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[six and out]

No point in having more than 2 pace bowlers in the starting XI. Possibly have Stokes as 3rd pace bowler/all rounder.
Then play as many spinners as possible. Obviously Root, Rashid and Ali are starters on those wickets. But at least one "proper" Leach/Bess spinner and a few more batsmen.
Should be an interesting starting XI 

Completely agree, anyone who saw the SL vs SA series would have seen how much spin was bowled. SL only played 1 seamer throughout the series (Lakmal) and he's the captain! and he only bowled 6.3 overs across the 2 tests!

In the series -
Wickets to seam = 15
Wickets to spin = 57

1st test at Galle -
https://www.cricbuzz.com/live-cricket-scorecard/20164/sl-vs-rsa-1st-test-south-africa-tour-of-sri-lanka-2018

2nd test at Colombo -
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-scores/20165/sl-vs-rsa-2nd-test-south-africa-tour-of-sri-lanka-2018

Team for the 1st test -

1. Burns
2. Jennings
3. Mo
4. Root
5. Butler
6. Stokes
7. Bairstow
8. Curran
9. Rashid
10. Leach
11. Anderson

Others to Tour -
12. Broad - him and Anderson to rotate
13. Pope - spare middle order bat
14. Denly - spare top order/opener
15. Woakes - alternative to Curran
16. Jamie Overton / Oli Stone - young quick bolter to tour as different option

[Buzz]

There is a genuinely eclectic load of selections from the below Telegraph article, so I have followed suit! 

My team for SL
Burns,
Stoneman, (won't get picked it will be Jennings and Denly)
Ali,
Root,
Buttler, (whoever keeps needs to be at 7 due to the heat and having to stand up for most of the day)
Stokes,
Bairstow,
Curran,
Leach,
Bess, (yes three spinners. This is sri Lanka we are talking about.)
Anderson/Broad

Plus Pope, Livingston, Overton, Archer (fast tracked!)
We know that Denly will get picked and could end up opening with Burns in the tests.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2018/09/12/england-xis-first-test-v-sri-lanka-writers-make-picks/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

[Manormanic]

Oooh, this is really interesting.

So, in picking my XI, I am assuming that we get similar pitches to the ones that the Yarpies got last season - though this is not the given everyone assumes, as a Barmy Army tour brings with it certain financial benefits that the South Africans just can't mirror.  As such, I would not be hugely surprised if two of the three tests are played on more Indian style pitches designed to last the full five days (and extract the full five days revenue).  My thinking then takes the following path:
1. I want Liam Livingstone in the side.  He was by far our best player when the Lions toured down there, and he gives us a useful additional spin option.
2. I want Ed Smith to retract from the Rashid farce and make a clear statement that County cricket matters.  That means that, even though I think its the wrong time to blood Burns, who would ideally wait until the West Indies, he's in.
3. I want to rest some of our older bowlers, whether they like it or not.
4. I'm taking 16 players, because I want to have options, and to give experience to a couple of players.

So that got me:
Burns
Buttler
Ali
Root
Stokes
Bairstow
Livingstone
Curran
Rashid
J Overton
Leach

In the squad, I would take Anderson, in case we do get a flat top where his craft will benefit the side, and Vince as the reserve batsman (Pope misses out because I genuinely think it is a bit too soon for him, and we have enough number sixes anyway).  I'd then have three quite left field solutions:

Ben Foakes - won't let anyone down with the bat, and was talked of as a good tourist last year.  At the back of my mind, there is the thought that if the ball is really ragging, we may actually want our strongest gloveman there.
Amar Virdi - Rashid as one of three and two half spinners is okay, but the fact is that leg spin may not be the route on these pitches.  If that turns out to be the case, Virdi for me edges Bess for the accuracy needed to get the best out of them.
Ben Coad - I know this one has been suggested elsewhere and mocked, but there is actually a good argument for it - Coad is excellent bowling cutters with the keeper up to the stumps, and bowls a similar trajectory to guys like Vaas and Lakmal who do well there.  He would only be back up for injuries, and it would be good experience and a change for teh coaches to work with him.



My squad

[edge]

Controversial @Manormanic ! Deja vu in one way at least - why on earth bat Livingstone at 7? He normally bats 3/4 and scored all his boatloads of Lions runs at 4 last year, so why bat him behind Stokes and Bairstow who are natural 6/7 players? I agree I'd like him in though, hopefully he gets a few in the last two CC games and gets selected feeling confident.

[Manormanic]

Well, aside from Buttler, who is a strategic move, you have Stokes, who wants to bat six but should probably bat five and Bairstow, who wants to bat five but should probably bat six.  So, seven.  It used to be the way that the new guy came in at the bottom of the established batting order to find his feet and I see no issue with that still being the case now personally.  Though I agree you could just as easily go Livingstone/Stokes/YJB or Livingstone/YJB/Stokes!

[edge]

It did used to be that way, until Ian Bell failed to make the step up from 5 to 3 and then all the all-rounders got in the way. 7 is the slot for a keeper or all-rounder, picking a specialist bat to bat 7 is like telling them you don't think they're good enough before they've even had a go.

Also, regardless of who prefers to bat where (I think Bairstow is starting to realise he doesn't want to bat at 5) - if you're taking Stokes/YJB/AN Other to bat 5/6/7 then look at it this way; Stokes has done ok at 5 but performed best at 6 and was terrible at 7. Bairstow has been great at 7, ok at 6 and poor at 5. Clearly we need a no5!

[petehosk]

I am coming round to the fact that anything more than 1 pace will be excess!! So I reckon better to have 1 pace plus Stokes!

Burns
Denly/jennings
Vince
Root
Buttler
Stokes
Bairstow (keeper)
Ali
Leach
Bess/Rashid
Anderson/Broad/Curran

some choices to be taken in the next week!!

[FattusCattus]

When are the squads announced?

[19reading87]

Great to see Olly Stone called up! The lad bowls gas!!!

A friend of mine coached him as a youngster at Northants and said he will make it to the very top - he wasn't wrong!

[ppccopener]

one day squad out

Olly Stone in it, I think a forum tip for the top 

liam dawson still in which is a bit of a surprise.

[WalkingWicket37]

one day squad out

Olly Stone in it, I think a forum tip for the top 

liam dawson still in which is a bit of a surprise.

Yes, a spinning all rounder who's been in and around the squads for a while, who has been performing well domestically and for the Lions. What a surprising selection... 

[ppccopener]

Yes, a spinning all rounder who's been in and around the squads for a while, who has been performing well domestically and for the Lions. What a surprising selection... 

and a Hampshire player of course   

who is not a kolpack 

[mohawks94]

More detail about to be published in my blog that I linked earlier, but my 11 for the first test plus travelling squad:

1. Rory Burns
2. Keaton Jennings
3. Moeen Ali
4. Joe Root (c)
5. Ben Stokes
6. Jos Buttler (vc)
7. Jonny Bairstow (wk)
8. Dom Bess
9. Sam Curran
10. James Anderson
11. Jack Leach

Not playing: Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Jamie Porter, Joe Denly, Olly Stone, James Vince and Adil Rashid.

[SD]

Good to see Stone getting a call up.  His first class and fitness records aren't ideal but it is good to see England taking a look at someone who has the attributes to help England to win abroad rather than pick the low-80s seamers who are cannon fodder abroad without a Dukes ball on dry surfaces.

Less impressed to see Dawson in that squad.  A left over from the experiment of picking spinners based on their ability to bat.  Ali and Root are there as batsman who can bowl spin and Rashid has a comparable first class average to Dawson with the bat.  There should be a front line spinner taking that spot

[edge]

Dawson's just there as cover isn't he - very unlikely to actually play any cricket but steady head and won't let anyone down as a replacement for Ali or Rashid if called upon. Gun fielder as well iirc? If they were considering playing 3 spinners you'd assume 4 would have made the squad.