Sri Lanka is set to face England in the third Test at The Oval, aiming to avoid a 3-0 series whitewash. The visitors trail 2-0 after suffering defeats at Old Trafford and Lord’s. Despite the challenging situation, Sri Lanka is looking to end their streak of seven straight Test defeats against England and earn valuable World Test Championship points.
One of the bright spots for Sri Lanka has been the performance of Kamindu Mendis. The 25-year-old left-handed batsman has been in stellar form, scoring three centuries in his last five Tests. His impressive form has seen him top Sri Lanka’s batting averages in the series with 203 runs, including a century in Manchester, at an average of over 50. Despite the struggles of the top order, Sri Lanka’s captain Dhananjaya de Silva has confirmed that Mendis will continue batting at number seven.
“If he is scoring runs there, let him score runs at number seven,” de Silva stated at The Oval. “We should not upset his momentum as well. We will see whether we can make changes in the future. That would be a tough call for him, to ask him to bat early. If he gets out early, the blame will come on me. He is doing well at number seven. For now let him play at number seven.”
Sri Lanka has made two changes to its squad for the third Test. Kusal Mendis returns as wicketkeeper and number three batsman, replacing Nishan Madushka who had the dual responsibility of opening and keeping wickets in the second Test. Left-arm paceman Vishwa Fernando has also been recalled, replacing left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya as Sri Lanka opts for a four-man seam attack. De Silva highlighted the importance of left-arm variety in the bowling attack, stating, “If there is left-arm variety, that’s great. It will be handy for the attack. Vishwa has some experience here (playing for Yorkshire).”
England, on the other hand, will also feature a left-arm quick in their lineup, with 20-year-old Josh Hull making his Test debut. The towering Hull, standing at 6 feet 7 inches, replaces Matthew Potts despite having only 16 wickets in 10 First-Class matches. Sri Lanka had a glimpse of Hull’s potential in their warm-up match against the England Lions, where he took five wickets. De Silva described Hull as “tall, quick and swinging the ball both ways.”
Sri Lanka’s playing XI for the third Test is: Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, and Asitha Fernando.
