Rex Clementine in Manchester
Sri Lanka are in the city where their cricketing journey in the international stage began. It was here in Manchester they played their first ever official international game – a fixture against the West Indies. It indeed was a baptism of fire as Sri Lanka were shot out for 86 by the West Indian quicks.
Almost 50 years later, much has changed. Sri Lanka have won both the 50 over and T-20 World Cups. Have produced the world’s highest wicket taker in Test match cricket in Muttiah Muralitharan. Had a Test triple centurion before India had one in Sanath Jayasuriya. There have also produced two batters who have gone on to score more than 10,000 runs in Test match cricket – Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
Three match Test series are few and rare for Sri Lankans these days. With the international calendar packed and T-20 franchise tournaments taking precedence over all else, there’s little time to play three Tests. England still give prominence to Test cricket and that is why Sri Lanka are here.
Manchester has been cold and damp and it remains to be seen how the batters will fare in these conditions. The ball for sure will move around and application is needed in plenty.
Sri Lanka’s batters are undercooked after being beaten by seven wickets by England Lions in Worcester last week. They need to show application and put in hard work as England will play two quicks who will bowl at 90 miles per hour.
Old Trafford has offered assistance for spin this season and if it turns during the Test match, Prabath Jayasuriya, a tall left-arm spinner will be handy. But they need to put the runs on the board and whether that will happen is the question.
Milan Ratnayake was the most impressive of all Sri Lankan quicks in Worcester and could make his Test debut. That means that the tourists will have to leave out Lahiru Kumara, their most successful bowler in their last series win. This will be an interesting selection debate.
With Ben Stokes out of the series injured, England will have a new captain in Ollie Pope. There are questions asked as to whether Pope is fit enough for the job as he has captained Surrey just once in a County Championship game.
But that’s nothing to be alarmed at. Michael Vaughan had never captained Yorkshire before being handed the England job. Alastair Cook hadn’t led Essex before being named England captain. The same goes with Ben Stokes, who had never skippered Durham before being named England captain.
With Zak Crawley too injured, Dan Lawrence will open batting. Matthew Potts is back in the side and he is an excellent addition to Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood, who provide pace. Chris Woakes balances the side batting at number seven and giving the additional seam option. Shoaib Bashir is the lone spinner.
England are placed seventh in the World Test Championship and they desperately want to make amends and move up the order. Sri Lanka are placed fourth and have a chance at having a crack at next year’s final.
Usually, Sri Lanka play in England in early part of the summer and this time around they have a good opportunity to make an impact. It remains to be seen what they will do in the series. They would have been better off with one or two more warm-up games. But in the modern day with the calendar so cramped up there are no chances for additional games.
