England vs Sri Lanka Preview & Prediction | 1st Test
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
Following their comprehensive 3-0 series win against West Indies, England now look to do the same over Sri Lanka, but will have to manage without captain Ben Stokes.
DATE/TIME: Wednesday 21st August 2024 - UK – 11:00am / India – 3:30pm / US EST – 6:00am / US PST – 3:00am
VENUE: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, England
WEATHER: Significant chance of rain across days 2 and 5 with cloudy conditions over the course of all five days.
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Sky Sports / India – Sony Sports / US – Willow TV
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Sky Go / India – Sony LIV / US – Willow TV
ENGLAND FORM: POPE SET TO DEPUTISE AS ENGLAND AIM FOR 2024 TEST SWEEP AT HOME
England were expected to dispatch West Indies fairly comfortably and they did just that, proving far superior with bat and ball. However, they may find things harder here having lost captain Ben Stokes to a hamstring injury, meaning Ollie Pope steps in as skipper. Without naming a replacement for Stokes, England have opted to select an extra bowler in Matty Potts. The hosts will also be without opener Zak Crawley due to a broken finger, meaning spare batter Dan Lawrence comes in to open with Ben Duckett.
LAST FIVE: WWWLL
SRI LANKA FORM: FORMIDABLE CHALLENGES AWAITS SRI LANKA IN FIRST ENGLAND TEST TOUR SINCE 2016
Although Sri Lanka head to England on the back of a three-game winning streak in Test cricket, both Bangladesh and Afghanistan represent lesser quality opposition and England away serves as a far more difficult assignment. They also come into this first Test having lost a red ball warm-up fixture against the England Lions.
LAST FIVE: WWWLL
ENGLAND BETTING ANALYSIS
With Chris Woakes batting at seven, England have a long tail for this first Test and the top order need to contribute a significant number of runs to lay down foundations for victory. With that in mind, there is no better man for the occasion than Joe Root. Hunting down all who stand above him in the list of all-time Test run-scorers, Root boasts significant motivation both professionally and personally. The Sri Lankan bowling attack isn’t the strongest and Root could cash in as appropriate, so back him to score over 88.5 match runs via the ‘Batter Match Runs’ market.
Another batter who should be able to accumulate substantial runs here is Harry Brook. Batting one place below Root, Brook’s sheer class cannot be denied and he looks every bit the next England superstar batter, not that Root will be retiring anytime soon. Brook could find himself at the crease against an old ball and a tired Sri Lanka bowling unit, so it’s well worth backing the 25-year-old to score a half-century across this encounter.
SRI LANKA BETTING ANALYSIS
Although Sri Lanka were beaten in their warm-up fixture against England Lions, Nishan Madushka showed significant promise with an impressive 77 in his side’s second innings. Such a knock will have given him significant confidence boost and what stood out was his attacking intent, hitting eight 4s and two 6s. With that in mind, consider backing Madushka to find the boundary over 4.5 times via the ‘Batter Total Match Fours’ market.
It's also important to note Prabath Jayasuriya’s five-wicket-haul vs the Lions, the 32-year-old profiting with his slow left-arm spin bowling. At Emirates Old Trafford, spinners can profit with the extra bounce that is usually on offer and that should ensure Jayasuriya’s place in the team for this first Test. Therefore, it may prove a smart move backing him to pick up over 3.5 match wickets.
ENGLAND VS SRI LANKA EXPERT PREDICTION
England are understandably heavy favourites ahead of this first Test, despite the absence of Stokes and Crawley. Stokes especially, is a huge miss not only for his leadership but for his ability to balance the side with bat and ball and if Sri Lanka take early wickets, then England could find themselves vulnerable and needing their bowlers to contribute with the bat.
Sri Lanka are likely to struggle with the bat against a bowling attack of England’s quality, which will make it very hard for them to win. The pace of Mark Wood is going to cause huge problems for the Sri Lankan batters and it would be no surprise to see him pick up a high number of wickets over the course of this first Test, so back over 4.5 scalps for the Durham pacer.
ENGLAND VS SRI LANKA TIP: MARK WOOD TO TAKE OVER 4.5 MATCH WICKETS
