England give Dan Lawrence their first try, preferring Stuart Broad to James Anderson
Tilg Sri Lanka they chose to bat vs. England
Sri Lanka were hit with injuries to their captain, Dimuth Karunaratne, on the opening morning of the Test series against England.
Karunaratne is understood to have kept a broken toe in training and, as a result, was disqualified from the game and, apparently, the series. The incident holds a grim run for Sri Lanka with injuries in the past few weeks, with sailor Suranga Lakmal among those unavailable as well.
With Karunaratne out, Dinesh Chandimal will captain Sri Lanka. Chandimal at least started well enough, winning the toss and opting to bat first in Galle. While the decision is simple enough – the pitch at Galle is expected to have a big chance as the game progresses – with the area hit by unseasonable rain in the next few days gone, there may be some help for the English archers in the first session.
Karunaratne’s absence also made room for Lahiru Thirimanne and the preservation of Kusal Mendis, who suffered three consecutive ducks on the final round in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile Dan Lawrence wins his first for England. He was given a No. 697 cap by his former Essex captain James Foster minutes before he was thrown. Foster joins the squad in the role of wicket guard adviser.
As expected, England chose two special spinners, Dom Bess and Jack Leach. Stuart Broad, England’s top catcher in test cricket in 2020, was favored by James James for selection, with Mark Wood taking some speed and Sam Curran some swing and left-arm difference. England have lost their first Test in five of their last six series.
With Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali all in attendance for various reasons and Ben Foakes who was not selected despite being a player of the series on the final round of England in Sri Lanka, it is meaning there are only four left in their squad from the winning side in Sri Lanka in 2018.
England planned to wear black armor in memory of John Edrich, Robin Jackman and Dom Smith, all of whom were recently lost England cricketers.
Sri Lanka: 1 Lahiru Thirimanne, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dilruwan Perera, 10 Lasith Embuldeniya, 11 Asitha Fernando
England: 1 Dom Sibley, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Joe Root (capt.), 5 Dan Lawrence, 6 Jos Buttler 7 Sam Curran, 8 Dom Bess, 9 Jack Leach 10 Mark Wood 11 Stuart Broad
George Dobell is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo