ENG vs SL, 1st Test: Pope Announced as Captain, Lawrence to Open; England Announce Playing 11 for 1st Test vs Sri Lanka

The England Cricket Team have announced their playing 11 for the first Test against Sri Lanka that is set to take place at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester on Wednesday, August 21.

Taking on the responsibilities as the captain of the side, Ollie Pope steps in to lead the side in place of the injured Ben Stokes while Harry Brook will be the vice-captain of the side.

A notable change in the side is the inclusion of Dan Lawrence who walks in place of the injured Zak Crawley. Having primarily played as a middle-order batter, he will now partner Ben Duckett in opening the batting for the English side. The second change is the inclusion of Matthew Potts. The Durham pacer has made his return to the side since June 2023.

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With the two changes to the side, England will be expected to continue to be dominant under home conditions. They managed to beat the West Indies at home with a thumping 3-0 win in July 2024.

Sri Lanka on the other hand will be the underdogs but have momentum going for them after they managed to beat India in the recently concluded ODI series at home.

In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England currently sits at seventh in the points table having won six, lost six and drawn one game in the 13 games played so far. Sri Lanka on the other hand, is fourth on the table having won 2 and lost two of the four total games played.

While the first Test takes place in Manchester, the next game will take place at The Lord’s on August 29 followed by The Oval on September 6.

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The hosts will certainly be tested under the absence of skipper, Ben Stokes but Ollie Pope will hope to maintain their aggressive brand of cricket with both bat and ball.

England’s Playing 11 for 1st Test vs SL: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook (VC), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir