England have named their 12-man squad for the first Test match against Sri Lanka, which will start from Thursday, May 26, 2011, at Cardiff in England.
The Poms will host three Test matches, five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 against the Lankan Lions.
The announced squad includes: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Steven Finn.
According to Geoff Miller, England’s national selector, “We are very excited to be back playing cricket on home soil and are focussed on building on the momentum we gained during the Ashes last winter which was testament to the hard work that everyone involved put into the series.”
Miller further added, “We believe we have selected a very strong squad for the first Test. Eoin Morgan impressed us last summer when he was given his opportunity in the Test side and has worked hard on his game throughout the tour of Australia and now has the opportunity to play a role in the Test team.”
England are aiming to become the number one Test team after their success in the Ashes, against Australia last year. The team had not been performing well against the Kangaroos on their home soil, but turned the tables around last time. They managed to win the series by 3-1 and were dominant throughout.
Things didn’t shape well for the Poms after their success in the Ashes series, as they were thumped byAustralia in a seven-match ODI series by 1-7. They also failed to impress in the ICC World Cup 2011 and were even defeated by the minnows, Ireland, in a pool match.
However, Test cricket is completely different compared to the limited-over version of the game and Englandhave some solid players in the longest version.
The Sri Lankans have been performing well in the warm-up sessions so far. The team is under the new skipper, Dilshan, who was the highest run scorer in the recent ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
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