By the end of the current summer, England could hold every available Test trophy – and Nottinghamshire players look set to play a significant part.

The first assignment for Alastair Cook’s side is Sri Lanka at Headingley, getting underway at 11am tomorrow.

The captain, together with coach Trevor Bayliss, have three Outlaws to choose from – Stuart Broad, Alex Hales and Jake Ball.

Broad and Hales are near certain starters, while Alastair Cook has today confirmed that Ball will only feature should there be an injury to the established fast bowling trio of Broad, James Anderson and Steven Finn.

“Steven Finn is going to (play). He has been outstanding when he’s been fit for us,” confirmed the England captain.

“It’s great to have Jake along, and he’s made a big impact this year in county cricket. It’s great for the guys who haven’t seen too much of him to get to know the guy."

Broad is the number one Test bowler in the world following recent heroics against Australia and South Africa. Miles are in the 29-year-old’s legs following three early season matches for his county.

Hales played all four Tests during his debut series in South Africa before furthering his case for continued selection with a succession of disciplined performances in the one-day series that followed, during which he passed 50 on five occasions including one century.

The 27-year-old opted to take a break at the conclusion of the ICC World T20, returning to county cricket for two rather than four matches, against Yorkshire and Middlesex. He has since played judiciously for scores of 36, 34 and 73.

The most remarkable story of the three remains Ball, who was far from a first team regular at Trent Bridge prior to the breakthrough campaign last year that earned him an England Lions call.

With 23 first class wickets at an average of 19 so far this term, the selectors deemed his case for squad selection irresistible.

“Jake is a relatively similar bowler to myself in height and what he looks to do with the ball,” said Broad on his Nottinghamshire & England teammate.

“We’re good friends and I’ll be able to talk it through with him. But, to be honest, the way he’s bowling at the minute, he’s the sort of guy you just let go.

“Whatever he's been doing in the last 18 months, but particularly the last six, seven weeks, is exactly what’s got him into the Test-match squad so that’s what he should do if he gets a chance to play. 

“I've seen a lot of him over the last three or four years and he’s developed so quickly over the last 18 months.

“He’s tall, he’s got good pace and he can move the ball both away and into the right-hander and he comes round the wicket to the left-handers as well.

“He takes big wickets. He gets top order batsmen out. I know he’s delighted with the call-up and it’s great reward for early county season form.”

Sri Lanka’s last Test series in England was just two years ago – and they won 1-0.

The bowling attack that did the damage remains in tact – in fact it’s arguably been strengthened by the emergence of Dusmantha Chameera, who contributes raw pace and can trouble batsmen with the short delivery.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is evergreen and has 389 international wickets to his name – and Angelo Matthews averages 61.76 with the bat as captain of his country.

It’s in the upper echelons of the order that Sri Lanka are most unproven, particularly in English conditions, with both Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara having retired since the 2014 series.

The Lions have benefited from star turns with the blade since their arrival in to Test cricket. Jayawardena and Sangakkara were preceded by the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Which of the new guard – Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne among them – emerge as the next Sri Lankan stars of the big stage remains to be seen, but it’s near-on inevitable that one or more will.

 

England are returning to the scene of their Ashes triumph in 2016 for Royal London One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Don't miss the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world go toe-to-toe in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge and secure your seats now.