Sri Lanka on Tuesday appointed Ian Bell as their batting coach ahead of their tour of England comprising three Tests. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on its website that Bell, who scored 7727 runs in 118 Tests, will start working with the national side later this week. “He will start working with the team from August 16 and remain until the conclusion of the three-Test match series,” SLC said. SLC CEO Ashley de Silva expressed: “We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there.” “Ian has a lot of experience playing in England, and we believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour.

Sri Lanka’s tour of England begins with the first Test at Manchester from August 21-25. The second Test will be played at Lord’s from August 29-September 2 while The Oval will host the third and final Test from September 6-10.

Meanwhile, England could be in a race against time with skipper Ben Stokes suffering a hamstring injury last Sunday while playing in The Hundred.

Stokes sustained the injury while batting and was eventually helped off the field.

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