Sri Lanka and Australia are expected to play out a closely-fought contest on Saturday, with the bookmakers unable to split them
Australia return to action after nearly four months in Saturday’s first Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka. Cameron White will lead his troops into battle before the one-dayers and Test matches. So who might get the early momentum? (Sri Lanka 4/6, Australia Evens Match Betting)
Australian cricket is, without doubt, at its lowest ebb for years after suffering back-to-back Ashes defeats and failing to win the World Cup for the first time since 1999.
Ricky Ponting is no longer in charge in any forms of the game with Michael Clarke set to make his debut as Test captain and skipper the 50-over side as well.
But White has the reins in the shortest version the game and will look to get the tour underway in a positive fashion with victory in Pallekele.
The men from Down Under took a few years to realise that 20-over cricket does have a place in the cricket calendar and the days of wearing the players’ nicknames on their backs is well and truly over.
They did make the World Cup final in 2010 but were soundly beaten by Paul Collingwood’s England side and it remains to be seen whether or not they have made any improvements since then.
There are certainly a few new faces, with the likes of Aaron Finch, James Pattinson and Steve O’Keefe in the squad, but some of the old guard have survived the chop with Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, David Hussey, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson set for a run-out.
Of the new players Finch scored a half-century against England in a T20 last winter and can give the ball a decent whack, while Pattinson has little experience at domestic level and none at international.
All-rounder O’Keefe has played three T20s for the Aussies and took three wickets against Pakistan but is a bit of an unknown quantity at the top level.
But there is still plenty of fire power in the squad.
Watson remains in decent nick and 20-over cricket is tailor-made for the Queenslander, while Hussey and Haddin should also thrive when given license to thrill (Watson 3/1 Top Aussie Batsman).
The attack looks a bit flaky, however, with Lee head and shoulders above the rest in the seam department.
Steve Smith will provide the spin option but the jury is still out as to his prowess as a leg-spin bowler, although his talent as a hard-hitting batsman is without question.
Whoever plays for Australia, they will know they have been in a battle as Sri Lanka are always tough to beat in limited overs cricket – especially on their own patch.
It is true that they did not exactly cover themselves in glory earlier this summer in England but conditions were hardly conducive to their style of play and they will be a tougher nut to crack in Kandy.
Tillakaratne Dilshan will be a prized scalp for the Baggy Greens as he has the ability to score rapid runs in any form of the game, while Mahela Jayawardene has proved his class time and time again (Jayawardene 100/30 Top Sri Lanka Batsman).
Kumar Sangakkara no longer has to worry about the captaincy and has the freedom to express himself and he remains the class card in the Asians’ line-up.
There is no longer any Muttiah Muralitharan to call upon and Ajantha Mendis’ career is maybe not going quite to plan after a superb beginning, but there is still plenty of experience to call on in the bowling department.
Angelo Matthews and Nuwan Kulasekara still know how to perform while Suranga Lakmal will have benefitted for his time spent in England.
There may be bigger matches later in the tour and Twenty20 cricket might still be seen as a bit of a money-making scheme around the world, but there is no doubt that both sets of players will be going all out to win this one to try and set the tone for the battles ahead over the next six weeks.
