England captain Alastair Cook confirmed on Wednesday that his side would be unchanged for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka starting at Lord's on Thursday. The host will go in with the same XI that enjoyed a nine-wicket win in the second Test at the Riverside in Durham to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
England again resisted the temptation to give a debut to Nottinghamshire paceman Jake Ball, with the under-performing Steven Finn retained to play on his Middlesex home ground. "It will be the same team as at Durham," Cook told reporters at Lord's on Wednesday.
"We won the game, had some good performances and consistency in selection is a big part of our thinking. It gives people chances to show what they can do in England shirts and you want people to feel as comfortable as they can - it's never going to be perfectly comfortable when you are on the periphery of trying to cement your place but that's international cricket.
"But you don't want people always to be looking over their shoulder - when they get a chance they get a good run."
England team for third Test against Sri Lanka: Alastair Cook (capt), Alex Hales, Nick Compton, Joe Root, James Vince, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson
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