England vs Sri Lanka First Test Tips - Depleted Poms could struggle at the top

England were in cracking form against the West Indies, brushing them with ease. Although they are set to miss a couple of their regulars—Zak Crawley and regular captain Ben Stokes—there’s enough firepower to win with ease. There’s not much value in backing an England win, though, which is almost a given in the betting market. Instead, I am backing Sri Lanka to score the highest opening partnership of the match as England tests a new opening pair.

There have been 36 Tests between England and Sri Lanka so far, with England winning 17 and Sri Lanka winning eight. The remaining 11 ended in a draw.

The last time these sides played was in January 2021, when England won a two-match series in Sri Lanka 2-0.

England are fresh off a 3-0 clean sweep over the West Indies, another advertisement of their Baz Ball strategy. They are seventh in the points table with 36.5% points.

The hosts will have to do without the services of regular captain Ben Stokes for this series. He was injured during The Hundred, which means Ollie Pope will take on the captaincy role for the first time in his career.

All eyes will be on Dan Lawrence, who has been recalled to replace the injured Zak Crawley at the top of the order.

England confirmed their XI, with Matthew Potts sharing the bowling duties with Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood. Jamie Smith will be batting in the sixth spot, while Chris Woakes is slated to come in at seven.

Sri Lanka is going through a change of personnel in the strategy room, as Sanath Jayasuriya leads them in an interim position. He led them to a 2-1 win in the ODI series against India, giving a boost to their confidence.

The Islanders will start this series in fourth place in the WTC ranking, with a 50% point percentage. They have a bit of ground to cover, chasing second-placed Australia, who have a 62.5% point percentage.

The Lankans have lost a practice match to the England Lions side, primarily a motley group of players. However, their last series was against Bangladesh earlier this year, which they won 2-0.

Sri Lanka could field the same XI that they featured in the practice game against the Lions, unless they want to go with an additional spinner.