Oooh! Hands on heads as Chris Woakes draws the outside edge but it drops short of Jamie Smith behind the stumps.

That brings the Barmy Army to life, as the first song of the day booms around the ground. The sounds of the summer!

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England were, as the 3-0 scoreline suggests, pretty dominant in their series win over West Indies and Sri Lanka arrive in the UK also relatively undercooked and unfamiliar in these conditions.

They lost to an inexperienced England Lions side by seven wickets in their one warm-up, but did improve as the game went on after adjusting to tricky conditions. They also haven't played a Test match since April.

But they have recently beaten India 2-0 in an ODI series and boast an exciting seam attack, with 28-year-old Milan Rathnayake making his Test debut.

Dhananjaya de Silva leads the squad, but only four of his playing XI have played in England before, which could have a big impact.

Jonathan Agnew
BBC cricket correspondent

Karunaratne is a patient player, he hangs on in there as an opener. He has composure and technique. This is his 92nd Test.

First shot of positivity from Sri Lanka, as Karunaratne drives authoritatively through the covers for two.

It's not been very 'Bazball' so far, but they're negotiating the new ball pretty well.

A run! At last.

Nishan Madushka dabs one into the covers and scampers a single. Another tidy over from Woakes as both teams just settle in and get accustomed to the conditions.

Another maiden, with Karunaratne swinging wildly at a wide one from Atkinson's last ball before having a strict word with himself.

Madushka safely negotiates a maiden from Woakes, but there's plenty of encouragement for the bowlers with a hint of swing and good carry.

Already looking forward to Mark Wood charging in later - but for now, it's Gus Atkinson, with his interesting bleached blonde look.

Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds

The pitch here has a bit of pace and bounce in it. It will be a fascinating contest this morning. Sri Lanka didn't do too well in their most recent warm-up game.

And we're away.

Solidly defended by Nishan Madushka. It is cloudy, so England will be hoping for early movement despite losing the toss.

There he is!

Never too far from Old Trafford, James Anderson rings the bell as the teams make their way on to the field. Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka are opening for Sri Lanka, while Chris Woakes takes the new ball.

England captain Ben Stokes, speaking to Sky Sports: "I think the hardest thing for me is to fill my time and not get too involved. I think Marcus Trescothick is going to have a long week. But it's good to be involved, do some work and hopefully get this hammy ready for Pakistan.

"I'm really excited for Ollie. It's given people opportunities to go out in a different role. Dan Lawrence finds himself at the top of the order, something he's not obviously used to. I found Popey had a great sense of the game, he was an obvious choice as vice-captain, it's taken him to another level as a player and a leader. I've got all the trust in Popey that he'll lead the team in the same ethos, but with his own message.

"We set next to each other in the dressing room, we'll be around each other. I won't step on his feet, it's about letting him go out there with no pressure and letting him make his own decisions."

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England's clean sweep over West Indies earlier in the summer saw us bid farewell to the great James Anderson (still not over it), and now also without Stokes, there are quite a few changes.

Zak Crawley broke his finger during that series so Dan Lawrence comes in to open. Lawrence has been a regular in England squads under Stokes and Brendon McCullum but has not actually played since they took charge, the most recent of his 11 Tests coming on the 2022 tour of the West Indies.

The 27-year-old averages 27 with the bat and has not previously opened in Test cricket.

Durham's Matthew Potts also makes his return, having made an impressive start to his Test career with 23 wickets in six Tests, but he won the last of those caps against Ireland at Lord's more than a year ago.

Potts' inclusion sees Jamie Smith move up to six, Chris Woakes at seven, then Gus Atkinson, Potts, Mark Wood and spinner Shoaib Bashir.

The players are wearing black armbands today in memory of former England batter Graham Thorpe, who died earlier this month.

An emotional round of applause echoes around Old Trafford as cricket remembers a legend of the game.

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Because it's the UK, the question of whether it's going to rain constantly lingers, even in the middle of August.

Today looks pretty clear up in Manchester thankfully, with some showers expected this evening. Tomorrow tells a different story but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

As usual you can listen to commentary of every ball of the Test via BBC Test Match Special on 5 Sports Extra, on BBC Sounds or at the top of this page.

The team for the first Test will be Jonathan Agnew, Simon Mann and Daniel Norcross, and the expert summarisers will be Michael Vaughan, Phil Tufnell, Vic Marks, Alex Hartley and former Sri Lanka player Russel Arnold. Andy Zaltzman will be the scorer.

If you are overseas and wanting to tune in, click here., external

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It is, of course, Ollie Pope's turn to lead England for the series after Ben Stokes injured his hamstring while playing in The Hundred.

Pope has been Stokes' deputy for almost two years now and is considered the natural successor to the role but he insists it is "still Stokes' team".

All-rounder Stokes is staying with the team throughout the series.

“None of the messages are going to be different, we’re not going to play any differently," said Pope.

"I’ll just be getting similar messages across, in my own way.”

Read more from Pope here.

England: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (capt), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.

England stand-in captain Ollie Pope: "It's a big honour. It's a shame for Stokesy, but something I'm really proud of.

"I think we were probably going to have a bowl first, but it looks like it's going to be pretty good pitch, at least for the first half of the game. It looks rock hard, so hopefully it has some pace early on.

"Potts has bowled his heart out whenever he's had his chance, so he deserves this opportunity. Jamie Smith came in last series and did what he can do with his bat, but we've still got guys lower down who can score runs.

"It's still his team [Stokes], it'll be the same messages but just from a different voice."

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva: "The pitch looks quite dry but the conditions are better than what we've had over the past few days.

"We know the conditions now, we are ready for this.

"Milan Rathnayake makes his Test debut for us."