England announces squad for Tests against Sri Lanka

The England Cricket Board has just unveiled its 14-member squad chosen to represent England in the upcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, set to begin later this month. The list was released on their official website.

The squad selected by the ECB largely retains the core members of the previous unit which hosted the West Indies for as many Tests in July, with Ben Stokes at the helm, albeit with a few notable alterations.

Opening batter, Zak Crawley, will be absent from the series due to a fractured right little finger sustained during the third Test against the West Indies. Despite a commendable 76 in the first Test, Crawley struggled to maintain form throughout the remainder of the series. He will be looking to return stronger after recovering from this injury.

Another significant omission is right-arm medium pacer, Dillon Pennington, who will be sidelined from the series due to a hamstring injury incurred while playing for the Northern Superchargers in the current edition of The Hundred. Although he was named in the squad for the Windies Tests, he was not allowed to make his international debut.

23-year-old Jordon Cox has been included in the squad, with the middle-order batter boasting an impressive First-Class record. He has accumulated 3,039 runs in 82 innings at an average of 39.46, including 12 half-centuries and seven centuries.

Right-arm pacer, Olly Stone, would be eager for game time and aim to expand his tally of three Test caps. He returns to the red-ball squad for the first time since 2021.

England will seek to assert their dominance over the islanders further and augment their substantial lead in the number of victories against the Lankans in the game’s longest format.

England’s squad: Ben Duckett, Jordan Cox, Joe Root, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook, Chris Woakes, Jamie Smith (wk), Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson.