England has revealed a team of 14 players for the upcoming three-game Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins on Wednesday, August 21 at Old Trafford in Manchester. The team is mostly the same as the one that won 3-0 against the West Indies, with the exception of two changes due to injuries. Opener Zak Crawley and fast bowler Dillon Pennington are unable to play because of their injuries.
Crawley hurt his finger during the third Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston and had to miss the Hundred tournament and the Sri Lanka series as a result. Daniel Lawrence, the backup batter, will take Crawley’s place at the start of the innings alongside Ben Duckett. Jordan Cox from Essex has been selected for the first time after a great season in the County Championship and will be ready to play in any of the three Tests if needed.
On the other hand, Pennington didn’t play in any of the Test matches and only got to play in the first game of the Hundred for the Northern Superchargers against the Oval Invincibles.
The English Cricket Board (ECB) announced that fast bowler Dillion Pennington, who was part of the team that recently won against the West Indies in a Test series, will not participate in the upcoming series due to a hamstring injury he suffered during The Hundred competition.
Olly Stone will take Pennington’s place as an additional fast bowler. This marks Stone’s return to the Test squad after a three-year absence. Despite his own history of injuries, Stone has been performing exceptionally well for Notts and has shown good results in the few matches he has played for the London Spirit in The Hundred.
The series starts in Manchester on August 21, followed by matches on August 29 at Lord’s and September 6 at the Oval.
England’s Test squad for Sri Lanka series: Ben Stokes (c), Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (vc), Joe Root, Jordan Cox, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir, Olly Stone, Matt Potts
