Law: Sri Lanka can surprise England

INTERIM Sri Lanka coach Stuart Law believes his side can beat England on their home soil and has described their opponents as ‘the best side in Test Cricket at the moment’.

After a six-wicket victory over Middlesex in their first warm up game, Sri Lanka will go into their next practise match against England Lions with a much stronger line-up as Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Suraj Randiv and Thisara Perera return to the international circuit from the Indian Premier League.

And Law, who is head coach role on a temporary basis for the England tour after Trevor Bayliss stepped down after the World Cup, says Sri Lanka on their day can outdo a very good England side who are aiming to be the Number 1 Test side in the world later this summer.

“It’s no easy task going up against the best Test team in the world at the moment, they’ve had a fantastic 18 months,” Law said.

“We know we are up against it here but we aren’t here to lose. We can match them if we apply ourselves and keep things simple. We can be a devastating team and that’s what we are planning on doing. We are here to play cricket the way Sri Lanka play cricket and if we do we’ll be successful.”