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England ask Sri Lanka to bat

Leeds - England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to field against Sri Lanka in the second and final Test at Headingley on Friday.

Traditionally, overcast skies above the Leeds venue assist swing movement and with grey clouds enveloping the ground, Cook's decision was understandable.

England were unchanged from the side denied victory at Lord's on Monday after Sri Lanka last man Nuwan Pradeep saw out the last five balls of the match from Stuart Broad.

That meant Warwickshire batsman Ian Bell became the 12th England cricketer to appear in 100 Tests.

Sri Lanka made two changes.

Dinesh Chandimal replaced Prasanna Jayawardene after the wicketkeeper broke a finger at Lord's.

Meanwhile Nuwan Kulasekara was dropped in favour of Dhammika Prasad, an appreciably quicker seamer who impressed in the tour match against Northamptonshire, for what was Sri Lanka's first Test at Headingley.

Only one of the last 14 Tests at Yorkshire's headquarters has ended in a draw.

England: Alastair Cook (capt), Sam Robson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Matt Prior (wkt), Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, Liam Plunkett, James Anderson

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal (wkt), Dhammika Prasad, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Pradeep

Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS) and Billy Bowden (NZL)

TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)

Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)

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