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Friday 3 June 2011

Fernando, Welegedara play as Sri Lanka bowl

Sri Lanka have strengthened their pace attack and decided to bowl at Lord's as they aim to bounce back from their humiliation at Cardiff when they were skittled for 82. Dilhara Fernando and Chanaka Welegedara come into the tourists' line-up while, as expected, Steven Finn replaced the injured James Anderson for England.

When Tillakaratne Dilshan called correctly and stuck England in it felt like an immediate reaction to what happened earlier in the week. Andrew Strauss said he, too, would have probably bowled first although it will have come with a very different mindset after seeing what his bowlers did to Sri Lanka on Monday.

However, there was a hint of green on the pitch which will give Sri Lanka's seamers some hope of making early inroads albeit under cloudless skies on a warm morning. Fernando and Welegedara have replaced Thisara Perera and Ajantha Mendis which means Sri Lanka have one frontline spinner and that is Rangana Herath who will have Kevin Pietersen in his sights.

Pietersen is the one England batsman who really needs runs after falling for 3 in Cardiff. Regardless of conditions it would be a major surprise if Herath isn't into the attack as soon as Pietersen walks to the middle. Sri Lanka, though, need to do more than dismiss him cheaply to have a chance of levelling the series.

England 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Chris Tremlett, 11 Steven Finn

Sri Lanka 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara , 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Chanaka Welegedara, 11 Suranga Lakmal

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