England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test Preview, Lord’s 3-7 June

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Dan in Tests

In a sentence:

After one of the great Test match victories, England will enter this game in full confidence of wrapping up a series victory at a venue where they have not lost a Test match since 2005.

The home team:

James Anderson will miss out with a side strain and will almost certainly be replaced by Steve Finn on his home ground. Otherwise, the team will remain unchanged. England’s last five Test match wins have been by an innings – an impressive feat.

The away team:

The Sri Lankan camp have massive issues. Their attack looked popgun in the extreme at Cardiff and Dilhara Fernando will return, perhaps at the expense of Farveez Maharoof. Ajantha Mendis was disappointing in South Wales and he could be replaced by the left arm seamer Chanaka Welegadara. The batting, which collapsed like a poorly made crème brulée on Monday, is likely to be unchanged.

Weather forecast:

Chances of rain are low, which is good news after we watched more of groundsmen doing their job than cricketers last week.

Key player: England

Chris Tremlett. With Anderson absent, it will be left to the Surrey paceman to lead the attack and dominate as he did in the Sri Lankan second innings in the First Test. His steepling bounce is sure to cause problems on a Lord’s track which has livened up in the last couple of years.

Key player: Sri Lanka

Kumar Sangakkara. With inexperienced players all around him, it is critical that their most experienced player sets an example and makes a big score.