The English Test Summer comes to an end and without any embarrassment for the home team this time. They have won five out of five games played on home soil, and another victory in the closing Test match can make them do what they have not done since 2004. But the Oval has previously shown PDA, much to England’s trauma, to Sri Lanka on their last tour to the historic ground when the Islanders bagged the game by 10 wickets. As both teams prepare to cross swords one last time this season, a warm feeling of nostalgia would be third-wheeling them.
England, quite deservingly, are on their way to win all the matches in a home season. Whats more is that the team will achieve this feat without any of the big guys. The 4-1 loss to India in India seems to have been remedied partly and should things continue the same way in away tours as well, England have a strong chance of making it to their first WTC final. But that remains distant, even with things as they are now. The Three Lions have a slew of uncertainties surrounding them, the biggest of them being who will be their captain when they put on whites in Pakistan later this year.
It has been disastrous for the visitors. But there is no denying that they have not allowed England to stomp over them. In the first Test match, especially in the last innings, their resistance heralded a stronger comeback in the next game. Unfortunately, they could not do much damage to England’s on-song performance, the third Test will provide them another chance to give it their all before the wrap-up.
Team Overview:
England’s batting has somehow made it through two Test matches. Joe Root, obviously, has been a constant and if anything the third Test might be another opportunity for him to add to his ever-increasing run-tally. Ollie Pope, though, has been incredibly disappointing as a player. He has cleared that it’s not the captaincy pressure that is getting to him but that makes it only worse. Only time can tell how long will take to come out of his slump and provide England with the runs he has made the team accustomed to. Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence, too, have yet to find their mojo. The biggest relief for the team comes in the form of Gus Atkinson who besides being a beast with the ball is doing overtime with the bat.
With the ball, Sri Lanka have done a decent job. It’s their topsy-turvy outings with the bat that have haunted them. Even with Pathum Nissanka coming in, they could not get the runs they would have fancied at the start. Nishan Madushka has accumulated a total of 24 runs in four innings, which will see him out to make place for Angelo Mathews once again.
Head-to-head Matches:
England and Sri Lanka have played 81 matches against each other with England winning 40 games and Sri Lanka tailing behind closely with 37 wins. The remaining four games ended in a stalemate.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Dark clouds are in the sky above the Oval morphing the conditions into the sort that would favor the pacers. Recently, the ground has shown its tendency to assist the quicks more, hence both teams will be fielding a pace-dominant bowling line.
Where to Watch:
You can watch the first Test match between England and Sri Lanka by tuning in to the following:
England: Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event, Sky Go App (Live streaming)
India: Sony Sports Network
Pakistan: Tapmad
Australia: Fox Sports, Kayo (Live streaming)
