England tour of Lanka: All that you need to know
What's the story
Sri Lanka and England are all set to face each other in two Tests, starting January 14. The visitors will hope to draw the maximum. England need to beat Sri Lanka to remain alive in the ICC World Test Championship. The Joe Root-led side had beaten Lanka 3-0 in their last tour in 2018. Here are further details.
Intra-squad match
Washout hampers England's preparation ahead of Test series
England had limited practice time ahead of the first Test at Galle next week. The two-day intra-squad game, being contested by Team Root and Team Buttler, in Hambantota had a mixed start. Team Root reached 184/2 off their allocated 50 overs as Team Buttler managed 120/6 at stumps. However, Day 2 was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to a washout.
England squad
England are without Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes
England Test squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. Reserves: James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
Duo
All eyes on English duo Anderson and Broad
England's famed fast-bowling pair James Anderson and Stuart Broad will be hoping to deliver the goods against Lanka. With more than 1,100 Test scalps between them, the star pacers could set the tone in the series. Broad (514) needs six more wickets to overcome former West Indies sensation Courtney Walsh (519). He is in line to become the sixth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka were poor in the Test series against SA
Sri Lanka were woeful in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa. They were hammered in both the Tests as SA won 2-0. Lanka lost the first match by an innings and 45 runs. They were also beaten by 10 wickets in the second Test. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has a lot of work to do in getting his side to fire against England.