Sri Lanka begins England Test tour with confidence as Jayasuriya pushes for full effort

The Sri Lanka national cricket team left for their three-match Test tour in England yesterday (Photo Credit: SLC) 

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya

Following their confidence-boosting ODI series win against India in Colombo, the Sri Lanka national cricket team departed for England yesterday to play a three-match Test series. 

The Test series is set to begin on August 21, with Sri Lanka hoping to carry their ODI success into the longest format of the game.

Interim Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya expressed high expectations for the team, saying that he expects all players to give their maximum efforts for the team during this series. 

“As we expect 100 percent from the players, we also hope to give 100 percent for the players. If we perform well in all three departments, Sri Lanka can climb into the top rankings of the table,” he said.

Jayasuriya, serving as the temporary coach, urged both batsmen and bowlers to deliver their best performances. “This is my last series as the Interim Head Coach, and I expect the England series to end victoriously with the confidence and commitment of the players,” he said.

The team is set to play a warm-up game in Worcester before heading to Manchester, where the first Test will be hosted at Old Trafford. The second Test is scheduled at Lord’s, followed by the third game at The Oval. This marks Sri Lanka’s first visit to The Oval for Test cricket since their historic win in 1998.

Sri Lanka has called up two uncapped players, pacer Milan Rathnayake and all-rounder Nisala Tharaka, for the series. The 33-year-old Tharaka, who has an impressive first-class record with 257 wickets and 2358 runs, has received his maiden national call-up. Rathnayake, though previously named in Test squads, is yet to win a cap.

The fast-bowling duties will be handled by Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, and Lahiru Kumara, with veteran Angelo Mathews also included in the squad. 

Led by Dhananjaya de Silva, the squad also sees the return of batter Pathum Nissanka and spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who last appeared in the longest format in 2022. Vandersay’s inclusion follows his career-best haul against India in the second ODI, where he took 6/33.

Kusal Mendis, recently replaced by Charith Asalanka as the ODI captain, will serve as De Silva’s deputy.

However, the Sri Lankan team has raised concerns about the security situation in England due to ongoing anti-immigrant riots in various cities. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has reassured Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) about the security arrangements in place. Players already in England for pre-series training have expressed anxiety about the unrest and requested better security measures from SLC as they travel near London.