MANCHESTER: Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva believes Ben Stokes’ injury could help his side upset the odds in their Test series against England.

De Silva is skippering the tourists in their first red-ball campaign in England for eight years, with Sri Lanka heading into the first of a three-match contest at Old Trafford starting on Wednesday on the back of a defeat by a novice England Lions team in their lone warm-up fixture.

Sri Lanka have won just three of their previous 18 Tests in England, while England come into this series following a 3-0 home rout of the West Indies.

But star all-rounder Stokes is now set to miss the whole of the Sri Lanka campaign with a hamstring tear suffered while playing in the Hundred. His absence has led England to appoint a new captain in Ollie Pope and recall paceman Matthew Potts, a Durham team-mate of Stokes.

“He is the balance of their side,” said De Silva of Stokes while speaking during a pre-match press conference at Old Trafford on Tuesday. “He’s the key player for them, when it comes to bowling, batting, everything.”

England also have a new opening batsman in Dan Lawrence, selected after Zak Crawley was ruled out with a finger injury.

“A new guy [Lawrence] comes in to play... there will be pressure on him, coming back into the side to open in these conditions,” De Silva added.

“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.”

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are set to give a debut to fast bowler Milan Rathnayake, included in their team announced on Tuesday.

Rathnayake will join Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando in the pace attack.

They are also hoping to utilise the local knowledge of former England batsman Ian Bell, who has been drafted in as a consultant for this series.

“He was a quality player who played a lot of Test cricket and one-day cricket in England,” said De Silva. “His points will be valuable for us and as a batting unit, we are all getting tips from him.”

POPE READY TO LEAD HIS WAY

Pope is prepared to “do his own thing” as England Test captain but accepts he is in caretaker charge of what is still effectively Stokes’s side.

The right-handed batter will become the 82nd man to take up the captaincy when he leads England in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

The 26-year-old Surrey player was promoted from vice-captain after Stokes was ruled out after suffering a torn hamstring playing in the Hundred.

Stokes is set to miss the three-match series against Sri Lanka.

Pope’s elevation caps a rapid rise for a cricketer who was not certain of his place when Stokes took charge two years ago alongside coach Brendon McCullum.

Stokes first led England, in 2020, deputising for father-to-be Joe Root who left a message reading “do it your own way”.

Pope has no qualms about sticking with the basic ‘Bazball’ approach and will also be able to call directly on Stokes, who will be with the England squad for all three Tests.

“It’s a great opportunity for me, one of the greatest honours in English cricket,” Pope told a pre-match press conference at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

“But I think it’s still Stokesy’s team.

“That’s probably the difference. I’ve had no message in my locker but I’m sat next to him in the changing room!

“It’s going to be great to have him around. If I want to lean on him, I can lean on him and I think he’s going to let me do my own thing for the course of this Test series as well.

“I’ve picked his brains a little bit on that moving forward. It’s a lot of the same messages but from a different voice and in my own way.

“He’s obviously going to be watching, chatting, so I can have those conversations in the intervals if I think anything needs to change and we can bounce a few ideas off each other,” Pope added.

“We’ve got some great coaches and obviously he’s just another brain in the changing room.”

Both the second and third Tests of the series will be played in London, at Lord’s from Aug 26-30 and at The Oval from Sept 6-10.

SRI LANKA PLAYING XI FOR FIRST TEST: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Dinesh Chandimal (wicket-keeper), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2024