Sri Lanka elected to bat against England

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat in the first cricket Test against England at the Galle International Stadium on Monday.The tourists awarded a Test cap to all-rounder Samit Patel, who will bat in the middle-order and bowl left-arm spin, the third slow bowler in the ranks after Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.Patel was preferred over Ravi Bopara, who could have played only as a specialist batsman after a side strain ruled him out of bowling in the series.Sri Lanka left out Chamara Silva, who hit 163 against the tourists in a practice match last week, to play young batsman Dinesh Chandimal.England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Graeme Swann. 12th man: Ravi Bopara.Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene, Suranga Lakmal, Chanaka Welegedara, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath. 12th man: Tharanga Paranavitana.