Sri Lanka v England, Tuesday 6 November, 4am, Sky Sports Cricket/HD (CH 514/504)

All good things must come to an end. Just ask the England cricket team. Joe Root and co are primed and ready to start their Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle, but there’s one name that definitely won’t be on the team sheet: Alastair Cook.

Having secured his status as an England great, the country’s all-time leading run scorer is now a couple of months into international retirement – which means there’s a legend-shaped hole to fill at the top of the batting order.

Whoever steps into Cook’s shoes – Surrey’s Rory Burns looks the favourite – will be under tremendous scrutiny (which English opener isn’t?). But he can derive some comfort from the fact that the current side is full of confidence after an impressive summer series win over the world’s top-ranked Test team, India.

That triumph, however, was on home soil. While England may have got the measure of Sri Lanka in their recent one-day international series, Test cricket in south Asia demands a completely different level of focus.

Plus, when it comes to the longer form of the game, the opposition are pretty handy. The Sri Lankans are just behind England in the Test rankings and have won two of their last three series, drawing the other. Their most recent victory? That would be a 2-0 conquest of the mighty South Africa.

So can England start the post-Cook era with a reassuring win, or will Sri Lanka put them in a spin from the get-go? Follow every moment of the opening Test live and exclusive on Sky Sports Cricket – and take a look below to find out when you can watch the rest of the series…