ENG vs SL: England are again one of the world’s only teams to feature in the most number of matches, as they surpassed the Aussies. In yet another WTC circle, England has played around more matches than another team, while the Bazball still remains in the hunt for their first-ever entry into the WTC final, which is held at the end of every two years in the iconic grounds across England itself.
With yet another exciting summer awaiting them, England was gearing up to host the Sri Lankan team before their tour to Pakistan and New Zealand later in this WTC circle.
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ENG vs. SL: The skipper ruled out
The Three Lions will host the Lankans for a three-match Test series to be played within a span of 21 days, with the first match starting on the 21st of August.
Now with just a week left, England has faced a major blow. The English side was already recovering from the absence of their star opener Zak Crawley, while now they are in the middle of yet another crisis in the form of an injured Ben Stokes.
The England skipper in the longest format of the game was last seen in action in The Hundred for the Northern Superchargers back on Sunday. However, while being called for a quick double, the England great pulled his hamstring and fell to the ground on completion of his run.
Stokes, who had to be helped out of the ground, was seen with crutches on the field later, with Superchargers skipper Brook confirming that Stokes’s injury would be scanned in order to know his recent status.
On Tuesday, scans suggested that Stokes has a torn hamstring in his left leg, as a result of which the English skipper is out of the team for the rest of the summer, eyeing a probable return in the Pakistan tour.
Naming a new captain—big role ahead for Ollie Pope
England, who were already with 14 men, have now ruled out their skipper and named Ollie Pope, the young batter, as his deputy. Pope, with no international experience and no domestic greatness as a skipper as well, will mark his debut as a captain of the Three Lions in Manchester.
The young batter has been an asset for his side at No. 3, as England would yet have to name a replacement for the skipper since his chances of return have been totally ruled out.
England might fancy their chances on players like Sam Curran for a test return in order to replace the English skipper. Though Stokes’s batting prowess is tough to be replaced by any other all-rounder.
Squad details: Full Squads ENG vs. SL
The Lankan Lions also made the headlines after the recruitment of former England batter Ian Bell as their batting coach for the Red Ball game in England. With nothing confirmed over how long he would continue, Bell is likely to make Sri Lankan players aware of the playing conditions in the nation.
From the England side as well, legendary pacer James Anderson will once again be seen in the English nets, as he has been with the team in a new coaching role since his retirement last month.
ENG Full Squad: Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Shoaib Bashir, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
SL Full Squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dinesh Chandimal, Nishan Madishka, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Prabath Jayasuriya, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nisala Tharaka, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Ramesh Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kasun Rajitha, Milan Rathnayake, Sadeera Samarawickrama, and Jeffrey Vandersay.
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