Chris Woakes available for selection as Chris Silverwood hints at seamer rotation

After toiling in hot, humid conditions in Galle, changes to the seam attack are likely. Stuart Broad, Mark Wood and Sam Curran all played important roles, bowling 68 overs between them

England will have Chris Woakes available for selection as Chris Silverwood’s side look to secure a series victory in Sri Lanka.

The second Test of the two-match series begins on Friday, with England a game up after sealing a seven-wicket victory on Monday thanks, in no small part, to a fine double hundred from captain Joe Root.

After toiling in hot, humid conditions in Galle, however, changes to the seam attack are likely. Stuart Broad, Mark Wood and Sam Curran all played important roles, bowling 68 overs between them.

“Looking at what we’ve got in front of us with a lot of Tests in India as well, it’s highly likely that there will be rotation and rest within the seamers’ line-up,” Silverwood said on Tuesday.

“There’s plenty of things on the table at the moment, so we have to do what’s best for the player and equally, making sure that we’ve got the strongest balanced attack out there to make sure we win the Test match as well.”

^{Olly Stone made his Test debut against Ireland in 2019}

If alterations are made, James Anderson will be an obvious candidate to replace Broad. But Woakes will also be in contention, having completed his isolation period and got up to speed with his teammates.

The Warwickshire allrounder was confined to his hotel room after being deemed a close contact of Moeen Ali, after the off-spinner tested positive for Covid-19 on his arrival in Sri Lanka.

Although Moeen is now unlikely to be available due to the protocols in place, Woakes never tested positive.

Another option at England’s disposal is Olly Stone, a county teammate of Woakes, whose international career has stagnated due to injury since making his Test debut against Ireland in 2019.

However, in the absence of Jofra Archer – rested for this tour, Stone could benefit should England opt to rest Wood, who bowled the most overs of any seamer in the match.

“I am excited about him,” Silverwood said of Stone. “If you look, we’ve got Wood, Stone and Archer who can all hit 90mph, and I think it’s great to have that in your armoury.

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“What we’ve seen from Olly is that he hits the deck hard, he bowls at pace and he’s getting better and better with the areas he’s bowling and the understanding of what he’s trying to do and the plans he’s putting in place.

“He’s got some great people around him to help do that as well; I mean, Jimmy and Broady are very good at imparting their knowledge onto these people and it’s great for them to learn from. I am very excited that we’ve got people like Olly in the attack.

“We talk about having a varied attack and having everybody fit and ready to go. At some point, we probably do need to get him into the attack if we can.

“But again, he’s got to earn his way there, which he’s doing – he’s working hard and doing everything we ask of him from a training perspective. So it would be great to get some Test experience into him at some point.”