England vs Sri Lanka second Test prediction and cricket betting tips

Where to watch England vs Sri Lanka second Test

Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 11am Thursday

Best bet

Jamie Smith top England first-innings runscorer
1pt 5-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Gus Atkinson top England first-innings wicket-taker
1pt 7-2 Betfair, Paddy Power

England vs Sri Lanka second Test prediction

Bazball had to take a back seat as England edged a nervy first Test with Sri Lanka by five wickets last week and Brendon McCullum will be hoping for a more commanding performance from the hosts in the second Test at Lord's.

England were set a second-innings target of 205 at Old Trafford in the first Test of their three-match series with the Lankans but they made hard work of it, slipping to 70-3 in the 16th over following the dismissals of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence.

That called for more composed approach at the crease from England, who were revived by Joe Root with a knock of 62 not out from the former captain.

England got over the line in the end and, while Root rightfully snatched the headlines, he was ably assisted by number-seven batsman Jamie Smith.

Having struck 111 in his first innings, Smith scored 39 in his second innings to put England on the brink of victory before he was bowled by Asitha Fernando.

Smith is still in the early stages of his England Test career but he has already made an impact and has averaged 59.50 from his four matches in the format.

Only last month Smith scored an impressive 70 against the West Indies at Lord's and he is worth watching on his return to the Home of Cricket.

The performances of Duckett and Lawrence in particular left plenty to be desired last time out, so the England top first-innings runscorer market looks interesting and Smith stands out at 5-1.

Captain Ben Stokes remains out for England and is joined in the infirmary by Mark Wood, so Gus Atkinson might be needed to step up to the plate with the ball.

That is exactly what the Surrey paceman did in his last Test appearance at Lord's in July, having finished with 12 wickets in total and first-innings figures of 7-45 in James Anderson's final Test match for his country.

Atkinson finished with overall figures of 4-137 in the first Test in Manchester but looks a value pick to be his team's top wicket-taker in the first innings at Lord's once again.

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