Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow will feature in England’s third and final Test in Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday at the expense of Jimmy Anderson and Sam Curran. Bairstow, who injured his ankle during a football exercise in a pre-series training session, is likely to get an opportunity to prove his credentials at No.3, with Ben Stokes, who batted at first drop in the second Test, likely to return to No.5.
During his absence, Bairstow has seen wicket-keeper Ben Foakes perform admirably with the gloves, and the Surrey youngster will retain ‘keeping duties in the final outing of the tour.
On Sri Lanka’s side, along with the call-up of uncapped off-spinner Nishan Peiris to replace Akila Dananjaya, who is undergoing bowling action tests, Danushka Gunathilaka has been added to the squad, with uncapped batsman Charith Asalanka missing out.
Captain Dinesh Chandimal is again unavailable, having failed to recover from the injury which ruled him out of the second Test. Suranga Lakmal will continue to lead the side in his stead.
England have already won the three-match series, with their victory in the second Test in Kandy giving them a 2-0 lead.
England team for third Test against Sri Lanka: Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
