Sri Lanka is set to tour England for a three-Test series in August-September 2024. The three Tests of the series will be played at Manchester, Lord’s, and the Oval respectively.
The first Test will take place from August 21 to 25, the second from August 29 to September 2, and the final Test from September 6 to 10.
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has also announced that the series will be part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. England is presently sixth in the WTC points table, having won six, lost six, and drawn one match. They have 57 points and a victory percentage of 36.54.
Sri Lanka, on the other side, is in fourth place, having won two games and lost two. They have 24 points and a victory rate of 50%.
Sri Lanka last played a test in March 2024. They will be tested under conditions that promote seam movement. They have a young team, led by Dhananjaya de Silva. However, the persistent threat of injury has been a source of concern for them.
Jordan Cox called up for his maiden stint with the England team for the Sri Lanka Tests
England opener Zak Crawley has been ruled out of the next Test series against Sri Lanka due to a fractured finger. The 26-year-old injured his little finger when taking a catch in the slip in last week’s Edgbaston Test against the West Indies and is expected to be replaced in the playing XI by Dan Lawrence.
Jordan Cox, the Essex hitter, has earned his first Test call-up in the 14-man squad led by Ben Stokes. This season, the 23-year-old has hit three hundreds and scored 763 runs in 12 County Championship matches.
Pacer Olly Stone also returns to the squad, having last played a Test for England in June 2021. He replaces another pacemaker, Dillon Pennington, who suffered a hamstring injury during The Hundred.
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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