ENGLAND take on both World Cup finalists in all forms of the game in a tough summer ahead for the Ashes winners.
Sri Lanka provide the first opposition of the season in three Test matches, a Twenty20 international and five One-Day games.
And, from July to September, England take on ODI world champions India in four Test matches, a Twenty20 international and a six-match One-Day series.
For the record, the current ICC Test rankings put India top, Sri Lanka fourth with England in third after their 3-1 Ashes win over the winter.
The ODI rankings have India and Sri Lanka in second and third, and England down in fifth after a disappointing World Cup in which they were beaten by Bangladesh and Ireland.
England eventually bowed out of the tournament at the quarter finals stage - having got there with dramatic wins over Netherlands, South Africa and West Indies, and an incredible tie against India.
But, in the last eight, they were outclassed as the Sri Lanka openers pulverised the English bowlers for a crushing 10-wicket win.
Before England fans despair too much, though, they should consider that the heavy defeat in Colombo came in unhelpful conditions for seamers at the end of a long, hard Ashes winter.
Those extra obstacles are now not in England's way and, back on home soil, you can expect the team to play better.
Of course, there is actually little wrong with England's recent Test performances. Plenty of runs were made and wickets taken in three huge innings wins Down Under.
And Test captain Andrew Strauss proved he was not cowed by the Sri Lankans in scoring 151 in the first innings of a warm-up match for Middlesex in Uxbridge.
Nevertheless, Sri Lanka still won that match by four wickets, and also achieved an unlikely victory in their other warm-up match against England Lions at Derby.
Following on 233 runs behind, openers Tharanga Paranvitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan both scored centuries as Sri Lanka scored 448 in their second innings.
The Lions were then bowled out 183 giving the tourists a confidence-boosting 38-run win after an uneasy period since their World Cup Final defeat in Mumbai.
Since the loss in early April, Sri Lankan cricket has been rocked by the resignations of captain Mahela Jayawardene and the country's four selectors.
At about the same time, there have also been unrelated match-fixing allegations made by former captain Hashan Tillakaratne and his ex-team mate Arjuna Ranatunga.
And the preparation for this tour has been curtailed by the desire of some of the players to continue playing in the Indian Premier League.
Meanwhile, Lasith Malinga has retired from Tests to concentrate on the shorter formats while paceman Dilhara Fernando is struggling with a knee problem.
Already deprived of the retired genius Muttiah Muralitharan of course, the remaining attack looks like it could be a fertile source of runs for England's in-form batsmen.
Indeed, if the conditions allow it, the Test series should be a high-scoring affair with as Sri Lanka's batting is also clearly now their stronger hand.
The retirement of Paul Collingwood from Test cricket caused selectors a slight headache with Ravi Bopara in line to succeed him due to his ability to contribute to the bowling.
But Bopara was outplayed by Middlesex man Eoin Morgan in the Lions match against Sri Lanka with the Irishman making 195 in the first innings to get the nod.
As a result, England will line-up with just four bowlers. Three seamers from four - James Anderson, the fit-again Stuart Broad, Steven Finn and Chris Tremlett - will be complemented by spin from Graeme Swann.
It is a bit of gamble but the move should allow England to bat well down the order before taking advantage of helpful seam conditions.
Actually, a more fascinating facet of the current England squad is that there are now three captains: one for each form of the game.
While Strauss retains control of the Test team, Alastair Cook is now captain of the One-Day team in place of Strauss despite having failed even to make the World Cup squad. Stuart Broad is the new Twenty20 skipper in place of Collingwood.
A split captaincy is often a controversial move as there is the immediate possibility than one man will undermine another.
The dynamics of it certainly did not work in the early 2000s when Nasser Hussain was Test captain and Michael Vaughan was ODI skipper.
History suggests that the responsibility must ultimately lie with one man as it did when Vaughan soon took over both roles from Hussain.
And it would come as no surprise if that was the eventual outcome on this occasion, too.
Prediction: England 2-0 Sri Lanka in Tests. Sri Lanka to win 4-1 in the ODI matches.
ENGLAND'S SUMMER FIXTURES
England v Sri Lanka
Test matches
26-30 May First Test at Cardiff
3-7 June Second Test at Lord's
16-20 June Third Test at the Rose Bowl
Twenty20 international
25 June at Bristol
One-Day Internationals
28 June First ODI at the Oval
1 July Second ODI at Headingley
3 July Third ODI at Lord's
6 July Fourth ODI at Trent Bridge
9 July Fifth ODI at Old Trafford
England v India
Test matches
21-25 July First Test at Lord's
29 July-2 August Second Test at Trent Bridge
10-14 August Third Test at Edgbaston
18-22 August Fourth Test at the Oval
Twenty20 international
31 August at Old Trafford
One-Day Internationals
3 September First ODI at Durham
6 September Second ODI at the Rose Bowl
9 September Third ODI at the Oval
11 September Fourth ODI at Lord's
16 September Fifth ODI at Cardiff
Ireland v England
One-Day International
25 August in Dublin
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