England v Sri Lanka: Chance hits Sussex star George Garton to prove his international worth Yorkshire News

With Chris Silverwood taking a break, Thorpe has overseen a pair of resounding victories to seal the Royal London Series with a game to spare and has a chance to mix things up in what is effectively dead rubber.

Liam Livingstone is hoping for another chance to impress after losing his place to fit Jason Roy and spinner Liam Dawson will be looking for a first appearance since 2018, but England are also eager to catch a glimpse of Garton, a left arm. Fast and handy low-order hitter.

Garton is the latest product on Sussex’s sewing bowling production line, following in the footsteps of Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills and Ollie Robinson to get the attention of England, and Thorpe is eager to put it to the test.

“We can look to make changes. There will be interesting discussions about whether we can put George on the underdog in Bristol, “he said. “We have seen him play in some of the T20 games recently. We know he’s got a bit of a groove, but he also has some good tricks up his sleeve.

“Like many of today’s players, he has several slower balls and a decent goalkeeper. It’s also about the ability to deliver the precision of those variations, which is very important. I think that’s the exciting part of giving a younger player a chance. It is one thing to see it at the county level, but it is another thing to intensify it and do it in international matches as well. “

Garton has been on the radar since he was a teenager, quickly entering the Lions setup and then being called up as a cover for the 2017/18 Ashes. But he’s kicked like a white-ball cricketer the past two seasons and boasts a measly 6.62 economy rate in this year’s Vitality Blast, as well as taking eight wickets at 13.25.

At first glance, Sri Lanka would appear to be an ideal opponent for any newcomer. They were beaten at Durham and The Oval, remain weak after sending three older players home for breaking team rules and are limping towards the prospect of a 6-0 shutout in both cue ball formats.

Tougher tests await when England host Pakistan next week and Thorpe accepted that those games are likely to be a better indicator of the current state of the world champions.

“Potentially, the Pakistan series could push us further,” he admitted.

“They will be a team that goes ahead in terms of experience and how I think they can challenge as well. It will probably be a more difficult contest

“We have been satisfied with our own performances so far. We didn’t want any complacency to creep in and because of the competition we have, the players want to put in good performances.

“Having good healthy competition keeps the players on the edge. All the players are aware that every time they put on a shirt in the white ball format and in our red ball team, it is an opportunity for them to establish themselves ”.