James Anderson will stand aside for his long-time partner Stuart Broad as England look to seal a rare series whitewash this week, admitting he has felt "like a spare part" on the spinning pitches of Sri Lanka.

The nation's leading wicket-taker has been told to put his feet up in Colombo, rested for the first time since 2012, with Broad taking the role of senior seamer after being overlooked during England's victories in Galle and Kandy.

Anderson rejected the chance to sit out the entire tour but his enthusiasm has been tested by the surfaces on offer in Sri Lanka. The 36-year-old has sent down a total of 41 overs in four innings with his solitary dismissal coming when he found Dimuth Karunaratne's edge with his second ball of the trip.

He suffered a side strain midway through the second Test and was doing fitness work while his team-mates netted on Wednesday morning.

Chris Woakes is the closest available replacement as a seam-bowling all-rounder, while there could be a temptation to blood uncapped pace prospect Olly Stone.

Jonny Bairstow is also angling for a recall after ankle problems, though England would need to rebalance the batting order and up Ben Stokes' workload with the ball to accommodate his return.