Test of skill and technique for Sri Lanka

Nishan Madushka

Dhananjaya de Silva and Angelo Mathews

•  Three-match Test series starts at Old Trafford today
• Only four of 18 players in squad have played Tests in England before

MANCHESTER: Sri Lanka’s batsmen’s technique will be tested to the hilt by England fast bowlers during the three-match Test series which gets underway at Old Trafford, Manchester on Wednesday.Sri Lanka has not played outside Asia since March 2023, and the big question is how the batsmen will cope with pace and swing which is prevalent in English conditions. In that period, Sri Lanka have faltered against more established opposition, losing four out of four Tests against New Zealand and Pakistan.In their first attempt of the current tour, the batters stuttered in their only four-day warm-up game against England Lions at Worcester, where under overcast conditions with the ball moving around, they were routed for 139, but with the sun out on the third day they gave a much improved batting performance to get to 306, although they would have been disappointed that the set batters Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, and Dhananjaya de Silva did not go on to make a substantial score. 

On the brighter side, Sri Lanka have an impressive record since Dhananjaya de Silva undertook the captaincy, winning three Tests out of three against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and the astounding start Sanath Jayasuriya made to his interim period as head coach with a stunning 2-0 ODI win over India, their first over the Asian neighbour in 27 years. 

Sri Lanka comes to the England series on the back of these victories, hoping to continue the momentum they have built up in this short space of time.

Sri Lanka has experience at the core of their batting, with Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandima, and Dimuth Karunaratne having all toured England twice with the Test team. Mathews and Chandimal have struck hundreds at Lord’s and Durham respectively, and Karunaratne will also be keen to add his name to that honours board. He has been the most consistent Test opener in the past five years, scoring the most runs and at the same time maintaining an average above 50 in that period. All three of them are in their mid-30s and this could be their final chance to make an impact in England, for by the time Sri Lanka next tours England, it is very unlikely that they will be around.

Besides this trio, Sri Lanka has in their line-up Kusal Mendis, who was on the last tour to England in 2016 and has a fifty to his name, and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva who, like the rest of his teammates, is on his maiden Test tour to Old Blighty. 

This tour gives the captain and vice-captain of the team the opportunity to enhance their international reputations.

At the other end of the field, Sri Lanka has some exhilarating batters like Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis. Nissanka has been recalled to the Test side after two years, having established himself as a quality white ball player. He has been the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s batting in this format, growing in stature with every game he plays. Nissanka broke Sanath Jayasuriya’s 24-year-old record of 189 by becoming his country’s first ODI double centurion.

His presence in the squad of 18 players puts pressure on Nishan Madushka to uplift his game as Karunaratne’s opening partner. Madushka responded with a stroke-filled 77 to ensure he retains his place for the first Test.

Sadeera Samarawickrama has a lot to prove if he is to retain his position as wicket-keeper/batter in the side. His last nine innings across all formats have produced only one score of over 50.

The bowling poses a new challenge to Sri Lanka as none of their nine bowlers have played a Test in England before. However, new ball bowlers Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando have spent some time in English conditions playing County cricket. 

Asitha had a short stint of three matches with Nottinghamshire in 2023, while Vishwa played two matches for Durham in 2023 and three matches for Yorkshire in 2024, where he impressed upon coach Ottis Gibson taking 17 wickets (avg. 13.39). Kasun Rajitha and uncapped Milan Rathnayake did enough during the warm-up game to warrant selection if Sri Lanka decides to go with four seamers depending on the conditions and pitch.

The one specialist spinner will be left-armer Prabath Jayasuriya. Although the majority of Jayasuriya’s 71 wickets in 12 Tests have come on spin-friendly subcontinent pitches, he immediately stamped his authority with five English Lions wickets for 102 runs off 31.2 overs. De Silva’s part time off-breaks, as well as Kamindu Mendis’ ability to spin the ball with both arms, will give Sri Lanka the opportunity to go with just one spinner.

Sri Lanka’s last Test was against Bangladesh in March, and since then their international calendar has revolved around white ball cricket, playing 10 matches. The three Tests in England will tell how quickly they can adjust to the red ball and how competitive they can be at the highest level. 

To get to know English conditions better, Sri Lanka has enlisted the services of former England cricketer Ian Bell as batting consultant for the series.

This series is important to both Sri Lanka and England, who are both in the running for the top two berths in the ICC World Test Championships. Sri Lanka are currently fourth with 50% points and England seventh with 36.54%.

As for England, they are coming with their tails up with a 3-0 drubbing of West Indies. Although they are without their captain Ben Stokes (hamstring) and opener Zak Crawley (fractured finger) for the series, they could still be a handful with their batsmen Joe Root, skipper Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, and Jamie Smith all in the runs, and spinner Shoaib Bashir and seamers Gus Atkinson, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood with his extreme pace among the top wicket-takers.