Image Source: AFP
[Saba Sports News] The England Cricket Board (ECB) has announced a 14-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting later this month. The squad list is available on their official website.
The ECB has largely retained the core members from the previous series against the West Indies, with Ben Stokes leading the team, but there are a few notable changes. Opening batter Zak Crawley is out due to a fractured right little finger sustained during the third Test against the West Indies. Despite scoring 76 in the first Test, Crawley struggled with form for the rest of the series and will aim to return stronger after recovery.
Right-arm medium pacer Dillon Pennington is also sidelined due to a hamstring injury sustained while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. Though he was in the squad for the Windies Tests, he didn’t make his international debut.
The squad includes 23-year-old Jordan Cox, a middle-order batter with an impressive First-Class record of 3,039 runs in 82 innings at an average of 39.46, including 12 half-centuries and seven centuries. Right-arm pacer Olly Stone, returning to the red-ball squad for the first time since 2021, will be eager to add to his three Test caps.
England aims to further assert their dominance over Sri Lanka and increase their lead in Test victories against the island nation.
England’s 14-member squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka: 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.