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England head into the second Test Match in Galle looking to secure another series wins in Sri Lanka after victory in the first test by seven wickets.
Joe Root’s side have now won five consecutive matches in Sri Lanka which will give them confidence of completing the series victory before heading off to India.
England are notorious for beginning series poorly but they got off to the perfect start this time, bowling the home side out for just 135 on the opening day before Root’s double hundred set up the victory.
Following the series whitewash England recorded in 2018 which included a win at Galle, England have now won five games in succesion at the ground to breach Sri Lanka’s strong record at the stadium which has seen them lose just nine of the 34 matches.
The tourists are widely expected to name a similar side for the final match of the series but will likely use to give a couple more seamers a run out ahead of a bust year of international cricket.
James Anderson is set to come in for Stuart Broad, while there is doubt over whether Mark Wood can play to back to back Test Matches which could give Olly Stone a chance to impress or it could bring Chris Woakes an opportunity to improve on his poor away Test record.
The top seven is unlikely to be affected with Sam Curran showing his worth to the side with the ball and is a very useful all rounder at number seven, spinning pair Dom Bess and Jack Leach are also unlikely to be changed with Moeen Ali still working his way to full fitness after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this month.
Leach and Bess both impressed in spells during the first Test which saw them both take a fifer and they built up their confidence as the match went on which will give them huge confidence moving forward in spin-friendly conditions.
England know there are bigger challenges to come with the series against India next month but they will be desperate to clean up the series to improve their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship in the summer with them currently below Australia, India and New Zealand.
Coach Chris Silverwood has explained in the post-match press conference following the Sri Lanka win that rotation is needed if England are to be consistent moving forward.
“Looking at what we’ve got in front of us with a lot of Tests in India as well, it’s highly likely that there will be rotation and rest within the seamers’ line-up.
“There’s plenty of things on the table at the moment, so we have to do what’s best for the players and equally, making sure that we’ve got the strongest balanced attack out there to make sure we win the Test match as well.”
Likely England side – Zak Crawley, Dominic Sibley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (c), Daniel Lawrence, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Dominic Bess, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, James Anderson
The action gets underway at 4:30am from Galle on Friday morning.
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