England vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Playing 11: Visitors Hand Pacer Milan Rathnayake Debut in Series Opener

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Pacer Milan Rathnayake has been handed a debut as Sri Lanka revealed their playing 11 for the first Test against England, starting on Wednesday (August 21) at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Rathnayake, who has claimed 81 wickets in 40 First Class matches, had earlier been selected in the Test squads last year during the away series in New Zealand and home series against Ireland, but did not make the playing 11.

The 28-year-old pacer now gets his first crack at international cricket, and will be part of a Sri Lankan pace attack alongside Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando.

Senior all-rounder Angelo Mathews can also roll his arm over if required, while Prabath Jayasuriya has been named as the only specialist spinner for the game with Kamindu Mendis and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva also offering support in the spin department.

Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka will open for the visitors against England in the first Test match of the series. Meanwhile, Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal will play in the middle order.

Earlier on Monday (August 19), England had named their first eleven with Matthew Potts and Dan Lawrence replacing the injured Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley. Meanwhile, Harry Brook was named the vice-captain for the three-match series.

Apart from the two changes, England playing 11 holds a similar look the one that played West Indies last month with Ben Duckett, Joe Root, stand-in skipper Ollie Pope, Brook and Jamie Smith making up the batting order.

Potts will join Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood to form a four-pace attack, while Shoaib Bashir will be the lone spinner in the playing XI for the hosts. Here is a look at the line up of both teams for the series opener:

England vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Playing 11

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

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