πππππ :Β England vs Sri Lanka
ππππ : Aug 21, 2024
ππππ : 15:30 pm ISTβ
πππππ : Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
ππππππππππ : 1st Test 2024
Sri Lanka begin their Test tour of England at Old Trafford with the hosts without some of their biggest names.
- Sri Lanka have not won any of their last eight head to head Tests against England.
- England won the last head to head against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in Galle in 2021.
- Sri Lanka are targeting their fourth successive Test victory in this game.
England vs Sri Lanka
TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar
Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website.
ENG vs SL Match Prediction & Analysis
Although it is England as the hosts who will come into this Test and the series expecting to win convincingly, it is actually Sri Lanka who begins this match in fourth compared to their hosts seventh place in the World Test Championship! The tourists also come off the back of strong wins in this format earlier this year but they will be under no illusions that playing England in England is a very tough assignment.
For the hosts, they have their eyes trained on the Ashes series down-under in 2025/26 and are rapidly trying to get experience into keeper-batter Jamie Smith and spinner Shoaib Bashir which could provide an opportunity for Sri Lanka. Equally, Ben Stokes’ injury will give vice-captain Ollie Pope the chance to lead the side but he has precious little experience of doing so in any format.
TEAMS PREVIEW
England Preview
This England side does not like to look at things in a negative fashion so it will be interesting to see how they approach this opening Test of the series without their captain Ben Stokes and regular opener Zak Crawley. Indeed, it is less than 12 months since both Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson were both sharing the new ball for this side and the team which takes the field has a distinct lack of experience compared to recent years.
Sri Lanka Preview
This will be Sri Lanka’s first Test since they beat Bangladesh by 192 runs at the start of April to make it three victories in this format in a row. Indeed, all three of those wins have been by very comfortable margins which should mean there is a good level of confidence in the squad. That said, there have been changes in the backroom staff and former England coach Chris Silverwood is no longer with the side – instead the tourists will have former opener Sanath Jayasuriya as interim coach and he will have the local knowledge of former England Test batter Ian Bell to lean on.
Weather Conditions
The weather in Manchester is often joked about for being dreary, cold and wet, and according to the forecast, it could live up to its reputation at Old Trafford this week! Day one is expected to remain dry but it would be a surprise if there were no interruptions due to rain across the other four scheduled days of the Test.
ENG vs SL Pitch Report
Old Trafford is one of England’s historic Test venues and there is always strong backing for the home side. Even after turning the pitch by 90 degrees a few years ago, the pitch remains one of the quickest in the country. We expect spin to play a role in this match over the final two days of the game and batting should be easiest over the first two days.
