Add to that a record that has seen Sri Lanka lose seven of their last eight Tests against England, with more than ten years elapsing since their last win – albeit a famous performance  in which three members of the current squad participated – and you might be left fearing the worst.

Key to their chances of competing, most likely, will be the ability of the batters to put runs on the board. Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s interim head coach and a Bazballer before the term was invented, enjoyed plenty of success in England and can call on the expertise of Ian Bell, the former England batter brought in as batting coach for this tour. Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Matthew and Dinesh Chandimal will bring the experience of tours in 2014 and 2016, while Dhanajaya de Silva has a solid Test pedigree that has only been enhanced since taking on the captaincy earlier this year ( average 56.20).

The squad is well stocked with seam options, with Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando both possessing county experience, while only two spinners – Nathan Lyon and R Ashwin – have taken more wickets than slow left-armer Prabath Jayasuriya since his debut in 2022. The fact that Jayasuriya has taken 63 at 24.28 at home, compared to eight at 57.25 away, gives a sense of the challenge to adapt that the tourists will nevertheless face.

In their favour is the fact that, all of a sudden, they are set to face an England team that looks strikingly different. The loss of Zak Crawley to a fractured finger suffered during the third West Indies Test three weeks ago was then compounded by Stokes’ torn hamstring, meaning that England’s XI at Old Trafford will feature both a first-time Test opener, in Dan Lawrence, and an untried captain, with Ollie Pope’s previous experience limited to a handful of England warm-ups and games for Surrey.

Stokes will still be around the changing room to provide leadership but the absence of the architect of Bazball on the field is bound to have an effect – and not just in shortening the batting order. With Matthew Potts named as Stokes ahead of Jordan Cox, bringing the Durham seamer only his second cap since the summer of 2022, it means a shuffle up the order for each of Jamie Smith – who impressed so much batting at No. 7 in his debut series against West Indies – Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson.

The unexpected disruption, with England having also called up Olly Stone after Dillon Pennington picked up an injury in the Hundred, adds to the sense that this might not be such a straightforward assignment – particularly if Sri Lanka, who are unbeaten in six London Tests going back to 1998, can emerge from this week unscathed. For some, the fact they have the opportunity to perform in a three-Test series in England at the height of summer for the first time is something in itself to be savoured. Just don’t say that the future of the format depends on the result.