Over the last four months, both sides have fought mental battles to rid all memories of the horrific Lahore attack; putting the past behind you and moving on is often easier said than done, though, and it will be a deeply emotional moment whenthey take the field for the first Test. They’ve played against each other, of course, most recently in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 less than a fortnight ago. Pakistan won that match but the hosts will look to settle the score in a completely different format.

There’s a lot of change in the air. This will be Kumar Sangakkara’s first Test series as captain. Pakistan had welcomed back one rebel ICL player, Abdul Razzaq, in England and now prepare for the return of another – Mohammad Yousuf, whose presence in the middle order will be invaluable.

Sri Lanka have already suffered a setback, with their lead spinner Muttiah Muralitharan missing the Test due to a knee injury. With Chaminda Vaas not included and Lasith Malinga unfit for Tests, their bowling could be a bit weak. Their batsman, though, will be expected to continue their ominous touch from the previous series, where they piled up scores of 644 and 606

Teams

Sri Lanka (likely) 1 Malinda Warnapura, 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Angelo Mathews / Kaushal Silva, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Rangana Herath

Pakistan (likely) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Khurram Manzoor, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq / Faisal Iqbal, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Danish Kaneria / Saeed Ajmal, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Abdur Rauf

Timing

July 4-8, 2009, Start time 10.00 (04.30 GMT)

Follow us on Twitter to get all the updates – crichotline@twitter