England start strong against Sri Lanka in Old Trafford Test

The new-look England men’s cricket side has made a strong start to its three-match series against Sri Lanka, claiming 10 wickets on the opening day of the first Test in Manchester on Wednesday (BST).

Visiting skipper Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and choose to bat, giving England’s opening bowlers, Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson, the opportunity to make the most of overcast skies.

The pair didn’t disappoint as Sri Lanka were reduced to 6/3, with Woakes bagging two of those.

The tourists recovered from 113/7 to post 236 all out, with de Silva and debutant Milan Rathnayake both making half-centuries.

After finishing with three dismissals, Woakes now looks like a strong option at cricket bookmakers to be the Test’s top wicket-taker.

Young England spinner Shoaib Bashir also claimed three wickets, making the most of an Old Trafford pitch which is already showing wear and tear.

England will begin day two in a strong position after Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence took the score to 22/0 before bad light halted proceedings.

England well placed heading into day two

Heading into the second day of the Manchester Test, bookmaker BetOnline has England as heavy favourites at -625 to win.

It would be no surprise if the hosts are able to take a first-innings lead not long after lunch on Thursday, as both Duckett and Lawrence are attacking players who will look to hit more balls than they leave.

However, on a surface which showed some up-and-down bounce on day one, Sri Lanka’s spinners could well cause some problems to a batting lineup that is missing established opener Zak Crawley and captain Ben Stokes.

With young wicketkeeper Jamie Smith batting at six and Woakes coming in at seven, Sri Lanka getting a first-innings lead is an interesting outside bet at +550 with top cricket betting sites.

Although this is a new-look England side after the retirement of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, household names such as Joe Root and Mark Wood — both in excellent form — remain.

Sri Lanka showed plenty of fight on day one, but their total looks to be at least 100 runs too light.

And at a venue where England have lost only one of their last 17 Tests, few are expecting anything other than a home victory.

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