After convincing wins at Old Trafford and Lord's, England are expected to seal a 3-0 series victory against Sri Lanka when the third Test starts at The Oval at 11am on Friday 6th September.
With Ben Stokes sidelined by a hamstring injury, Surrey's Ollie Pope will again captain England on his home ground as the hosts bid to sign off the Test summer in style.
- GUS ATKINSON TOP ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS WICKET-TAKER
- OLLIE POPE TO SCORE A 1ST INNINGS CENTURY
- KAMINDU MENDIS TO SCORE A 1ST INNINGS FIFTY
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Atkinson Can End Dream Summer In Style
England beat the West Indies 3-0 in their first home Test series of the 2024 summer and it would be a major shock if they failed to wrap up another clean sweep against Sri Lanka.
The Lankans showed some fight at Old Trafford before England claimed a five-wicket win in the first Test but they were comprehensively outplayed at Lord's last time out.
Gus Atkinson's stunning start to his Test career continued at Lord's as the number eight scored a maiden first-class century before claiming a five-wicket haul in the final innings of the match.
That sealed a 190-run win for England and Atkinson had also picked up the key wickets of Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis in Sri Lanka's first innings.
His workload has been carefully managed since he burst on to the Test scene with 12 wickets on his debut against the West Indies in July.
Atkinson struck seven times in just 24.3 overs in the second Test against Sri Lanka, taking his record to 33 wickets in five matches, and the Surrey fast bowler should be backed to shine on his first Test appearance at his home ground.
GUS ATKINSON TOP ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS WICKET-TAKER
Pope Primed To Find Form
England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope is another Surrey player who could be inspired by his return to The Oval, although he has had a less successful series than Atkinson.
The number three has made just 30 runs in four innings against Sri Lanka, prompting suggestions that the captaincy is affecting his batting.
Pope will be determined to silence his critics at The Oval, where he has scored 11 first-class centuries, and he merits a bet to make a first-innings ton in the third Test.
He is undoubtedly vulnerable at the start of his innings but he loves batting at the Kennington venue, where his two previous Test appearances produced first-innings scores of 81 against India in 2021 and 67 against South Africa in 2022.
The right-hander started the Test summer with knocks of 57, 121 and 51 against the Windies and it would be no surprise if he recaptured his runscoring form at his favourite ground.
OLLIE POPE TO SCORE A 1ST INNINGS CENTURY
Kamindu Could Play Key Role
Sri Lanka's top-order batsmen have struggled on this tour but number seven Kamindu Mendis has enhanced his reputation with a couple of excellent innings in the first two Tests.
Kamindu has had an extraordinary start to his Test career, scoring three centuries and three fifties in his first nine innings and he should be backed to reach 50 at The Oval.
He scored 61 on his debut against Australia in July 2022 but had to wait until March this year for another opportunity.
The left-hander celebrated his recall with scores of 102, 164, 92 not out and nine in two Tests in Bangladesh and made a brilliant second-innings 113 in the series opener at Old Trafford.
Kamindu, who has a first-class batting average of 63, fought a lone battle in Sri Lanka's first innings at Lord's, making 74 in a total of 196, and he could cause problems for England's bowlers once again.
KAMINDU MENDIS TO SCORE A 1ST INNINGS FIFTY
