England Vs Sri Lanka Betting Tips & Predictions
England Vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test Predictions
After a convincing 190-run victory at Lord’s, England will be hoping to complete the series sweep against Sri Lanka in the third and final Test at The Oval.
Gus Atkinson was one of the stars of the show in the second Test, making his first ever first class century (118 from 155 balls) and boasting bowling figures of 7-102 in the match.
Joe Root also made the headlines with centuries in both innings, taking him past Sir Alastair Cook’s record for the most tons by an England batter.
Those two players will be eager to impress at The Oval, with the final Test starting on Friday.
Tip 1 – Asitha Fernando top Sri Lanka first innings wicket taker @ 11/4
Asitha Fernando has been the star of Sri Lanka’s bowling attack in this series, taking 14 wickets in the two matches.
Movement through the air and from the surface has been key to the 27-year-old’s success in the series so far and the conditions at The Oval could suit him down to the ground.
The ground has been a pace bowler’s paradise this summer, with green surfaces offering plenty of movement to the quicks.
Fernando has been his team’s top wicket-taker in two innings’ in the series, while he was joint-top in the other two, and with conditions likely to favour him he is fancied to top the charts again.
Tip 2 – Dinesh Chandimal top Sri Lanka first innings run scorer @ 9/2
Another player to impress for Sri Lanka during the series has been wicket-keeper Dinesh Chandimal, who has made knocks of 17, 79, 23 and 58.
The 34-year-old recorded the second-highest score for his side in the second innings of the first Test defeat, while he topped his side’s batting charts in the second innings at Lord’s.
Chandimal is playing with confidence and he has the ability to make the top score for Sri Lanka in the first innings at The Oval.
Tip 3 – Chris Woakes top England first innings wicket-taker @ 23/10
Atkinson got the majority of the headlines in England’s win at Lord’s but Chris Woakes put in another impressive performance, taking two wickets in each innings.
The veteran seamer also took six wickets in the first game of the series and he looks set to star once again in this third game.
The conditions at The Oval should suit Woakes perfectly, as he tends to thrive in English conditions where there is plenty of movement both through the air and off the surface.
Woakes is the pick to be England’s top wicket-taker in the first innings of this game.
Second Test Tips
England recorded another success in this summer’s Test campaign as they squeezed past Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in the opening clash of the three-Test series between the two teams.
In a rain-affected game, the home team wobbled somewhat when chasing 205 in the fourth innings, falling to 70-3 before a Joe Root half-century helped guide them to victory.
Injury to Mark Wood in that game means that Olly Stone, who last won a cap in June 2021, returns to the fold and will start this second Test.
That is the only change to the England side from the first encounter but they remain without a number of first-choice players as Ben Stokes, Zak Crawley and now Wood are all injured.
With one eye on next year’s Ashes, the hosts will be happy to get a look at some fresh options, particularly in the bowling attack.
Tip 1 – Jamie Smith top England first innings run scorer @ 5/1
Jamie Smith has been a revelation since coming into this England lineup and is taken to impress once again in this second Test at Lord’s.
The middle order has generally been the best place for runs to be scored in this England Test summer, with the shine having come off the ball by then and the pitches not turning a great deal.
Smith has already made two half-centuries and a hundred from just four Tests and his average is almost 60.
Conditions at the home of cricket look set to be useful for batting and the wicket-keeper could be the one to benefit, as he did so at Old Trafford with a superb 111.
Tip 2 – Dinesh Chandimal over 22.5 first innings runs @ Evs
Dinesh Chandimal dug in for an impressive knock of 79 in Sri Lanka’s second innings of the first Test and he can impress once more at Lord’s.
The middle order batter made a gutsy 17 in the first innings after coming in with his side reeling on 6-3 and he was unlucky to be trapped LBW by Shoaib Bashir to end his knock.
The wicket-keeper is expected to thrive in this second Test and can go over the line of 22.5 first innings runs.
Tip 3 – Chris Woakes top England first innings wicket-taker @ 5/2
Chris Woakes’ bowling record in home conditions is impressive and he showed again in the first Test why he tends to be picked by England’s selectors when they are playing on home soil.
The seamer took 6-90 across both innings at Old Trafford and he can use the slope at Lord’s to his advantage once more.
Side with the 35-year-old to be England’s top wicket-taker in the first innings.
First Test: Betting Tips
England get their second Test series of the summer under way on Wednesday in Manchester as they take on Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.
The hosts will be without captain Ben Stokes after he tore his hamstring playing in The Hundred earlier this month and Ollie Pope will lead the side in his place.
Expect more rotation than usual as Brendon McCullum and co have been forced into a number of changes with Zak Crawley also set to miss out with a broken finger.
Sri Lanka come into this series on the back of three Test wins earlier in the year, beating Afghanistan and Bangladesh twice.
Facing England in their own backyard is a different test altogether however and they need to improve on their recent record that has seen the visitors lose seven of their last eight Test head-to-heads.
Tip 1 – Draw @ 19/5
England have famously made their preference not to draw games clear but the weather conditions in Manchester may give them little option in the first Test.
Rain is forecasted for all five days of the match and could severely affect the chances of the game finishing with a win.
Also much of England’s gung-ho style under their new leadership has been attributed to Ben Stokes and, with him on the sidelines, there is a possibility that the home side may not be quite so ultra-attacking.
Four of the last 14 Test matches between these two sides have ended as a draw and this could well be the next.
[Tip 2 – Ollie Pope top England run scorer @ 17/4]((/betting/cricket/england-vs-sri-lanka#event/1021434089)
Ollie Pope is a player who relishes pressure situations and he could thrive with the responsibility of the captain’s armband in Ben Stokes’ absence.
Pope made totals of 57, 121, 51 and 10 in the four innings he played in England’s series win over the West Indies, showing that he is in good nick of late.
England’s number three struggled to replicate that form in The Hundred but he is better over this extended format and could be the key to England’s efforts in this one.
Side with Pope to be the home team’s top run scorer.
Tip 3 – Gus Atkinson top England wicket taker @ 9/4
After the retirements of both James Anderson and Stuart Broad, there were many questions about how England’s bowling attack would shape up.
One player who has immediately cemented himself as a big part of that future lineup is Gus Atkinson.
The 26-year-old took 12 wickets on his England debut against the West Indies and followed that with 10 more in the series to take his tally to 22 from just three Tests.
While Olly Stone has been recalled, Atkinson looks set to start once more and can be England’s top wicket taker.