Watch England's two-Test series against Sri Lanka live on Sky Sports Cricket, beginning on Thursday March 19
Thursday 12 March 2020 14:59, UK
When England last visited Sri Lanka in 2018 there was a big farewell looming on the horizon as Rangana Herath bowed out of Test cricket following the first match of the series.
This time it's more about fresh starts and fresh faces rather than fond farewells.
England are much-changed since their series sweep two years ago, and so are Sri Lanka, with only eight of the 15 players who featured in that series returning this time.
They also have a new head coach, a relatively new captain and inexperienced spin options. So what threat will they pose to England? James Walker-Roberts takes a look…
There's a new man at the helm.
Mickey Arthur, who reportedly held talks over England's head coach vacancy last year, has been tasked with turning Sri Lanka's fortunes around.
Arthur has previously taken South Africa to the top of the Test rankings, won series in England and Australia, and helped Pakistan win their maiden Champions Trophy in 2017.
Indeed, if Arthur's personal record against England is anything to go by then this could be a difficult series for the tourists. He is unbeaten in four Test series against England, winning one and drawing one with South Africa, before drawing twice in England with Pakistan.
Arthur improved standards - particularly in the field - during his time with Pakistan, but he faces a stiff task to get Sri Lanka back on track.
They have registered only one win in the ongoing ICC Test Championship and were flamed by team manager and chief selector Ashantha de Mel after their recent series defeat to Pakistan.
"They are comfortable just cruising along with mediocre performances and the coach has emphasised that very strongly," De Mel told Sri Lanka's Daily News. "They have to be told if you are mediocre you will not play. That kind of message must go through."
Former Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Atapattu has also criticised the current regime for a "lack of planning".
"I think there are too many things, too many cooks," he told Sportstar. "We are not short of talent, but then, grooming and polishing the talent is something that we haven't done properly."
It's plain that, as with Pakistan, Arthur will have to deal with more than just what happens on the field. However, Sri Lanka's batting is a particular area of concern, with just one 315-plus score registered since the 2018 defeat to England (coming in January against Zimbabwe).
Along with Arthur, Grant Flower has been hired as the new batting coach in an attempt to improve matters.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne was the second-highest run scorer in the series when England won in Sri Lanka in 2018.
The hosts will be looking for him to deliver again, only this time he is charged with the responsibility of captaincy too.
Karunaratne doesn't seem to have been too weighed down by the captaincy since taking charge just over a year ago.
He made a match-winning century as Sri Lanka chased down 267 to beat New Zealand last summer, followed up with half-centuries in his next two Tests, and has made starts in most matches since.
"Freedom - with patience" seems to be his message to the players.
"It's about keeping your mind free," he said during the series against New Zealand last summer. "If you, at any time, feel like you should play the reverse-sweep, but you stop yourself, you're restricting yourself.
"There are times when you can get runs from that shot, and when it's a safe option. It's about being relaxed. Freedom doesn't mean swinging at every ball. It's about playing with confidence."
With big first-innings scores expected to be important, Karunaratne's batting - and how well his message is received - could be key to Sri Lanka's chances.
When England last toured in 2018 they were braced for a trial by spin after seeing South Africa fold on turning pitches.
But it was England's spinners who shone as Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Jack Leach combined to take 48 wickets and set up a series win.
This time around there isn't much spinning experience on either side.
Ali and Rashid are absent - replaced by Dom Bess and Matt Parkinson - and Dilruwan Perera is the most experienced Sri Lankan spinner with 41 Tests under his belt. Left-armers Lasith Embudleniya and Lakshan Sandakan - the other two specialist spinners in the squad - have played 18 Tests between them.
Herath has urged Sri Lanka to have patience with their new crop of turners.
"There are few options but we need to give them confidence by playing them," he said.
"Because if you keep changing players you don't build the confidence, that's very important. Especially for the spinners, when they keep playing they will learn a lot of things. They need to stay in the game. When you keep playing regularly, then you will collect those experience, knowledge and everything. Once you get that confidence then you will start to perform."
How much the spinners impact the series remains to be seen, with Arthur suggesting they might not come into play later on.
"The pitches will play a role but they've been good of late. I'm certainly not in the game of wanting massive raging turners from ball one. Your first innings needs to be good. Your spin needs to come into the game on day three and your quicks still need to play a role early on."
Watch England's two-Test series in Sri Lanka live on Sky Sports Cricket from 4am on Thursday, March 19.
