Australia v Sri Lanka ODI preview
Australia face Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Bank Series on Friday looking to keep up their winning run after beating India in the tournament opener. Sri Lanka have yet to claim a point after losing to India on Wednesday but can they bounce back to beat the hosts in Perth? (Australia 2/5, Sri Lanka 15/8 Match Prices).
They say that momentum is key in any sport and the Aussies certainly have it, having won all but one of their international matches against India Down Under this winter. The Test series was secured 4-0 while they shared the T20s 1-1 and comfortably took the opening 50-over clash with MS Dhoni’s men.
But now they have different opposition in their sights, will it be any tougher for the Baggy Greens?
The simple answer is probably not – but at least the Sri Lankans are starting to show a bit of form and character and they will certainly give Michael Clarke’s men a run for their money. They ended a losing one-day series with South Africa by taking the final two matches and competed well with India in their opening CB Series clash before Ravichandran Ashwin saw the Indians home.
A score of 233 in mid-week was competitive if not daunting for Dhoni’s men to chase down and it was built around some steady partnerships at the top of the order. Tillakaratne Dilshan looks a different player without the burden of captaincy, while Dinesh Chandimal continues to impress with a well-made 64 (Dilshan 4/1 Top Sri Lanka Batsman). Angelo Mathews made 33 in the middle order but they needed someone to clear the ropes and get the score to around 260 or 270 to have any chance of defending the total and that may well be their problem once again against the Australians.
There does not appear to be anyone who can come in and take the game away from the opposition and Clarke’s men will probably go into the clash feeling that they will be able to chase down anything that Mahele Jayawardene’s side set them.
The first four Sri Lankan bowlers did their job well against India but the fifth and sixth members of the attack were meat and drink and it will be another area of concern against an Aussie side brimming with confidence and hard-hitting batsmen. David Warner certainly comes into that category but he missed out against India and can be expected to play a big part against Sri Lanka at the top of the order (Warner 7/2 Top Aussie Batsman).
The left-hander’s battle with Lasith Malinga will be one of the highlights of the match and, if he can get through the first 10 overs, it could be carnage against the medium pacers. No ground is big enough for the 25-year-old when he is in the mood and the bouncy WACA surface should be right up his street.
Ricky Ponting also failed to make much of a contribution in Melbourne but such is the strength of the Australia batting line-up that they were able to rely on David Hussey smashing an unbeaten 61 from just 30 balls batting at number six to give the hosts a decent total.
It is true that the home side’s bowling attack does not look the strongest on paper, with the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson all out injured, but those on view performed with credit last time out and there seems no reason to suggest that they will not be able to contain the World Cup finalists on Friday.
Mitchell Starc is only in the team due to absentees but continues to take his chance with both hands and it may well be that, when the others return, he is hard to shift from the starting XI. Clint McKay was the star with the ball at the MCG and it proves just how far Aussie cricket has come since the Ashes defeat that they were able to throw someone who is basically a journeyman cricketer into an ODI with the confidence that he would perform. A return of 4-20 justified the selectors’ faith and, with Ryan Harris still going strong, the makeshift attack looks capable of doing the business throughout the series.
This one may be a close affair with the Sri Lankans looking like they have regrouped after a few years of below-par cricket but the Aussie machine will probably go rolling on.
