Murali's absence will hurt SL

Sri Lanka have never won a Test series in England which has involved more than a single Test and will surely find it impossible to rectify that record without their bowling colossus Muttiah Muralitharan writes Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph. The control he was able to exert on the opposition will be difficult for Sri Lanka to reprise.

Despite that gaping hole in Sri Lanka’s resources England’s batsmen cannot be entirely complacent, even if Murali and Lasith Malinga, another who recently called time on his Test career, won’t be around to torment them.

Sri Lanka will not be cowed easily. Dilshan, defiantly not a product of one of the elite Colombo schools, is a tough competitor who is prepared to mix it with his opponents a bit like Javed Miandad used to do for Pakistan. The combination of Dilshan and Stuart Law, the team’s Australian coach, means they will not lack the direct approach.