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Fresh from their Ashes victory in Australia earlier this year, England return to the test arena this week as they take on Sri Lanka in the first of three test matches.
Forming the first part of a fascinating summer for Andrew Strauss’ men, the match takes place at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff and will get underway on Thursday morning.
Before looking closely at the opening test of the summer, it is worth pointing out that England are aiming to become the No.1 ranked test team in the coming months.
This is the start of where they push on from the Ashes win and become the team to beat. With this in mind, it is worth looking at the set-up of the current crop and how they are shaping up ahead of first test against Sri Lanka.
Without doubt, this is the strongest the England test team has been for a number of years. The players that secured the Ashes back in 2005 were excellent of course, but they never got the chance to build on their success. The current crop does.
In fact, it has been the same squad of 15 players or so, perhaps even less, that has helped England become the force they are today. There is strength in depth, proven quality and a superb team spirit.
This has been highlighted with the battle between Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan for Paul Collingwood’s slot in the team. Both Bopara and Morgan are more than capable, have performed at international level before and have been involved recently.
In the end Morgan pipped the Essex man to the post, helped by a big score for the Lions against Sri Lanka this week. In reality though, England could have picked either player and they wouldn’t have been weakened as a force.
There is a settled look to the side, some young talent and the momentum from an excellent Ashes win. This England team is in a overwhelmingly good place right now and they have to be favourites against Sri Lanka this summer.
As for the Sri Lankans, they are led by new captain Tillakaratne Dilshan as they look to prove to their critics that they can be as formidable on tour as they are on home soil.
They may no longer have the services of Muttiah Muralitharan, but they have plenty of talent to call upon in the shape of Ajantha Mendis, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
However, if England perform as they can, they should have enough to defeat Sri Lanka over three series. It won’t be easy, but if you throw in the fact that the tourists haven’t played a test match since December, amongst everything else, England have to be the favourites.
It all gets underway at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff at 11am on Thursday morning.
England (probable): Andrew Strauss, Alistair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett.
