Right-arm medium-fast bowler Milan Rathnayake will make his Test debut when Sri Lanka face England in the first of their three-test series at Old Trafford in Manchester.
The 28-year-old will join Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando in Sri Lanka’s pace attack, with the visitors naming Prabath Jayasuriya as the only specialist spinner for the match starting Wednesday.
Sri Lanka, who lost a warm-up match against England Lions by seven wickets last week, during which Rathnayake took 2-89, have not beaten England in a Test since June 2014.
However, captain Dhananjaya De Silva believes Ben Stokes’ injury has given the tourists fresh hope of springing a surprise.
The odds are stacked against Sri Lanka, who have won just three of their previous 18 Tests in England, the last of which was in 2016, but the hamstring tear that has ruled out the home side’s inspirational skipper for the remainder of the summer may have chipped away at the home advantage.
“He is the balance of their side. He’s the key player for them, when it comes to bowling, batting, everything,” said De Silva.
“A new guy (Dan Lawrence) comes in to play…there will be pressure on him, coming back into the side to open in these conditions.
“We have quality seamers in our side and we have a world-class spinner with us (Prabath Jayasuriya). If he comes into the game in the second innings, we feel we have a good chance to win the game.”
Both the second and third Tests will be played in London, at Lord’s from August 26 and at the Oval from September 6.
England named their side on Monday with Lawrence and Matthew Potts replacing the injured Stokes and Zak Crawley.
SRI LANKA (to play England):
Dhananjaya De Silva (Capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.
with PA
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