Chris Woakes led the way as England took control on day one of their first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

The tourists showed some fight as the day drew to a close before being bowled out for 236, but England's turn with the bat was cut short due to bad light.

Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start as England ripped through them 6-3 in the first seven overs, with Woakes (3-32) getting a double-wicket maiden, dismissing Nishan Madushka and Angelo Mathews.

Shoaib Bashir (3-56) kept up the pace after lunch, as Sri Lanka slumped to 113-7, but they soon found their footing.

Captain Dhananjaya de Silva dug deep, racing to 74 off 84 balls, while Milan Rathnayake added 72 before Bashir dismissed them both. Stand-in captain Ollie Pope then ran out Vishwa Fernando to end Sri Lanka's innings.

With the light already poor, Sri Lanka were forced to open the bowling with spin - Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence moved to 22-0 before the umpires intervened, leaving 12 overs unbowled. 

Data Debrief: Pope makes strong start

Pope is the 82nd man to captain England in Test cricket, and the 12th this century. Despite losing the coin toss, he could not have asked for a better start after taking over from the injured Ben Stokes.

For Sri Lanka, Rathnayake impressed on his debut after helping to drag Sri Lanka towards the 200 mark - his tally of 72 is the highest score ever made by a number nine on Test debut. 

Ollie Pope believes Ben Stokes will let him "do his own thing" when he steps up as England captain in the all-rounder's absence.

Stokes suffered a hamstring injury playing in The Hundred earlier this month, ruling him out of their three-Test series against Sri Lanka.

England are looking to build on their 3-0 sweep of West Indies in July, in which Pope shone, scoring a sixth Test hundred and two half-centuries.

The 26-year-old, England's usual vice-captain, will still have Stokes' guidance if needed as he is due to be in the dressing room for the Tests despite his injury.

Pope admitted he had already turned to the 33-year-old for advice but is ready to step into the role for the first Test.

"It is still Stokesy's team and if I want to lean on him, I can, but I think he will let me do my own thing. He has said he is happy to do that," Pope said.

"He will be watching and chat with Baz [Test coach Brendon McCullum] so I can have those conversations in the intervals if I think something needs to change.

"I know how well he has managed our bowlers, especially, so I have picked his brains on it, but it will be a lot of the same messages with a different voice and in my own way.

"It's about not overcomplicating it for me. I think I read the game fairly well and Stokesy and I have often been of the same mindset. As the series goes on, it will let itself out for me.

"Brooky has a great cricket brain, [Joe Root] too, so there is plenty of experience out there to bounce a few ideas off.

"Everyone is pretty clear how they want to go about this week and the series in general."

England have won their last three Test series against Sri Lanka, one at home and two away, but were beaten by the tourists in 2014.

"We don't underestimate any of the teams that come over here," Pope added. "Our target is to win 3-0, but we realise Sri Lanka have got some good experienced guys who have played a lot of Test matches.

"The main focus is on ourselves. We will just play our best cricket and try and put on a good performance. Hopefully, the scoreboard at the end reflects that."

England’s first Test against Sri Lanka will begin on Wednesday at Old Trafford.

Matthew Potts has been called back into action for England after a year-long absence from the squad for this week's first Test against Sri Lanka.

The Durham seamer had not featured for England since June 2023 but returns in the absence of skipper Ben Stokes, who remains out through injury.

Surrey batter Dan Lawrence, who has not featured for England since March 2022, will replace another absentee, Zak Crawley, at the top of the order.

Stokes’ injury has also caused a captaincy conundrum. Ollie Pope has been announced as captain in his absence, while Yorkshire batter Harry Brooks will become vice-captain.

The Test will start at Old Trafford on August 21, with the series then heading to Lord's for the second Test and The Oval for a third match.

England XI to face Sri Lanka: Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

Ben Stokes has been ruled out of England's upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka after tearing his left hamstring while playing in The Hundred on Sunday.

Stokes pulled up after running a single and was carried off the field before later being seen on crutches after appearing for the Northern Superchargers.

Originally thought to be a doubt for the first of England's Tests later this month, scans on Tuesday revealed the injury will keep him out for the remainder of the summer.

Ollie Pope will take over Stokes' role as captain during his absence, with the all-rounder aiming to return to fitness before their Test tour of Pakistan in October.

England will also be without opener Zak Crawley for the Sri Lanka series due to a finger injury he sustained against the West Indies at Edgbaston.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have appointed Ian Bell as their batting coach for the upcoming tour.

Bell, who played in 118 Tests for England between 2004 and 2015, will work under former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya.

"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there," Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva said.

"We believe his input will help our team in this crucial tour."

The first Test in the series will take place at Old Trafford in Manchester on August 21.

James Anderson is considering a U-turn on his international retirement just a month on from playing his final Test match against West Indies at Lord's. 

Anderson, who took 704 wickets in 188 games for England, did not officially call time on his career and is now considering a return to the white-ball format. 

He recently joined the England coaching staff as a fast-bowling mentor following his retirement, and is helping Ben Stokes and the side ahead of their Test series with Sri Lanka next week. 

However, the 42-year-old is now pondering potential avenues for a return to the T20 Arena or even in next season's Hundred competition. 

Anderson has dedicated the last 10 years to red-ball cricket, not featuring in a 20-over game since 2014, but feels "still fit enough" to prolong his illustrious career. 

"I might be in a bit of denial because I'm well aware I won't play for England again, but I've still not made a decision on my actual cricket career," Anderson told the Press Association.

"There's definitely a bit of intrigue with the shorter formats because I've not played any franchise stuff before.

"Watching The Hundred this year, seeing the ball swing around, it makes me feel like I could do a job there.

"I know it's a while since I played it and my age will get brought up again but I really feel I'll be good enough to play that form of cricket."

Dunith Wellalage and Avishka Fernando starred for Sri Lanka as they claimed a first ODI series win over India in 27 years following their 110-run triumph in Colombo. 

Fernando struck 96 from 102 deliveries to see the hosts score 248-7, leaving their opponents with an uphill task in difficult conditions at the R. Premadasa Stadium. 

And having struggled in the second Test with Sri Lanka's spin bowlers, India did so again as Wellalage posted figures of 5-27 to secure a landmark victory. 

Sri Lanka's opening three batsmen took the fight to India early on, with Pathum Nissanka (45), Fernando and Kusal Mendis (59) leaving them 183-3 in the 37th over. 

Riyan Parag took three wickets as the Lions gave their opponents a target of 249 to draw the series, a task they found difficult from the beginning. 

Captain Rohit Sharma (35) and Shubman Gill (six) fell early, with the Men in Blue's batting line-up crumbling to 82-6 by the 12th over. 

Washington Sundar's 30 from 25 deliveries offered hope of a comeback, but Wellalage confirmed the triumph in just 26.1 overs with the wicket of Kuldeep Yadav to end India's 13-game unbeaten ODI run. 

"We are in a really good mood right now, especially our coach," said Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka.

"He made a few changes in the team, and the boys really enjoyed the team environment."

Data Debrief: Sri Lanka end India ODI hoodoo

Sri Lanka's last bilateral ODI series victory over India was in August 1997, with India unbeaten in the next 13 such series, with 11 wins and two drawn series.

The win marked the Lions' first limited-overs series under new captain Asalanka and interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya after Chris Silverwood's departure. 

Washington Sundar believes India's third and final ODI against Sri Lanka presents an opportunity to prepare for next year's Champions Trophy. 

India face the prospect of a first ODI series defeat against the Lions in 27 years after their 32-run defeat in their second Test at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Rohit Sharma hit India's highest total with the bat, scoring 64 runs from 44 balls, with the match belonging to Sri Lanka's Jeffery Vandersay, who took 6-33.

"It is an opportunity for us to go out there and put our hands up and win those critical situations," Sundar said.

"Obviously with the big tournaments coming up, we will be in similar situations and it will be important to find ways as to what we can do to win those critical situations especially in similar conditions against quality spin attack.

"I think whatever we have done in this series so far, we will take that as a learning, obviously try and move ahead and win the game tomorrow in all aspects of the game."

"We are quality players of spin, matter of finding a way."

Sundar, did however, come to the defence of India's batters, having struggled against Sri Lanka's spinners in challenging conditions in their previous encounter. 

"We are quality players of spin. We've always played in these kinds of wickets, even at home, in Test matches, and in different formats," Sundar said. 

"Even domestic cricket, we play a lot of games in such wickets. And we know our players have done really well, especially in the middle order, batting against spin."

"So it's just a matter of finding a way, their own individual self and trying to get the job done.

"Everyone knows it's quite a challenging wicket. Obviously, the Indian team has always put its hands up, especially when the challenge arises.

"And that's when we've been very good, both with bat and ball, and we've come out flying colours out of the challenging situations."

The defeat last time out was the first in Gautam Gambhir's reign as the new India head coach, having breezed to a 3-0 series win in their T20I series in July. 

Sundar has said the team have tried to implement the new tactics introduced by the 42-year-old, something he knows will take time to come to fruition. 

"There has been a lot of input from him," Sundar started. "He is a high-quality player of spin.

"We have always seen him putting up great performances, especially in such wickets against quality spin.

"That is one of the reasons we came out here today to practice and try and find a way and try and do those small little changes tactically and be prepared and ready for tomorrow's game and be really on top of our game in all aspects."

Jeffrey Vandersay tore through India's batting lineup with six wickets as Sri Lanka snatched the ODI series lead with a 32-run victory in Colombo.

Leg-spinner Vandersay managed 6-33 – his best international figures – as Rohit Sharma's tourists collapsed in remarkable fashion on Sunday, falling 1-0 down with one ODI remaining in the three-match series.

India held their hosts to a modest 240-9 in the first innings as Washington Sundar (3-30) led the way, while Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis anchored at either end of the batting order with 40 apiece.

Rohit responded by crashing 64 off just 44 deliveries as India raced to 97 without loss, only for the captain to fall when attempting to reverse sweep a climbing Vandersay delivery in the 14th over.

The 34-year-old spinner would soon remove Shubman Gill, on 35, and Shivam Dube without scoring in the same over, before trapping Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in front to complete his first ODI five-wicket haul.

KL Rahul followed to leave India struggling at 147-6, though Axar Patel offered resistance before falling on 44 to Charith Asalanka, who then removed Sundar and Mohammed Siraj.

Arshdeep Singh was then run out as a battling Sri Lanka seized control heading into the final clash on Wednesday.

Data Debrief: Vandersay becomes Sri Lanka's new Murali

Vandersay had only managed 27 wickets in 20 previous ODI innings for Sri Lanka, though added six with an eye-catching showing of leg-spin bowling here.

His previous 4-10 best in this format came against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe, but a remarkable six-wicket haul will live long in the memory after dismissing two India greats in Rohit and Kohli.

England's opening batter Zak Crawley will miss the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka later this month after sustaining a fractured finger. 

Crawley suffered the injury during England's encounter with the West Indies at Edgbaston last week, which sealed a 3-0 series triumph over their opponents. 

The 26-year-old is aiming to return in time for England's Test tour to Pakistan in October.

Surrey's Dan Lawrence will open alongside Ben Duckett in Crawley's absence, as Essex middle-order batter Jordan Cox received his first call-up to the squad. 

Ben Stokes deputised as Duckett's opening partner at Edgbaston, hitting a record-breaking 24-ball half-century, but Lawrence will take up the role against Sri Lanka.

England will also be without seam bowler Dillon Pennington, who picked up a hamstring injury while playing for Birmingham Phoenix during The Hundred competition. 

Nottinghamshire team-mate Olly Stone replaces Pennington, returning to the Test squad for the first time since June 2021 and will be looking to add to his three Test caps.

Captained by Stokes, England will host Sri Lanka at Old Trafford for the first Test starting on August 21.

Sri Lanka held India to a draw in a thrilling finale to the first ODI of their series on Friday.

Charith Asalanka was the hero for Sri Lanka in Colombo, taking two wickets in the space of two balls to bowl India out for 230.

Pathum Nissanka (56) and Dunith Wellalage (67) led the way for Sri Lanka with the bat, propelling them to 230-8 from their 50 overs, with the pair plundering 18 boundaries between them.

India looked well set for the first 12 overs, until the dismissal of Shubman Gill (16) kick-started a mini-capitulation, with captain Rohit Sharma (58), Washington Sundar (five), Virat Kohli (24) and Shreyas Iyer (23) following in quick succession.

KL Rahul and Axar Patel appeared to have steadied the ship, but Wanindu Hasaranga (3-58) and Asalanka (3-30) struck in the space of seven deliveries to drag Sri Lanka back into it.

And the day ultimately belonged to Asalanka who, after being hit for four by Shivam Dube (25) in the 48th over, hit back with a pair of LBWs to leave the tourists stunned.

Data Debrief: India's dominance ended

India had won each of their last six ODIs against Sri Lanka, their joint-longest winning streak against them in the history of the format (along with a run between July 1998 and May 1999), but for the first time since a loss in Colombo in July 2021, they failed to get the job done.

This match did see the two form teams in ODIs take each other on. India (27) and Sri Lanka (22) have won more 50-over games than any other teams since the start of 2023.

Rohit Sharma has said India face a difficult decision on their wicket-keeper batsman selection ahead of their three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. 

Sharma, who declared his retirement from T20I's following India's success at the World Cup earlier this year, watched on as the Men in Blue started off a new era under the guidance of Suryakumar Yadav. 

India comfortably beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in that series, and now face the same opponents in three 50-over matches that start this Friday. 

Sharma will captain India for the upcoming fixtures, and acknowledged the difficulty in selecting the team's wicketkeeper batter for ODIs, with both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant both in the mix. 

Pant last featured in an ODI for India in November 2022, but has since made a comeback to the national team and was part of their T20 World Cup success in June.

First-choice Pant also played in two of the three T20s against Sri Lanka last month but faces competition from Rahul, who has been solid behind the stumps and impressed during the 2023 50-overs World Cup at home. 

"It's a tough call. Both are quality players, you know the abilities of both. It's not easy to pick a team when you have players like that," Sharma told reporters. 

"That's what these two individuals are all about. They're match-winners in their own way.

"It's always nice to have (such) problems. When you discuss a lot about whom to pick, it means there's quality in the squad. I look forward to these problems."

While Sharma has retired from the 20-over format, he is expected to stay in the role in 50-overs cricket with the Champions Trophy scheduled for next year.

The upcoming fixtures will present another difficult test for new head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is yet to taste defeat in his first three games in charge.

"We'll keep in mind what we want to achieve as a team but this is by no means preparation or practice (for the Champions Trophy). We want to play good cricket and get something out of the series. It's as simple as that," Sharma said.

"We don't want to think about trying this or that. Of course we want to try everything possible, but when you're representing the nation the quality of the cricket should remain the way it is and how we've played in the last few years.

"That's more important, more than thinking that it's a preparation so let's go out and chill in Colombo."

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be without pacers Matheesha Pathirana and Dilshan Madushanka, while Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Thushara are also out with illness and a fractured thumb.

Uncapped Mohamed Shiraz has been brought in as replacement as they look to bounceback from their whitewash defeat in their recent T20 series. 

Suryakumar Yadav scored the winning runs as India confirmed a whitewash over Sri Lanka in the final game of their T20I series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. 

In a game that Sri Lanka started brightly, India ultimately proved too strong as they continued their impressive record over their opponents in this format. 

India's openers endured a difficult start to the encounter, as Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) Sanju Samson (0) and Rinku Singh (1) all fell inside the first four overs. 

Shubman Gill would top score for the Men in Blue with 39 runs from 37 deliveries as Maheesh Theekshana starred with the ball in hand, taking 3-28 as Sri Lanka restricted their opponents to 137-9. 

Kusal Mendis (43) and Kusal Perera (46) would give Sri Lanka an excellent start to their chase, losing just two wickets in the first 16 overs of the contest. 

But with time running out, India's bowlers stepped up the pressure and claimed six wickets from the final four overs. Needing just six runs from the final over, Yadav's bowling display forced a super over. 

Washington Sundar was given the responsibility to deliver, and he claimed two wickets in three balls with Sri Lanka finished the super over having scored just two. 

Yadav would waste no time in sealing the win, smashing a four from the opening ball to secure a 3-0 series win. 

Data Debrief: India continue Sri Lanka dominance

India have now won five of their last six men’s T20Is against Sri Lanka (L1), including the last four on the bounce.  

The Men in Blue have won all of their four men’s T20Is against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Sri Lanka have now lost their last three men's T20Is at Pallekele, the second time they have done so in their history (three loses from September 2016 to September 2019). 

India sealed a T20I series win over Sri Lanka with a game to spare, following another late collapse by the hosts on Sunday.

In a rain-hit match, India dominated with the ball before quickly hitting their chase target on DLS with nine balls remaining to win by seven wickets.

Sri Lanka's openers had a strong game on Saturday, but they could not carry that form into the second game as Kusal Mendis was caught for 10, before Pathum Nissanka was dismissed with just 32.

However, it looked like they had found their footing with Kusal Perera's knock of 58, only for India's bowlers to step up the pressure.

Hardik Pandya took Perera and Kamindu Mendis (26) at the start of the Sri Lanka collapse, while Ravi Bishnoi finished with 3-26, including getting out Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga for ducks as the hosts finished with 161-9.

India only played three balls at the start of their innings before rain interrupted proceedings once again, meaning they were set a target of 78 in eight overs on DLS.

Yashasvi Jaiswal got them almost halfway on his own, hitting 30, but it was Pandya who eventually carried them over the line, finishing with back-to-back fours as India moved into an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

Data Debrief: Sri Lanka woes continue

Sri Lanka left the T20 World Cup disappointed after an underwhelming campaign, and things have not got much better for them since then.

Their openers have been strong, but in the last two games, Sri Lanka have lost 16 for 68 in the last six overs.

Take nothing away from India's bowlers though, as Patel, Bishnoi and Singh all have four wickets each for the series after dominant displays. 

Gautam Gambhir's time in charge of India got off to a winning start as the T20 world champions breezed to a 43-run victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday.

After losing their opener to Zimbabwe in their first game after the World Cup, India made no mistake in Kandy as they took a 1-0 lead in this three-game series, piling misery on their hosts.

India made a strong start through openers Yashavi Jaiswal (40) and Shubman Gill (34) before Suryakumar Yadav's 58 carried them to 150 before he was dismissed.

Rishabh Pant fell just short of a half-century as he helped India's charge, though that soon stalled thanks to Matheesha Pathirana, whose impressive performance saw him finish with 4-40.

With India stopped at 213-7, Sri Lanka made a steady start, with Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis combining for 84 before the latter was caught for 45.

Two quick wickets from Axar Patel in the 15th over soon ended any hopes of Sri Lanka coming out on top, though, as Nissanka (79) and Kusal Perera (20) were both taken.

The hosts soon collapsed, losing their last seven wickets in just over four overs as they were bowled out for 170.

Data Debrief: India go from strength to strength

Gambhir could not have asked for a better performance at the start of his tenure with India, with their late performance in the field proving vital.

Just when Sri Lanka looked to be mounting a real attack to chase down the target of 214, they lost nine wickets from their final 5.2 overs to be bowled out well short of their target, with Patal and Arshdeep Singh both getting two wickets each.

The hosts' first game since their disappointing World Cup campaign did not quite go to plan, and they will be looking to bounce back on Sunday.

West Indian opener Andre Fletcher hit a half century but it was not enough to prevent the Kandy Falcons from going down by eight wickets to the Galle Marvels in Lanka Premier League action at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Wednesday.

Fletcher hit a top score of 69 to help the Falcons produce 187-9 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Marvels.

His knock lasted 43 balls and included six fours and four sixes. He got good support from opening partner Dinesh Chandimal who made 32 while Angelo Mathews and Ramesh Mendis chipped in with 29 and 28, respectively.

Prabath Jayasuriya took 3-30 from his four overs for Galle.

The Marvels then took 19.2 overs to reach 188-2 and secure a comfortable victory.

Alex Hales was the catalyst behind the successful chase with 86* off 55 balls including seven fours and four sixes while Bhanuka Rajapaksa finished 46* off 25 balls including five fours and a pair of sixes.

Captain and wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella also chipped in with 25.

Fletcher also took 1-11 from two overs with his part-time leg-spin.

The Marvels are now second in the points table after six games, level on eight points with leaders Jaffna Kings.

The Falcons have two wins from six games and sit last on the six-team table.

Full Scores:

Kandy Falcons 187-9 off 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 69, Dinesh Chandimal 32, Angelo Mathews 29, Ramesh Mendis 28, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-30, Dwayne Pretorius 2-37)

Galle Marvels 188-2 off 19.2 overs (Alex Hales 86*, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 46*, Niroshan Dickwella 25)