[Watch] England legend James Anderson rings the bell in Manchester to mark the start of the ENG vs SL 1st Test
Former England bowler James Anderson rang the traditional bell at Emirates Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester on Wednesday, August 21, to signal the start of the opening Test in the three-match series between England and Sri Lanka.
Anderson, who retired from international cricket after the first Test against the West Indies last month, has since been working with the English bowlers in a coaching role. Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and chose to bat first. To begin the proceedings, Anderson performed the honor of ringing the bell.
Here’s a video of the moment:
The 42-year-old bid farewell to the game after playing for the England team for 21 years. He retired as the third-highest wicket-taker in Test history, trailing only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
Anderson represented England in 188 Tests, taking 704 wickets, including 32 five-wicket hauls. In addition, the Lancashire player featured in 194 ODIs and 19 T20Is.
Sri Lanka in early trouble after opting to bat first
The visitors won the toss and chose to bat first but didn’t get off to an ideal start, losing opener Dimuth Karunaratne for just two runs off 18 balls. The left-handed batter was dismissed by Gus Atkinson in the sixth over.
Chris Woakes then struck twice in the following over, putting the visitors in a difficult position. Woakes first removed Nishan Madushka for four runs and then dismissed senior batter Angelo Mathews for a duck off five balls.
At the time of writing, Sri Lanka were 37-3 after 12 overs, with Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis at the crease for the visitors.
Playing XI of both teams:
England: Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, and Shoaib Bashir.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, and Milan Priyanath Rathnayake.