England bowl first in 17-overs match after rain delay

Harry Brook won the toss for England and chose to bowl first in the opening T20I against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, with the match set to be a 17-overs-a-side affair after an hour-and-a-half's rain delay.

It means that Jofra Archer will get an early chance to prove his fitness ahead of next month's T20 World Cup, after his surprise return to the touring squad having missed the final two Ashes Tests due to a side strain.

England named their team a day out from the game, with Tom Banton the other notable inclusion at No.4, after Ben Duckett damaged a finger in the field during last week's third ODI in Colombo.

Jamie Overton is preferred to Luke Wood and Brydon Carse as Archer's pace-bowling spearhead, while Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson will lead the spin attack alongside the allrounder Will Jacks.

"It looks like a good wicket so hopefully we can bowl well, get a few early wickets and put them under pressure and chase a score down," Brook said. "Everyone is really looking forward to it, Sri Lanka are a good side in their own conditions, but the bigger picture is looking at the World Cup."

Sri Lanka's team is the same as played in their previous T20I against Pakistan, last month in Dambulla, with Dushmantha Chameera, their fast bowler, rested ahead of the World Cup.

Dasun Shanaka, returning as captain after missing the ODIs, said he was "very happy" with the challenge of batting first. "We've been playing some decent cricket so looking forward to the series," he said.

Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kamil Mishara, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dhananjaya de Silva, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka 7 Janith Liyanage, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Eshan Malinga

England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid.