Sri Lanka will try to overcome its ailing bowling attack to beat England in a Test series for the first time,starting with the first five-day encounter in Cardiff on Thursday. With Tillakaratne Dilshan set to make his debut as captain,the tourists confidence is high for the three-match series after its dramatic 38-run win against England Lions in their final warm-up game. But they will have to do without Nuwan Pradeep,who took 4-29 against the Lions but damaged knee ligaments. Its bad news for the young man, said coach Stuart Law. If things are OK and he doesnt need an operation we may opt to keep him here but at this stage it looks like hes flying home. Hes one of the cards up our sleeve and he has a bit more pace than the rest of them so its a shame if he has to go home but he was dragging his leg around yesterday. With Dilhara Fernando also a doubt with a knee injury and Lasith Malinga retired,Sri Lanka drafted in seamer Farveez Maharoof,who has been playing for Lancashire. The England selectors,by contrast,have had to omit a number of proven internationals,most controversially Ravi Bopara. Before the Lions game it was widely reported in the media that Bopara,having scored prolifically in the domestic championship,would be preferred to Eoin Morgan,who struggled in the IPL,as the long-term replacement for the retired Paul Collingwood. Yet under the pressure of the unofficial trial match at Derby,Bopara failed,making just 17 while Morgan hit a measured 193. With arguably the strongest pool of players at their disposal in a generation,the selectors decision marked a ruthless logic. Competition for bowling places is even fiercer,with Steven Finn expected to be left out,while Graham Onions,Ajmal Shahzad and the allrounder Samit Patel were not even in the 12-man squad. This will be only the 11th test Sri Lanka has played in England,but the evidence is that some of the novelty has worn off. England best Test team Law picked England as the best team in the longer form of the game. In the last 18 months England have been the best team in world cricket. They have beaten teams in their backyard,theyve beaten teams away from home. They are well drilled and leave nothing to chance, Law said. If you were an Englishman you would be very happy with the team in Test cricket. After their win in the Ashes we know we've got our work cut out but we are not going to roll over and die,or at least I hope we don't. We have come here to fight," he added. According to some,a degree of doubt still hovers over England's batting,but Law said his team is taking nothing for granted. Weneed to play good consistent cricket for five days and if we can sniff a result we need to put a foot on the throat, he said.
