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England vs Sri Lanka: Joe Root says Ben Stokes is 'relishing' batting at three in second Test

Stokes moves up to three as Moeen Ali is bumped down to bat at six. Fit-again Jonny Bairstow misses out

Ed Malyon
Pallekele
Tuesday 13 November 2018 13:36 GMT
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Ben Stokes has been promoted up the order
Ben Stokes has been promoted up the order

Ben Stokes is "relishing" the chance to bat at three for England, according to skipper Joe Root, but the tourists will remain flexible should the all-rounder end up bowling long spells under Pallekele's baking sun.

Stokes has been moved up the order as Root re-jigged the XI that beat Sri Lanka at Galle last week ahead of the second Test, which starts in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“Ben’s game is in good shape and he is more than capable of batting at three," said Root.

"We are in a fortunate position that many in the side could bat in that position. Ben’s technique is sound and he will be able to adapt to this role. He is one of the fittest guys in the side, so the intensity of batting in the top order and bowling as one of our three seamers will not faze him.

Jonny Bairstow (l) misses out but Ben Stokes (r) moves up the order

“If we feel that he has done a tremendous workload with the ball, then we can adapt and alter the order if it’s necessary, but I don’t expect that to happen. Ben is relishing the added responsibility of doing a job at three.”

England's number three from the first Test, Moeen Ali, performed well with the ball in the series opener but had more wickets (8) than runs (3) across both innings. After those failures with the bat, head coach Trevor Bayliss made clear over the weekend that Ali would be dropped down the order and while the Worcestershire spinner is understandably frustrated about being moved yet again, this time to number six, he is likely to have to shoulder a significant load with the ball after Sri Lanka captain Suranga Lakmal confirmed that the hosts had requested a turning track as they seek to overturn a 1-0 series deficit.

“Our weakness right now is batting, and given that, I don't think we can play with one batsman fewer," said Lakmal, who will fill in for the injured Dinesh Chandimal as skipper.

"We've asked for a pitch that favours the spinners, and I think that's basically what we have got here,” he confirmed.

Joe Root has had some tough decisions to make 

“If we're being really honest, there's no point in preparing a pitch for the spinners and then think about bringing an extra seam bowler in. If we want to play an extra quick we'd have to drop a batsman. We haven't considered that because we're expecting a spinning pitch.”

Root had a good look at the surface on Tuesday morning before finalising the XI and said he felt it was "dry and will spin" which helped with the decision to retain three spinners.

"The balance of the team is ideal for these conditions. We can also adapt, if the situation dictates, as we showed in Galle.

“Having had a good look at the surface today, we feel the side that won the first Test will give us the best opportunity for us to get something out of this Test."

England v Sri Lanka: Ed Malyon previews the second test match

The Independent understands that Stuart Broad had been told before the series that he would feature at Pallekele but the pitch prepared by Sri Lanka bears little resemblance to the seam-friendly surfaces of the past and England were forced to change their plans. Sam Curran retains his place as a seam-bowling all-rounder who will take the new ball alongside James Anderson. Stokes will contribute too, while Ali, Jack Leach and Adil Rashid retain their places after England's spin trio took 17 of 20 wickets in the first Test.

Jonny Bairstow had hoped to return to the team for this Test match after recovering ahead of schedule from an ankle injury, but Root couldn't find a spot for the Yorkshire keeper after stand-in Ben Foakes putting in a Man of the Match performance on debut, boasting impeccable glovework and scoring a first-innings ton that completely changed the momentum of the Test.

“Jonny was available for selection," confirmed Root.

"Trevor [Bayliss] and I have spoken to him about finding the right balance for this Test with the conditions we are expecting. He understands the situation and is aware that we have to pick the side that are best suited to conditions we can expect in Kandy. It is unfortunate that he missed out through injury in the first Test. He is a integral part of our plans and is a key member of our core squad and his experience around the group is important.”

Confirmed England XI: Burns, Jennings, Stokes, Root (c), Buttler, Ali, Foakes +, Ali, Curran, Rashid, Leach, Anderson.

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