Dhananjaya de Silva Leads Sri Lanka in Crucial Test Against England

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and opted to bat in the first test against England at Old Trafford. Ollie Pope will captain England after Ben Stokes was ruled out. The match follows a seven-wicket defeat for Sri Lanka and a 3-0 victory for England against the West Indies.

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and opted to bat in the first test of a three-match series against England on Wednesday at Old Trafford. The sky was overcast, setting a dramatic stage for the game.

England, captained by Ollie Pope in the absence of Ben Stokes due to a hamstring injury, will have its players don black armbands to honor former England batsman and coach Graham Thorpe, who recently passed away at 55.

The teams are as follows: England - 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 - 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.

(With inputs from agencies.)