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The England Cricket on Monday, August 19 announced the playing XI for the opening Test of the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka. As confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) earlier, their red-ball captain Ben Stokes misses out with hamstring injury he sustained during The Hundred earlier this month, Ollie Pope will take over at the helm with Harry Book shouldering the responsibility as his deputy.
Moreover, Dan Lawrence has replaced Zak Crawley, who also misses out with a finger injury which he sustained in the final Test of the West Indies series. Right-arm fast medium bowler, Matthew Potts has been named as Stokes replacement in the lineup for the opening Test. It is to be noted that Potts returns to the side after last playing his first Test in June 2023.
Apart from these key changes, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson have been included in the side, moreover, slotting the six, seven and eight positions in the lineup.
The Ollie Pope-led England will host Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series, starting Wednesday, August 21 at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. Meanwhile, the second and third Test is scheduled to be held from August 29 and September 6 at Lord’s and the Kennington Oval in London, respectively.
England's playing XI for first Test against Sri Lanka:
Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
