gazza619
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2012
- Runs
- 13,417
Australia [534/5d & 196/3d] beat Sri Lanka [215/9 & 149] by 366 runs in 2nd Test to win series 2-0
Australia captain Tim Paine on Thursday announced an unchanged team to face Sri Lanka at Canberra’s Manuka Oval in the series-decider, starting Friday.
That means Stoinis and Pucovski will end the international summer of cricket without baggy greens, and with a massive dent in their Ashes aspirations.
Pucovski is particularly left stranded, as he will remain ineligible to play English county cricket given he has never represented his nation at senior level, nor does he hold a British passport.
He was confined on Thursday to running laps of Manuka Oval in 30-plus degree heat, in the company of a Cricket Australia staff member. The pair appeared in deep discussion during the first lap, before breaking into a jog and completing about half a dozen laps of the boundary.
The 20-year-old was controversially left out of the first Test, with cricket greats Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan both slamming the decision.
Warne said Australia had “missed a trick”, while Vaughan called it an “an opportunity missed” for the “talked-of best young batsman the Aussies have produced for many years”.
Instead, Kurtis Patterson was rushed into the squad off the back of consecutive pink ball centuries against Sri Lanka in a tour match.
All-rounder Stoinis will also be left out after selectors didn’t feel the need to provide a fifth bowling option.
All-rounder Stoinis will also be left out after selectors didn’t feel the need to provide a fifth bowling option.
He impressed on his way to 30 on Test debut and has been retained in the side, while opener Joe Burns has been given another chance despite making just 15 in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the faith has been restored in quick Mitchell Starc who will have another chance to recapture his best form in a lacklustre summer - keeping journeyman Peter Siddle on the sidelines.
All-rounder Stoinis will also be left out after selectors didn’t feel the need to provide a fifth bowling option, despite what is expected to be a batting-friendly surface at Manuka Oval.
Stoinis spent most of the Thursday afternoon session standing by, chatting to various other players and staff members. He was then pulled aside for a deep conversation with Langer next to the centre wicket, which lasted a few minutes.
At the same time, fielding coach Brad Haddin took the slips cordon through some drills, while a couple of batsmen spent time in the nets outside Manuka Oval.
Australia holds a 1-0 lead in the two match series, needing just a draw in Canberra to lift the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.
The piece of silverware would be Australia’s first in Test cricket since January 2018, and the first under the leadership of both Paine and Justin Langer.
Australia XI: Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Jhye Richardson
https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...i/news-story/01549b766e8bf5dc97492bbc64b1baa4
Australia captain Tim Paine on Thursday announced an unchanged team to face Sri Lanka at Canberra’s Manuka Oval in the series-decider, starting Friday.
That means Stoinis and Pucovski will end the international summer of cricket without baggy greens, and with a massive dent in their Ashes aspirations.
Pucovski is particularly left stranded, as he will remain ineligible to play English county cricket given he has never represented his nation at senior level, nor does he hold a British passport.
He was confined on Thursday to running laps of Manuka Oval in 30-plus degree heat, in the company of a Cricket Australia staff member. The pair appeared in deep discussion during the first lap, before breaking into a jog and completing about half a dozen laps of the boundary.
The 20-year-old was controversially left out of the first Test, with cricket greats Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan both slamming the decision.
Warne said Australia had “missed a trick”, while Vaughan called it an “an opportunity missed” for the “talked-of best young batsman the Aussies have produced for many years”.
Instead, Kurtis Patterson was rushed into the squad off the back of consecutive pink ball centuries against Sri Lanka in a tour match.
All-rounder Stoinis will also be left out after selectors didn’t feel the need to provide a fifth bowling option.
All-rounder Stoinis will also be left out after selectors didn’t feel the need to provide a fifth bowling option.
He impressed on his way to 30 on Test debut and has been retained in the side, while opener Joe Burns has been given another chance despite making just 15 in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the faith has been restored in quick Mitchell Starc who will have another chance to recapture his best form in a lacklustre summer - keeping journeyman Peter Siddle on the sidelines.
All-rounder Stoinis will also be left out after selectors didn’t feel the need to provide a fifth bowling option, despite what is expected to be a batting-friendly surface at Manuka Oval.
Stoinis spent most of the Thursday afternoon session standing by, chatting to various other players and staff members. He was then pulled aside for a deep conversation with Langer next to the centre wicket, which lasted a few minutes.
At the same time, fielding coach Brad Haddin took the slips cordon through some drills, while a couple of batsmen spent time in the nets outside Manuka Oval.
Australia holds a 1-0 lead in the two match series, needing just a draw in Canberra to lift the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.
The piece of silverware would be Australia’s first in Test cricket since January 2018, and the first under the leadership of both Paine and Justin Langer.
Australia XI: Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Jhye Richardson
https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...i/news-story/01549b766e8bf5dc97492bbc64b1baa4
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