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England call up uncapped Rory Burns for Sri Lanka Test series

Stellar year: Burns is one of three uncapped players in the squad: David Rogers/Getty Images
Stellar year: Burns is one of three uncapped players in the squad: David Rogers/Getty Images

The Surrey captain, Rory Burns, has received his first Test call-up on the back of a sensational year of county form that has seen him lead the Championship run charts and lead Surrey to their first title in 16 years.

Burns is one of three uncapped players in the squad, alongside the Kent batsman Joe Denly, who is called up more than eight years after the last of his 14 white-ball internationals, and Olly Stone, the Warwickshire fast bowler who is in the ODI party, too.

Burns is also one of three Surrey players selected in the 16-man party, alongside 20-year-olds Ollie Pope and Sam Curran.

After some speculation that he would be rested, Stuart Broad makes the squad, and is one of just two survivors (alongside James Anderson) from the 16-man party that drew 1-1 in Sri Lanka in early 2012, the last time England were there (they drew 1-1). Broad is joined by Anderson, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes, Stone and Curran in the seam bowling department, meaning there is no place for Jamie Porter, the Essex seamer. Stone pips him in part because England believe extra pace will be key to winning on slow pitches in the subcontinent.

England squad (Sri Lanka 2018)

Joe Root ©

Moeen Ali

James Anderson

Jonny Bairstow (wk)

Stuart Broad

Rory Burns

Jos Buttler

Sam Curran

Joe Denly

Keaton Jennings

Jack Leach

Ollie Pope

Adil Rashid

Ben Stokes

Olly Stone

Chris Woakes

Meanwhile, there are three frontline spin-bowling options: Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali (who is expected to bat No3), and Jack Leach. Denly is selected in part due to his serviceable part-time leg-spin, which has taken 20 wickets this season. In Kent’s promotion season, he has 798 runs at 36.27 and is seen as a fine player of seam and spin who knows his game well. He beats James Vince to a spot on the tour.

That Burns deserves the call is beyond question. England are searching for a new top three in the wake of Alastair Cook’s retirement and the failure of others to nail down spots as opener and No3. Moeen Ali is expected to bat first drop in Sri Lanka, while Burns, Keaton Jennings and Denly will compete to open the batting.

This is the fifth straight year that Burns has scored 1,000 runs, but the first he has really pulled away and gone massive. He has 1,319 runs, with only Ian Bell (1,011 in Division Two) past the 1,000-run milestone this season. Jennings, meanwhile, survives despite scoring just 163 runs (at an average of 18.11) in the five Tests against India, and falling in soft fashion to both seam and spin.