After a few weeks of white-ball rollercoaster action in the form of the Hundred, it's time to switch back to some red-ball cricket as England gear up to take Sri Lanka head-on in a three-match Test series starting Wednesday, August 21.
England will be led by Ollie Pope as they prepare to continue their good work in the red-ball format after their recent sweep of the West Indies at home.
While Pope has been assisting Ben Stokes as his vice-captain for almost one year, he will be leading the Three Lions for the first time across formats and therefore there will be pressure on him.
Stokes is not the only one who is absent from the last Test that England played at home, opener Zak Crawley is also on the sidelines with a fractured finger and he has been replaced by Dan Lawrence.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka haven't enjoyed the best of times playing red-ball in England. The Lankan Lions have an underwhelming record in England as they have won only three out of the 18 matches in the country with their last win coming in June 2014.
Sri Lanka played a four-day game against England Lions and were comprehensively beaten by seven wickets. However, their captain Dhananjaya de Silva is not making much out of the outcome.
"The conditions are quite different to Asian countries," Dhananjaya was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo in the lead-up to the first Test. "We wanted to play a few matches, but that's what we get. We didn't go with the full-strength [team]. We have tried out a few players as well. The result didn't go our way, but we had the preparation, I think. It'll work in this match."
Old Trafford Pitch Report
The pitch for the first Test has a tinge of grass on it and with the chances of rain on all five days there is a possibility that the seamers may enjoy the best of the time in the middle. While England have picked four seamers for the game, Sri Lanka have named three frontline pacers in their XI, assuming that the pitch at Old Trafford will assist the fast bowlers.
