The England cricket team have made their first visit to Sri Lanka in six years and the tour has - so far at least - proven to be a success. The one-day series between the sides was effected by rain, but England found a way to register a 3-1 triumph over the five matches after the opener had been washed out after just 15 overs. However, England were served a timely reminder of what can happen on the subcontinent if their attitude is not what it should be as Sri Lanka stormed to a 219-run victory in the concluding game, and it represents England's heaviest-ever defeat in one-day internationals. There will be personnel changes for the Test matches, but do not expect England to have it all their own way as they look to register a Test series win in Sri Lanka for the first time since 2001.
The cricket betting odds for the opening encounter in Galle show England to be the marginal favourites to establish the early advantage in the best-of-three series, but it is a venue where they have struggled on recent visits. In their last four innings at the Galle International Stadium, the highest score that they have recorded is 264 and such totals are unlikely to earn a positive result early next month. Sri Lanka are not necessarily as strong as in recent years, but they are a team which possesses the ability to beat anyone on their home pitches and they are playing England at the right time after the retirement of Alastair Cook.
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Rory Burns is the man likely to replace the long-standing opener and the 28-year-old has been tipped to make the transition into the five-day format of the game. The Surrey man recorded four half-centuries and one ton during his final 10 County Championship innings of the season, but there is pressure which comes with making your England debut in such testing conditions and expectations should be lowered until Burns gets settled in the Test area. There is no guarantee that he will get the nod at the top of the innings with Joe Denly another possibility due to the extra spin option that he can provide, but the England selectors know that they must pull the trigger with regards to giving Burns experience before next summer's Ashes and it is likely to come at some stage in Sri Lanka.
The injury doubts over Jonny Bairstow - who sustained ankle ligament damage during the warm-up in a previous game - could play into Denly's favour and the Kent player is capable of playing in a number of roles in the top and middle order. Joe Root will not want to make too many alterations to a lineup which has just got the better of India, but Denly could have a crucial role to play at some stage in this series.
Rangana Herath will be taking centre stage in the first Test as far as Sri Lanka are concerned. The 40-year-old former skipper has announced that he will retire after the clash in Galle and the veteran deserves all the adulation that he will receive having taken 430 wickets from his 92 Test appearances. Five dismissals in his final outing could see him move as high as sixth in the all-time standings for wickets taken in Test matches and further cement himself as the nation's best bowler aside from the great Muttiah Muralitharan. Herath will be hoping for a similar performance to the last time that he faced England in Galle, with two six-wicket hauls giving him match figures of 12-171. This is a different England team with Stuart Broad and James Anderson the only survivors from the last Test series in Sri Lanka, but England will have to bat well to prevent Herath from bowing out on a high.
