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There are two pieces of team news ahead of the Third Test and together, they're the last thing a struggling Sri Lanka team wanted to hear. Not only is their captain Tillekaratne Dilshan out with an injury but England will also welcome back James Anderson to the fore.

In honesty, it's not so much Dilshan's role as captain that's the problem. It's his batting they will miss. Kumar Sangakkara will take over, just a couple of months after resigning from the position, so none of this is new territory for him. But whilst senior batsmen Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have struggled to make a real impact so far with the bat, Dilshan has been the outstanding performer scoring 50, 10 and of course that magnificent 193 which, in retrospect, was the innings that allowed the tourists to salvage a draw in the Second Test. The thing about a player like Dilshan is that he's always positive and when bowlers start to see the ball dispatched to all corners of the ground, they start to doubt themselves and their line and length suffers. And that's as beneficial to Dilshan's batting partners as it is to himself.

Anderson's swing bowling was badly missed at Lord's because the pace attack lacked a bit of variety so it's no surprise the Lancashire man will walk back into the team, with Steve Finn expected to make way. Stuart Broad was touted by some as being the man to miss out but, in fairness to him, he hasn't actually bowled badly; he just hasn't taken too many wickets. Sometimes that just happens in cricket.

The Rose Bowl should be a good batting wicket. We know that firstly because matches involving Hampshire have produced plenty of runs this season and secondly because the county will want to host a Test (for the first time ever) that goes deep into day five rather than one that ends on days three or four. We mustn't forget that cricket is a business like any other and tickets sold, corporate hospitality boxes filled and refreshments purchased are essential to keep the accounting men happy.

The forecast suggests we'll probably lose a session or two to rain at the very least but don't let that alone put you off laying the draw at the off. With Anderson back in the attack and Graeme Swann likely to have some rough patches to bowl at on days four and five I can envisage Sri Lanka once again being on the back foot towards the back end of the Test and desperately trying to save it again. The caveat is that England are 1-0 up in the series and might not necessarily go for broke so the best way to approach this is to lay the draw now at 1.83 and re-back it at around 2.5 when England are on top. Keep all your green on England and no loss on the draw.

Recommended Bet:
Lay the draw at 1.83 and re-back it at 2.5

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