Perera returns for Sri Lanka, England win toss
LONDON (Reuters) - Kusal Perera returned to the Sri Lanka team for the third test against England at Lord's on Thursday after six months out fighting doping allegations.
The 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, recently cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after it was announced in December he failed a drugs test last July, was the only change for the visitors.
England won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny morning as they look to wrap up a 3-0 series win, having dominated the first two matches.
The hosts are unchanged from the second test at Durham which they won by nine wickets.
Perera replaces the injured Milinda Siriwardana.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said he hoped his side could offer more resistance this time.
"Unfortunately I haven't had the luck with the tosses. We had a refreshing break after Durham but then we've worked extremely hard in the nets," he said.
England captain Alastair Cook, who reached 10,000 test runs in Durham, was looking forward to a good batting track with sunshine forecast for most of the day.
"The pitch looks a good -- there's not much grass on it. As always it is the first session that is crucial. We need to work hard for a good score," he said.
Teams:
England: England: Alastair Cook (capt), Alex Hales, Nick Compton, Joe Root, James Vince, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Pradeep.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)