England captain Joe Root has tipped Dom Bess to harness spinning conditions in Galle and prove he can be a leading man in Test cricket as well as a support act.

Thursday’s series-opener against Sri Lanka will be Bess’ 11th Test appearance but his first on the sub-continent, where conditions typically allow for slow bowlers to take centre stage.

Bess has had to settle for a more low-key role for the majority of his international cricket thus far, failing to bowl an over in four of his 15 innings in the field and often being used to hold down an end for the seamers rather than attack in his own right.

“We’ll do as best we can to make sure we adhere to that.”

England will make a final call on their side once their final training session is complete, assessing any potential impact of heavy overnight rain. Unless things appear markedly different to expectations they seem likely to go in with Bess and slow left-armer Jack Leach, all-rounder Sam Curran and two seamers from James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood and Olly Stone.

With Wood and Stone offering the prospect of express pace, Root appears ready once again to temporarily break up the old firm of Anderson and Broad – who could play one match each.

The skipper explained: “With back-to-back games in these conditions, it’s going to be really important we look after our seamers. Those two are really important assets to English cricket, such brilliant performers, we need to make sure they are looked after well.

“There might be times where they don’t feature as regularly as they have done previously, but that is not down to their ability or being able to perform in this part of the world. We’ll make sure we have the best tools for these conditions and the surface we have in front of us.”