victory over Bangladesh.
The playing XI for England’s first Test has already been announced:
Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Harry Brook, Vice-Captain, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
England v Sri Lanka Test Match Full Schedule:
- 21-25 August, 2024: 1st Test, Old Trafford, Manchester
- 29 August – 2 September 2024: 2nd Test, Lord’s – London
- 6-10 September 2024: 3rd Test, The Oval – London
England vs Sri Lanka Test squads
England squad for Sri Lanka’s first Test match: Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Matthew Potts, and Ollie Pope (captain).
Sri Lanka squad for England Test series: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (vc), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake.
