England set to play Tests in Sri Lanka after six years
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have today confirmed a visit by England this October, with the tour comprising 5 ODIs, a T20 and 3 Tests. The tour will start with the ODI series first – the first one will be played on October 10 at Dambulla – and then move on to the solitary T20 before the Test series begins on Novermber 6 at Galle.
No warm-up match for any of the formats has been scheduled as yet, though there is a gap of nine days between the T20 at Colombo (RPS) and the first Test. The first two ODIs will be played at Dambulla, the following two at Pallekele and the final one at Colombo (RPS). Following the T20 also to be held there, the teams move on to Galle, Pallekele and Colombo (SSC) for the final leg of the series.
This will be England's first tour to Sri Lanka since March 2012 which will be featuring Test matches. Six years back, they had played only two Tests, with the series ending at 1-1. Since then, Sri Lanka reciprocated with a visit to England for a full tour in 2014, while England did come for a seven-match ODI series in late 2014 before Sri Lanka again had a lengthy England tour in 2016.
England's tour begins just under a month after they finish hosting India for a gruelling series of 3 T20s, 3 ODIs and 5 Tests, with the final Test finishing on September 11.
England's tour of Sri Lanka, 2018
October 10: First ODI, Dambulla
October 13: Second ODI, Dambulla
October 17: Third ODI, Pallekele
October 20: Fourth ODI, Pallekele
October 23: Fifth ODI, Colombo (RPS)
October 27: Only T20, Colombo (RPS)
November 6-10: First Test, Galle
November 14-18: Second Test, Pallekele
November 23-27: Third Test, Colombo (SSC)