De Silva's Thoughts About Stokes' Absence

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva is optimistic that Ben Stokes' injury could work in his team’s favour as they prepare for their Test series against England. De Silva leads the visitors in their first red-ball series in England in eight years, with the opening match of the three-Test series set to begin on Wednesday at Old Trafford. Despite a tough start with a loss against an inexperienced England Lions side in their warm-up game, Sri Lanka is determined to defy expectations.

Historically, Sri Lanka has struggled in England, winning only three of their last 18 Tests on English soil. Meanwhile, England enters the series after a commanding 3-0 victory over the West Indies. However, Stokes' hamstring injury, sustained during The Hundred, has ruled him out of the entire Sri Lanka series. This development has prompted England to appoint Ollie Pope as captain and recall fast bowler Matthew Potts, a teammate of Stokes at Durham.

“Stokes is the balance of their side,” De Silva noted during the pre-match press conference at Old Trafford on Tuesday. “He’s a key player for them in all aspects—bowling, batting, everything.”

England also has a new opening batsman in Dan Lawrence, stepping in after Zak Crawley was sidelined with a finger injury. De Silva commented, “A new player [Lawrence] coming in will face pressure, especially opening in these conditions. We have quality seamers and a world-class spinner [Prabath Jayasuriya]. If he gets involved in the second innings, we believe we have a strong chance to win.”

Sri Lanka is set to debut fast bowler Milan Rathnayake, as confirmed in their team selection on Tuesday. Additionally, they are benefiting from the expertise of former England batsman Ian Bell, who has been brought in as a consultant for this series.

“He [Bell] was a top-class player with extensive experience in Test and one-day cricket in England,” De Silva said. “His insights are invaluable for us, and as a batting unit, we are all learning from his advice.”

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