Sri Lanka, who will take on England in the second Test at the Lords beginning Thursday, will have high hopes from their left-hand batter Kamindu Mendis, who has an average of 92.16 in the past four Test matches
Ahead of Lord's Test against Sri Lanka, England stand-in skipper Ollie Pope is confident the hosts are fully prepared for the fixture and they win the clash in order to seal the series.
Right-arm seamer Olly Stone wil replace injured Mark Wood in the playing XI for the England side for the second match of the two-match series against Sri Lanka which is set to be played at Lord's starting from August 29.
Uncapped English fast bowler Josh Hull will replace Mark Wood in the remaining two Test matches of the series against Sri Lanka after the 34-year-old suffered a right thigh muscle strain while bowling in the second innings of the Manchester Test, according to the ICC.
Batting legend Root continues to pile up runs consistently as he stars in yet another win for England. In a tense run-chase of 205 runs, Root scored a slow, but a well-compiled 62 runs that guided his team to a win despite losing wickets early.
Joe Root was full of praise for Jamie Smith, whose stellar performance earned him the Player of the Match award in the recent Test against Sri Lanka.
Smith notched his maiden Test century in the first innings and followed it up with a valuable, boundary-laden 39-run cameo that all but secur
After a fine 42 in the first innings, Root once again showcased his class, composure and clutch game in a tense run chase of 205 runs, scoring an unbeaten 62 in 128 balls, with two fours, coming in when England was 56/2.
Smith showed immense composure, versatility and class across both the innings as his century in first innings and a quick cameo in the run-chase proved to be vital in England's five wicket win over Lankan Lions in the first Test at Manchester.
Sri Lankan batters fought hard, with contributions from Kamindu Mendis, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Silva and Milan Rathnayake standing out. But it still was not enough to overcome England, who were powered by contributions of their middle order in absence of their injured opener Zak
Root starred with a calm half-century during a tense run-chase while Smith smashed his maiden Test ton in the first innings to hand England a massive lead of 122 runs in the first innings, which proved to be instrumental in team's win.
England wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith on Friday slammed his maiden Test century against Sri Lanka and became the youngest to do so for the Three Lions in the history of this form of the game.