Sri Lanka’s Test match in England has flown under the radar but is long overdue | England v Sri Lanka 2024

IIt has been eight years since Sri Lanka last played a Test in England and their return is long overdue. They are an established Test-playing nation who have produced some great players over the years who have shone on these shores – I remember watching them at the Oval in 1998 when Sanath Jayasuriya scored a double century, Aravinda de Silva got 150, Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets and they won comfortably.

The current team has an established batting line-up with plenty of experience, certainly more so than the West Indies side who were soundly beaten last month, but their bowling attack lacks real pace or the brilliant mysterious spin they have had in the past. Perhaps that is why, in a successful summer of sport, post-Euro 2024 and the Olympics and with the Premier League back in session, the imminent arrival of this series has flown under the radar.

I was at Edgbaston for the third Test against West Indies, when the tourists looked vulnerable on a very good batting wicket, although England bowled superbly. In theory, Sri Lanka should offer a tougher Test, although losing to England Lions in their only warm-up match was not a good sign. They have played just nine Tests in the last two years – England have played 21 – and none since March, and although their batting looks good on paper, that lack of preparation could make a difference.

England may be without their captain but they appear to be in a healthy position, with young players making progress and establishing themselves in the team, good recent results, the team moving forward as a group towards potentially sterner tests. In the absence of Ben Stokes an extra bowler has come in, which presents an opportunity for Matt Potts which will benefit both his own development and that of the team.

With Shoaib Bashir as the only spinner, England may ask for pitches with pace and bounce, possibly with a bit of grass on them. Not so long ago, home pitches were often green, the ball swung around and we had that real home advantage and made the most of it, mainly through the skill of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.

This team has tried to play on flatter, drier surfaces and find a way to take wickets – it’s a different approach and at Old Trafford, where the first match is played, the surface is often of that type. Of course, that’s not necessarily the sort of surface you’d choose Sri Lanka to play on, and their batters will be adept at playing spin, their bowlers at working hard on dry wickets.

Zak Crawley’s broken finger means Dan Lawrence will open the batting. As a traditionalist, that raises a few eyebrows: he has some experience there, but he normally bats in the middle order for Surrey, and I’ve always felt that he looks technically awkward. In his early days he had a huge movement across the stumps, and anything straight he would try to flick to the leg side, but if the ball moved he struggled.

More recently he has dropped that movement and instead stands still. Then, at the moment of release, he crouches and his head tends to come out beyond the line of the off-stump, which means he struggles to keep his balance. Of course, technical ability is not a prerequisite for success, but sometimes I get the feeling that he scores runs despite his technique. He is a gifted player in the middle order and England see him as the next cab up the order and want their batters to just go out and play, whether they open or come in at No. 5.

Perhaps the feeling is that no one in the region or at the Lions has made a pressing case for considering him as a likely Test opener, but this will be a challenge for Lawrence and he may struggle when the ball is swinging and moving.

Stokes’ leadership will be missed but Ollie Pope will benefit from knowing he can look forward to this whole series. I remember Mark Butcher coming on as captain for one game in 1999 and that’s a very difficult task. Pope doesn’t have a lot of personal experience as a captain to draw on so he’s learning on the job and the support he gets from those around him will be important.

I often felt that too much was put on the captain’s shoulders in cricket, but in recent times some coaches have taken on a greater burden, and a good coach can really help in evaluating a session or a day’s cricket, by asking good questions about what was learned and what could have been done differently, or what went well. Brendon McCullum, with his vast experience as a captain, should be an ideal foil and Pope will learn a lot in the coming weeks. He will also be helped by the fact that the mindset of the team is well established, and they will just be looking to continue their “refinement”.

England have been hit by a number of setbacks due to injuries, but this has made the series more interesting and exciting and could significantly accelerate the team’s development.