3rd Test: England vs Sri Lanka

With both Tests being affected by the weather and England only 1-0 up, there is everything to play for in the final Test. So, as the teams take the field on Thursday at the Rose Bowl for the third and final Test, England will be looking to establish their supremacy and wrap up the series 2-0 while the visitors still cling on to the hope that they can draw level.

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The Sri Lankans have batted well so far in the series barring one catastrophic collapse at Cardiff. In two of their three completed innings they have managed to scale the 400 run mark. They will be looking for more of the same at the Rose Bowl starting Thursday.

The biggest problem for the visitors going into this Test match will be the absence of Captain Tillekeratne Dilshan who was injured by Chris Tremlett lifter at Lord’s. He was also there in form batsman and played a sparkling innings of 193 at Lord’s. Kumar Sangakkara will lead the side, almost reluctantly, in the final Test of the series. Lahiru Thirimanne will replace Dilshan as their batting looks more fragile with Sangakkara, Jayawerdene and Samaraweera not being among the runs. However, their stand in captain did manage to find form with a century against Essex in a recent tour game. Paranavitana will have to put an even bigger price on his wicket, as he has been guilty of getting in and getting out. Contributions from the lower middle order especially from Prasanna Jayawerdene and Ferveez Maharoof will also be crucial as the Lankans will have to force victory. Their bowling remains their concern with only Welegedara being impressive. They could look at dropping one of their seamers for Suraj Randiv who took a hat trick in their warmup fixture.

England have far fewer problems with all their batsmen in top nick, except Andrew Strauss who has missed out in both Tests. Pietersen, Morgan and Broad all helped themselves to half centuries in the last game and Prior got a century coming in at seven. The form of Cook, Trott and Bell are heartening as the England run machines kept chugging on. James Anderson will make a return after missing the previous Test as Steven Finn will miss out. Onus will be on Stuart Broad to contribute on the bowling front.

The highlight of a rain marred series for England so far has been the capitulation of Sri Lanka inside 25 overs at Cardiff. The series is still alive as both teams have something to play for. Will England prove why they are the second best team in the world? Can Sri Lanka overcome the loss of their captain? Time will tell.

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