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England aims for a summer clean sweep, while Sri Lanka hopes to repeat their Oval success
England aims for a summer clean sweep, while Sri Lanka hopes to repeat their Oval success
Sri Lanka are back playing a Test at The Oval for the first time since 1998.
The Oval is the usual place for the last Test of the English summer. However, it won't be England's final international match. They will play eight white-ball games against Australia right after hosting Sri Lanka (the first T20I is just 24 hours after the fifth day of the Test match).
The main focus is on test cricket for now- and there are chances that Brendon McCullum will take charge of England’s white-ball fortunes soon and will aim to finish a first summer sweep from 2004. Twenty years ago, Michael Vaughan's team won all the matches against New Zealand and West Indies, which gave them a lot of energy for the next year's Ashes matches. McCullum and Ben Stokes are injured but they hope for a similar momentum before the important series against India and Australia in 2025.
England's resurgence, despite the easy competition from West Indies and Sri Lanka, has been going well since their 4-1 loss in India earlier this year. Gus Atkinson has been performing exceptionally well with 33 wickets and a century at Lord's, while Jamie Smith has solidified his position as wicketkeeper. With the series against Sri Lanka locked in, McCullum has decided to give a chance to another newcomer, 6ft 7in Leicestershire left-armer Josh Hull, for an unexpected debut.
England is preparing for the 2025-26 Ashes and has high hopes for Hull, who has already performed well against Sri Lanka. Ollie Pope has one last chance to improve his record as Test captain before Stokes returns. Pope has struggled with his batting, scoring only 30 runs in four innings.
Sri Lanka’s tour of England hasn’t met expectations, with poor weather and two first-innings collapse. However, some players have shown promise. They hope to avoid a whitewash and find motivation from their past success at The Oval in 1998.
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