England vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Match: The Test series will be played between England cricket team and Sri Lanka cricket team from today i.e. 21st August. The first Test between the two teams will be played at the Emirates Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester. Ollie Pope will be seen commanding the England team and Sri Lanka will be led by Dhananjay De Silva. Ben Stokes is out due to injury. Both the teams announced their playing 11s for the match.

Playing XIs of Both Teams

England XI: Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

England had announced the playing eleven a day earlier. Ben Stokes (hamstring) and Zak Crawley (finger injury) will both miss the first Test due to injury. Crawley suffered a finger injury while fielding in the third and final Test of the home series against the West Indies, while Stokes was ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury suffered during The Hundred competition.

Durham fast bowler Matthew Potts is returning to the team for the first time since June 2023. In the absence of Crawley, Surrey batsman Dan Lawrence will open. Yorkshire's middle order batsman Harry Brook has been made the vice-captain for the three-match series. At the same time, in the absence of Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope will take command of the team.

Sri Lanka XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.

Sri Lanka announced their playing eleven on the eve of the first Test, with Milan Rathnayake being the new face.

Right-arm fast bowler Milan Rathnayake, who has not played any matches at the international level, has an excellent domestic record. He has taken 81 wickets in 40 first class matches.

28-year-old Rathnayake was earlier selected in the squad for the New Zealand series and Ireland series in 2023, but could not make it to the playing eleven. Now he is ready to debut in Test. In the first Test, Dhananjay de Silva will captain the Lankan team, which includes experienced players like Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews.

England's 3-0 series whitewash of the West Indies allowed them to move up to seventh place on the ICC World Test Championship standings and the European side will be keen to continue their winning momentum and keep in touch with the event pacesetters.