Sri Lanka are back playing a Test at The Oval for the first time since 1998
Alan Gardner05-Sep-20240:35
Ollie Pope excited to see ‘massive’ Josh Hull debut for England
Big picture: Sri Lanka return to scene of 1998 triumphTo The Oval, traditional venue for the final Test of the English summer – although not, by any means, the final international commitment for England’s men, who go straight into eight white-ball fixtures against Australia off the back of Sri Lanka’s visit (the first T20I takes place 24 hours after the scheduled fifth day of the Test).For now, the focus remains on Test cricket – even if Brendon McCullum’s mind may start to wander following news he will soon take charge of England’s white-ball fortunes as well – and the aim of completing a first summer sweep since 2004. Twenty years ago, Michael Vaughan’s team dispatched New Zealand and West Indies for a 7-0 scoreline, providing momentum that fueled them into the following year’s Ashes campaign; McCullum and Ben Stokes, currently watching on from the sidelines as he recuperates from a torn hamstring, will hope something similar can play out ahead of marque series against India (at home) and Australia (away) in 2025.England’s reboot, having lost 4-1 in India at the start of the year, has gone smoothly thus far, despite the limited challenge provided by West Indies and Sri Lanka. Gus Atkinson has emerged as the star of a post-Broaderson attack, with 33 wickets in five appearances – to go with a maiden hundred at Lord’s last week – while Jamie Smith has nailed down the wicketkeeper’s spot. With the Sri Lanka series secured, McCullum has decided to throw in another promising tyro, with 6ft 7in Leicestershire left-armer Josh Hull emerging from left-field for an unexpected debut.Related
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All this may well be with the 2025-26 Ashes in mind – and who wouldn’t want a giant southpaw who can hit 90mph to bowl down under? – but Hull has already had success against Sri Lanka, taking five wickets for England Lions during the series warm-up, and England have once again reasoned that raw first-class statistics (16 wickets at 62.75) only tell part of the story.The final Test of the home season is also a final chance for Ollie Pope to improve his average as Test captain – that is assuming Stokes is fit to take the reins again in Pakistan next month. Pope has so far managed 30 runs in four innings, with his dismissals ranging from eyebrow-raising to hair-raising. Leading England to three wins from three would certainly tick a box, but runs under the belt might have more long-term significance.For Sri Lanka, a first multi-match Test tour at the height of the English summer has not lived up to expectations – although the same might be said of the English summer, with the weather again likely to be underwhelming in London this week. There were flashes of resistance at Lord’s, Asitha Fernando and Kamindu Mendis once again showing their promise while the senior trio of Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva held up England with fourth-innings fifties.They would certainly have hoped for more than to be fighting for pride at this stage, but two first-innings collapses have left them with too much to do – while Dhananjaya’s decision to bowl at Lord’s threw an inexperienced bowling attack under the bus. A return to south London for their first Test since famously winning at The Oval in 1998 should help raise spirits. If further motivation is needed, Sri Lanka have played four previous three-Test series in England and never been whitewashed.Ollie Pope will continue to deputise for Ben Stokes•Getty Images
Form guideEngland WWWWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLWWWIn the spotlight: Josh Hull and Asitha FernandoHe might be blotting out the spotlight, so tall is Josh Hull. The 20-year-old only emerged on the county scene last summer, notably bowling the final over as Leicestershire sealed the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a two-run win over Hampshire, and his rise this term has been meteoric. A couple of outings in the Hundred showed he had put on pace, nudging the speed gun up to 89mph, while success in the Lions game counted for more with England than a County Championship record of two wickets at 182.50. He is set to become only the second left-arm seamer to play Tests for England since Ryan Sidebottom in 2010.Despite Atkinson’s stellar performances and England’s dominance generally, the leading wicket-taker in the series is Sri Lankan. Asitha Fernando has 14 scalps at 20.14, already second only to Muthiah Muralidaran for Sri Lanka in England, and his lion-hearted efforts have kept the home batters honest. Asitha got himself on the honours board with a five-for at Lord’s – matching Rumesh Ratnayake’s effort from 1991 – but would no doubt love to help his team end the tour on a winning note. With Sri Lanka banking on pace at The Oval, his skills with conventional and reverse-swing will be vital if can post a score.Team news: Hull to debut, SL go all paceEngland announced on Wednesday that Hull would debut, coming into the XI for Matthew Potts. The Oval Test will likely be Dan Lawrence’s final opportunity to impress as stand-in opener ahead of the return of Zak Crawley.England: 1 Dan Lawrence, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Olly Stone, 10 Shoaib Bashir, 11 Josh HullSri Lanka warm up – literally and figuratively – at The Oval•PA Photos/Getty Images
Sri Lanka have opted for a rare four-man pace attack, given what they expect from the pitch (see below), meaning Prabath Jayasuriya makes way. They have also rejigged the top order (again), with Kusal Mendis back in the side at No. 3, Pathum Nissanka opening and Nishan Madushka sitting out. Angelo Mathews has only bowled a handful of times in Tests since 2017 but was going through his paces in the nets at The Oval, with a view to making up Jayasuriya’s overs alongside Dhananjaya and Kamindu.Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Lahiru Kumara, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Asitha FernandoPitch and conditions: Autumn weather sets inThe Oval has not been the place to bowl spin this season, with only 26 wickets falling to slow bowlers in six County Championship matches – compared to 173 taken by pace, where Surrey’s seam-and-swing merchant Dan Worrall leads the way. With wet weather in the build-up and a forecast for showers throughout – Monday looks particularly bleak – the conditions will be a long way from those in which Murali’s Sri Lanka dominated England 26 years ago.Stats and trivia Sri Lanka have a 100% win rate in Tests at The Oval, having beaten England emphatically on their only previous visit – Sanath Jayasuriya’s 213 helping the visitors comfortably overhaul a total of 445 before Muralidaran took 9 for 65 to set up a 10-wicket win. Joe Root overtook Alastair Cook’s Test centuries record for England at Lord’s, and is now only 95 runs behind overall. He needs 24 runs to pass Kumar Sangakkara in sixth on the all-time list, with Cook next in his sights. Root also took his 200th catch in the field and can close in on the top two, Mahela Jayawardene (205) and Rahul Dravid (210). Atkinson will break the record for most wickets by an England seamer in a home summer – currently jointly held by SF Barnes, Alec Bedser and James Anderson – if he takes seven in the match. Karunaratne overtook Jayasuriya at Lord’s to become Sri Lanka’s fourth-highest Test run-scorer; he needs 10 more runs to reach 7000 in the format.Quotes”Six foot heaps, bowls left-arm, ranges in pace from 80 to 90 miles an hour. Swings it, not too dissimilar to the likes of Jimmy Anderson. He’s 20 years of age, good farming stock. It’s not a huge gamble, is it?”
Brendon McCullum on England’s latest surprise selection“We need to score big runs and that’s the biggest fault that we had in the first two Tests. Most of our batters who had got starts didn’t convert. Joe Root is a good example, he converted the starts into hundreds. Others batted around him. One of us need to do that and if that happens we need to get 320 mark in the first innings.”
Dhananjaya de Silva on how his side can improve