Sri Lanka hope to celebrate 30 years in Test cricket by toppling England from the No.1 ranking when the second and final Test starts in Colombo on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka, who won the first Test in Galle by 75 runs, are determined to scalp the tourists again at the P.Sara Oval and clinch their first series victory since 2009 when they beat New Zealand 2-0 at home.
Andrew Strauss’s spin-wary England will slip to No.2 behind South Africa if they lose or draw the Test on a traditionally sporting Oval wicket that offers assistance to both batsmen and bowlers.
It was at the same venue that Sri Lanka played their inaugural Test in February 1982 against an England side led by Keith Fletcher, which won by seven wickets inside four days.
Strauss will look for a similar result from the tourists, but his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahela Jayawardene wants to settle for nothing less than a win in the landmark Test.
“I’ll be very proud to be on the field on Tuesday and even prouder if we can claim a series victory,” said Jayawardene, who hit a brilliant 180 in the Galle Test to put his side on top.
It was a morale-boosting win for sixth-ranked Sri Lanka, who have struggled in recent times in Test cricket following the retirement of their world bowling record holder Muttiah Muralidaran.
The Galle victory was only their second, and the first at home, in 18 Tests since Muralitharan quit in July 2010 with a record 800 Test and 534 one-day wickets.
The other win came in December, when Tillakaratne Dilshan’s men thumped South Africa by 208 runs in Durban, but went on to lose the series 2-1.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who claimed nine wickets against South Africa, destroyed England in Galle with six wickets in each innings to earn the man of the match award.
Jayawardene was delighted with the way 34-year-old Herath has shaped up and was confident the spinner will continue to build on his 132 wickets from 36 Tests so far.
“Herath has been around a long time and is a class act,” the skipper said. “He’s the most experienced bowler I have right now and he’s taken the responsibility to shoulder the attack.”
Sri Lanka will be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who missed the first Test with a calf injury, but left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara has been ruled out with a groin strain.
England, meanwhile, were left to ponder a new bowling combination after Stuart Broad returned home for assessment on a calf injury he sustained in the first Test.
Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn are standing by to replace Broad, but both could play if England decide to drop spinner Monty Panesar and leave Samit Patel to share the spin attack with Graeme Swann.
England are desperate for a turnaround after their fourth consecutive Test defeat in Galle, following the 3-0 series hammering by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.
England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Monty Panesar, Graeme Swann.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Suranga Lakmal, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga, Tharanga Paranavitana.
