Woakes to Nishan Madushka, no run, lovely line outside off, on a length and nips away to beat Nishan Madushka's outside edge. So close!

Woakes to Nishan Madushka, no run, better delivery outside off,

Woakes to Nishan Madushka, no run, on the shorter side around off, keeps straight, the batter rides the bounce and defends it down the pitch

Nishan Madushka and Karunaratne are at the crease. Nishan Madushka is on strike. Woakes will open the attack

We are done with the national anthems and it's time for live action. James Anderson rings the bell as the England players walk out in the middle.

Right then, it's time for the national anthems. Both the teams are lined-up next to each other.

Milan Priyanath Rathnayake makes his Test debut today.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake

Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to bat

The England team has been plagued by a few injuries recently and they will be without the services of their captain - Ben Stokes. In his absence, Ollie Pope is set to lead the team and he becomes the 82th English player to captain England in Test cricket. Dan Lawrence will open in the absence of the injured Zak Crawley, while the middle-order looks solid in the presence of Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith. The pace bowling looks fiery as it consists of Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts - who was pretty impressive in the recently concluded tournament - the Hundred. Sri Lanka have a well balanced side and they have got the experience too. Playing in away conditions is their only challenge, but hopefully Ian Bell - their new batting coach might have given tips to tackle these English conditions. Let's hope we have an interesting contest over the next five days. The toss and teams are not far away, stay around for the updates..

10:00 Local Time, 09:00 GMT, 14:30 IST:

Preview:

England find themselves in a bit of a race against time. In June next year, the final of the third cycle of the World Test Championship will take place at Lord's in London, and England run the risk of being just hosts and not participants for the third straight time. As it stands, they're seventh on the nine-team table with a win percentage of 36.54, which is more than 30 points in arrears of what table-toppers India have got.

The race begins on Wednesday then, in the first of their final three home games of this cycle. They arrive with the harrowing reality of not having Ben Stokes in the middle, but will still fancy their chances under Ollie Pope against Sri Lanka, who haven't played a Test since April this year. They have also played just four Tests in this cycle, and arrive on England shores as the overwhelming underdogs in this contest.

England meanwhile have Joe Root in the form of his life, with more than 1000 runs in the ongoing WTC cycle. Ben Duckett and Pope too have been among the runs, with the stand-in skipper doing well in the recently-concluded home Tests against West Indies. Even in an injury crisis, England can approach this series with a sense of optimism and a means to make upward progression in the points table.

For Sri Lanka, this is their first series in England in eight years. They come with Ian Bell as batting coach for the series in the hope to gain some local knowledge that can go a long way in blunting the hosts and their Bazballian ways.

When: England vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test, August 21-25, 11:00 AM Local Time

Where: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester

What to expect: A spell of rain early in the morning ahead of Day 1 is in the offing but the day's play should remain unaffected. On Day 2 and 3, however, showers are expected to make their presence felt during the game. The conditions at this venue usually side with the batters but overheads could add a different dimension.

Team News:

England:

The hosts announced their XI two days out from match start, bringing in Durham quick Matthew Potts for the first time since June 2023. Dan Lawrence will open the innings in place of the injured Zak Crawley.

The mercurial middle-order batter Harry Brook will deputise for skipper Ollie Pope, who takes the reins in the absence of Ben Stokes.

Confirmed XI: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir

Sri Lanka

The need to bring in an additional batter in tough conditions will push Sri Lanka to sacrifice Kamindu Mendis, despite his exceptional performances in the previous Test series that Sri Lanka played. The visitors have brought a pace-heavy squad and will have lots to choose from for their attack.

Probable XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama/Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara/Kasun Rajitha, Asitha Fernando

What They Said:

"I was just waiting for an opportunity. And wherever that was, in the order, I was going to snap their hands off for it. So I'm just going to enjoy these few weeks and hopefully score some runs and put my name in the hat for future selection." -Dan Lawrence

Squads:

Sri Lanka Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kasun Rajitha, Pathum Nissanka, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake, Nisala Tharaka, Jeffrey Vandersay, Ramesh Mendis

England Squad: Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir, Jordan Cox, Olly Stone