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11th over: Sri Lanka 40-4 (Asalanka 3, Liyanage 5) Abbott bustles in, Errol Flynn tache hugging his top lip. Liyanage fences at a shorter ball that shoots past the edge. Five dots are followed by a plink into the off side for a single.
10th over: Sri Lanka 39-4 (Asalanka 3, Liyanage 4) Steve Smith shuffles his pack and brings on Nathan Ellis. He’s short and skiddy and beats Asalanka with his very first delivery – a beauty that nips away at the last. Keep ‘em there son. He does exactly that and starts with a maiden. Fair to say the Aussies have dominated the first ten overs in Colombo.
9th over: Sri Lanka 39-4 (Asalanka 3, Liyanage 4) Sean Abbott into the attack to replace Spencer Johnson. Three slips and a gully in place. Asalanka gets off strike with a dab to third and Abbott wobbles one past Liyanage’s edge. A clip for two through midwicket closes out the over.
8th over: Sri Lanka 36-4 (Asalanka 2, Liyanage 2) Hardie beats both Asalanka and Liyanage outside the off stump and then brings a couple of balls back to keep the lbw on their minds too. Just a single off the over, Sri Lanka hanging in there, just, at the minute.
7th over: Sri Lanka 35-4 (Asalanka 1, Liyanage 2) Janith Liyanage joins his captain in the middle and gets underway with a couple of guided singles past point. Steve Smith goes for the kill with three slips and a gully in place, he won’t mind seeing the Sri Lankan batter hanging his bat outside off stump like that.
WICKET! Kamindu Mendis c Fraser-McGurk b Johnson 5 (Sri Lanka 31-4)
Oh no! Kamindu Mendis plays a loose shot, clipping Johnson off his pads in the air and Fraser-McGurk dives at full stretch to pluck the catch! The home side are four down and in a whole lotta trouble.
6th over: Sri Lanka 30-3 (Kamindu 5, Asalanka 0) Sri Lanka’s captain arrives in the middle with his team teetering. Crikes! He nearly goes to an edge too as he fends Hardie just short of Sean Abbott in the slips. Australia all over Sri Lanka like the proverbial menswear garment.
WICKET! Kusal Mendis c Short b Hardie (Sri Lanka 30-3)
GoneGoneGone! Kusal was living dangerously outside off-stump and eventually perishes by getting a thick edge off Hardie that is snaffled by Matt Short at first slip. Sri Lanka in all sorts.
5th over: Sri Lanka 26-2 (Kusal 15, Kamindu 5) Shot! Kusal lofts Johnson down the ground for four and follows up with a nick between the cordon and gully for four more! Good bowling from Johnson who looks particularly threatening. Kusal clips a quick single and scurries off strike. Kamindu throws his hands at a ball on fourth stump and he gets a thick edge that flies past a diving gully and away for the third boundary of the over. Good intent from Sri Lanka, flash hard and all that.
4th over: Sri Lanka 13-2 (Kusal 6, Kamindu 1) Hardie doesn’t have the same high pace as Johnson but he is nagging and accurate, he beats Kusal Mendis with one that nips and leaves the batter poking on the crease. A tidy over, just two singles off it.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 11-2 (Kusal 5, Kamindu 0) There are some ominous looking clouds over the Colombo cityscape which might be helping this white ball nibble about through the air. The forecast is set fair. Johnson gets a bit carried away in search of the magic ball and serves up a full bunger that is swatted back down the ground by Kusal Mendis. The recovery job starts here for the home side.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 6-2 (Kusal 1, Kamindu 0) Kamindu Mendis joins his namesake Kusal in the middle with Sri Lanka in early strife.
WICKET! Fernando c Smith b Hardie 1 (Sri Lanka 6-2)
Two down inside two overs! Sri Lanka lose both openers as Fernando wafts at a length ball from Aaron Hardie and the edge flies to Steve Smith’s left at second slip, the skipper makes no mistake with the catch!
There’s some more breaking news out of the Australian camp to go with Mitchell Starc’s withdrawal from the Champions Trophy.
It’s not nice news for Matt Kuhnemann:
Australia’s breakout spinner Matt Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspect bowling action during his starring role in Australia’s 2-0 series sweep of Sri Lanka.
Cricket Australia confirmed on Wednesday that International Cricket Council match officials cited Kuhnemann over his action after the second Test in Galle.
The left-arm spinner was the leading wicket-taker in Sri Lanka with 16 at an average of 17.18, after overcoming a thumb injury to play in the two-Test series, but will now have to prove the legality of his bowling action.
1st over: Sri Lanka 4-1 (Fernando 0, Kusal 0) Kusal Mendis joins Fernando in the middle, Johnson is up at 140kph and shaping the ball away. A leave from the new batter closes an eventful first over.
WICKET! Nissanka c Carey b Johnson 4 (Sri Lanka 4-1)
He has! A big scalp in the first over for Australia as the freewheeling Nissanka is sent back for an early bath. There was a thin edge that showed on the UltraEdge and Alex Carey got the gauntlets under it diving low to his right.
Nissanka is batting well out of his crease and he opens his account with a flashing square drive for four! Johnson goes a touch fuller and pushes on across him, booming drive from the batter and we could have a wicket in the first over! Has Nissanka got a tickle on this?!
Avishka Fernando and Pathum Nissanka will open up for Sri Lanka. The hulking left-armer Spencer Johnson is at the top of his mark with the new ball. Play!
The players head out onto the field for the anthems, Australia’s younger than expected outfit are about to get their first trot out.
A changing of the guard?
Sri Lanka win the toss and will bat first
Sunny skies in Colombo as the coin is tossed. Steve Smith doesn’t call correctly so his opposite number Charith Asalanka gets to choose what to do. It’s a dry pitch and he wants to have first use of it. “We want runs on the board”. Smith confirms he would have batted too and also that Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell won’t be gracing the turf today.
TEAMS:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando
Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cooper Connolly, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the first of two ODIs between Sri Lanka and Australia. After the Aussies scooped the two Test matches in Galle last week it is over to Colombo for a brace of games in coloured clothing. The matches will serves as tune up and run out for Australia before they head to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
It’s not a rinse and repeat set of players for Australia, Steve Smith is set to captain after successfully helming the Test series and Jake-Fraser McGurk, Cooper Connolly, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson and Tanveer Sangha are all names that have been added to the squad recently to cover for injury – in the cases of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh or as a result of a shock retirement – Marcus Stoinis having announced he has played his last ODI for his country. As this preamble is typed it is also noted that Mitchell Starc has opted out of these two games and the Champions trophy.
“We understand and respect Mitch’s decision,” Australian chair of selectors George Bailey said in a statement that landed a couple of hours ago.
“Mitch is deeply respected for his commitment to international cricket and the priority he places on performing for Australia.
“His well documented ability to play through pain and adversity, as well as forgoing opportunities in other parts of his career to put his country first should be applauded. His loss is of course a blow for the Champions Trophy campaign but does provide an opportunity to someone else to make a mark on the tournament.”
Lots to unpack and play for then for the visitors, let’s get into it.
Play starts at 10am local time, 3.30pm AEDT and 4.30am here in the UK.
