“We are being deprived of Test cricket,” says Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. “The young guys in our side are desperate to perform at the highest level, and that means Test cricket.”

You can see his point. The series with India now over, a well-beaten Sri Lanka’s next Test will be against West Indies in November 2010. That three-match series will be the only Tests Sri Lanka play in the next 17 months.

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News that Jimmy Anderson is still struggling with his knee-injury leaves England with only four fit quicks a week before the first Test, and an interesting quirk.

Of those four, three are from Durham – Graham Onions, Liam Plunkett and the uncapped Mark Davies (called up to the squad after impressing for the Performance Squad).

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