England, 1-0 up in this series, made one change from the side that drew the second Test at Lord's.
Ashes spearhead James Anderson, who missed that match with a side injury, replaced fast bowler Steven Finn.
Sri Lanka were without captain and opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan who had his thumb broken by fast bowler Chris Tremlett while making 193 at Lord's.
Kumar Sangakkara, his immediate predecessor as captain, took over the leadership of the side.
Meanwhile Dilshan's place in the side was taken by Test debutant opener Lahiru Thirimanne who, like Sangakkara, made a hundred in last week's drawn warm-up match against Essex.
Sri Lanka also recalled seamer Thisara Perera in place of the struggling Farveez Maharoof.
Rain delayed the start by 75 minutes.
This match marked the debut as a Test ground of the Rose Bowl, the home of southern county Hampshire, which became the 10th venue in Britain to stage a Test match.
England owe their lead in this series to an innings and 14-run win in the first Test in Cardiff.
Victory in this match would see England go joint-second in the ICC Test rankings, alongside South Africa, with only India, their next opponents this English season, above them.
