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by Oliver Brett

The Test series in England represents the next, potentially critical, stage in the rapidly burgeoning career of Kumar Sangakkara.

The Sri Lankan Test side is a very good one indeed, and when your wicket-keeper has the third best batting average in the world out of current players, you know things are progressing nicely.

The highly talented left-hander has never played competitive cricket in England, and this will arguably be his toughest challenge to date.

Now aged 24, the law student said to be an Oscar Wilde fan has packed in 20 Tests since a debut in Galle in July 2000 against South Africa.

In fact, the first six Tests Sangakkara played were against Shaun Pollock's formidable team - at least they were then - and he hit two fifties, including a 98 at Centurion Park.

Many of Nasser Hussain's England side will have clear memories of him because the next series he played in was at home to Hussain's touring side.

The series is still well remembered for atrocious umpiring, bad tempers between the sides and a brilliant comeback by England to win the series 2-1.

Sangakkara was certainly a principal player in the handbags department.

But his play was also characterised by his smart wicket-keeping to the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya and three classy knocks.

In the first Test at Galle, the one England lost, he hit a critical 58 in the first innings, and appealed so convincingly from behind the stumps that umpires Manuel and Jayaprakash were often wrongly persuaded into giving England batsmen out.

He also caught Mike Atherton on the bounce - and England felt justice was done when they dismissed him cheaply in Kandy - caught off the armguard.

Batsmen who cut it at Test level early in their career are generally ones who are full of confidence, not to mention sheer arrogance.

And Sangakkara showed he was not to be intimidated by his elders and superiors when he had a row with Atherton after Jayasuriya was caught off a bumped ball - yes the umpiring was that farcical.

Can you imagine Graeme Hick, as a young England batsman, complaining to Mark Taylor after seeing a colleague wrongly given out?

No you can't - and it doesn't take a sports psychologist to tell you that one reason Sangakkara has done so well while Hick never reached his potential is to do with the stark difference in the two players' mind-sets.

After the set-to with Athers, Sangakkara went on to hit 95 - which in the event was almost good enough to deny England a win.

By now, centuries were due, and the first two arrived in quick succession, against India and Zimbabwe at home.

The coup de grace, however, was delivered when Sri Lanka won the Asian Test Championship in Lahore and Sangakkara contributed a brilliant individual innings of 230.

Oddly, up until then, Sri Lanka had played 13 Tests at home in a row.

It means the Lord's Test will only be Sangakkara's fifth away from home. And it will surely be his toughest examination yet.

How will he marry his free-flowing, elegant style of play with green, early-season wickets and three mustard-keen and very good seam bowlers in Darren Gough, Andy Caddick and Matthew Hoggard?

It's one of many fascinating conundrums we will see answered later this summer.

Courtesy BBC.

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