Sri Lanka tour of Australia (2019) to play 3 T20Is

[MenInG]

Lasith Malinga will captain Sri Lanka in their upcoming three-match Gillette T20 INTL Series against Australia as many players from the young team that performed well on the recent tour of Pakistan have retained their places.

Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella are the among other stars to return to a 16-man squad for the Australian trip after Sri Lanka sent a second-string team to Pakistan due to several withdrawals over security concerns.

Sri Lanka lost the ODI series but stunned Pakistan with a 3-0 series sweep in the T20s without Malinga, who has already retired from ODIs.

Rookie batsmen Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando both scored match-winning half-centuries against Pakistan have been rewarded with retention in the squad. They’ll battle the likes of Kusals Mendis and Perera for a spot in the final XI to face Australia in the series opener on Sunday week in Adelaide.

Wristspinners Wanindu Hasaranga – who has an impressive T20I bowling average of just 12 from six career matches - and Lakshan Sandakan will support a pace attack led by Malinga, the 36-year-old who has his sights set on an international swansong in next year’s T20 World Cup, also in Australia.

Having made his debut just last month, 22-year-old leggie Hasaranga has impressed in campaigns against New Zealand and Pakistan, taking two wickets per match and conceding less than six runs an over in four of his six games.

Australia named their squad 10 days ago, headlined by the returns of Steve Smith and David Warner, while the likes of D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis and Chris Lynn were all overlooked.

After the opening match of the series at Adelaide Oval on October 27, there will be games at the Gabba and MCG before Australia play three more T20s against Pakistan in Sydney, Canberra and Perth.

The Sri Lankan squad will fly to Australia on the weekend and prepare for the series with a T20 match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra on Thursday.

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Sri Lanka squad: Lasith Malinga (c), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha.

Gillette T20 Internationals v Sri Lanka

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

First T20: October 27, Adelaide Oval, 2pm (Fox & Kayo)

Second T20: October 30, Gabba, 6.10pm (Fox & Kayo)

Third T20: November 1, MCG, 7.10pm (Fox & Kayo)

Gillette T20 Internationals v Pakistan

First T20: November 3, SCG, 2.30pm (Fox & Kayo)

Second T20: November 5, Manuka Oval, 7.10pm (Fox & Kayo)

Third T20: November 8, Perth Stadium, 4.30pm (Fox & Kayo)

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/sri...inga-dickwella-kusal-mendis-perera/2019-10-18

 

[MenInG]

Steve Smith and David Warner return to the short format Sunday in the first of Australia's three games against a buoyant Sri Lanka, with both tipped for next year's Twenty20 World Cup at home.

The star batsmen were both banned for a year for their roles in a ball-tampering scandal but have rejoined their country's Test, one-day and now T20 sides.

Despite their success in other formats, Australia have never won a T20 World Cup, with a 2010 final appearance their best showing.

The competition gets underway Down Under next October and selectors are banking on the same 14 picked to play Sri Lanka forming the bulk of their side.

"We have looked to put a squad together that we think can take us through to that tournament," said national selector Trevor Hohns.

"The squad we have selected is quite role specific and we believe it gives us the flexibility to thrive in all match conditions."

Aaron Finch retains the captaincy, with Smith still barred from holding any leadership role until the end of March for his part on trying to alter the ball with sandpaper in South Africa last year.

Australia will be heavily relying on the widely acclaimed batsman after his incredible exploits on his return to the game in the recent Ashes series against England.

Warner flopped in the those five Tests but is Australia's highest ever T20 run-scorer. He is set to open the innings with Finch, before Smith comes in at first drop.

Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc spearhead the bowling attack, backed up by Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson and Billy Stanlake.

- 'It will bode well' -

They will have their work cut out against a Sri Lankan side full of confidence after a stunning three-match T20 series sweep against Pakistan earlier this month.

Pakistan, who fired Sarafraz Ahmed as T20 and Test skipper in the aftermath, head to Australia for three games immediately after Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankans sent a second string team for the one-day and T20 series against their South Asian neighbours due to withdrawals over security concerns.

But their squad for Australia, led by fast bowler Lasith Malinga, includes a host of returning senior players, including Kusal Perera and Niroshan Dikwella.

Two of the standout new faces from the Pakistan upset, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando, have been retained and will get an opportunity to shine in Australia.

Malinga said his team would also use the series to prepare for the World Cup.

"If we perform well in those (Australian) conditions, then it will bode well for our preparations for the World Cup," he said ahead of their departure from Colombo.

"And if you perform well on this tour, there will be a good chance of those players making it to the World Cup as well."

The opening match is at Adelaide Oval on Sunday with the second in Brisbane three days later before the final game at Melbourne on November 1.

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Sri Lanka squad: Lasith Malinga (capt), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana and Kasun Rajitha.

https://www.afp.com/en/news/824/smith-warner-return-aussie-t20-side-world-cup-looms-doc-1lk7un1

 

[Sir-fraz]

fter his team suffered a 134-run defeat in the opening Twenty20 international against Australia in Adelaide, batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa justified Lasith Malinga’s decision to bowl first, saying it was the collective call since they didn’t know what to expect from the surface.

After inserting Australia to bat, Sri Lanka were buried under a mountain of runs, with the hosts zooming to 233/2 on the back of David Warner’s 56-ball century – his first in T20Is. Australia then followed it up with a clinical performance with the ball to limit the visiting side to 99/9.

"It was a short stay for us in Adelaide, so we didn't know what sort of wicket it would be and we knew it wouldn't be bad for us to bat second," Rajapaksa said. "So we didn't want to take a chance, and that was a collective decision of the players and we decided to bowl first and look at how the bowlers would go. But it was clinical to us."

"We had some plans to keep them under a good score but things didn't come off for us as well as we planned during the tour. But we don't want to lose our hope and we don't want to put our heads down."

Fighting against the pressure of a daunting total, Sri Lanka lost several wickets to miscued hits and expansive strokes, and Rajapaksa thought there was plenty to be learned from the way Australia approached their innings.

Though they collected over 68% of their run through boundaries, Australia ran hard between the wickets, and when they did find the boundary, pierced the gaps on the vast outfield expertly. The large dimensions of grounds in Australia offer mean that finding boundaries isn’t always easy, and necessitates efficient running between the wickets.

"Looking at Warner, Finch and Maxwell and how they batted, I think there's a lot to learn," Rajapaksa said. "Especially the way they ran between wickets, and I'm sure we got a lot to learn a lot about that. In Australia, it's about hitting the gaps and getting the doubles. There's a lot of runs on the boundaries.

"We'd like to have another couple of days to practice on, but we've got so much travelling as well so we need to adapt really soon. So we're hoping to get ourselves back together and deliver better."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1472998

 

[Abdullah719]

Starc to miss T20 for brother's wedding

Spoiler

Billy Stanlake looks set to be unleashed at the Gabba for Australia in Wednesday's Twenty20 international after Mitchell Starc was granted leave to attend his brother's wedding.

Stanlake was left out of the XI as Starc and Pat Cummins helped destroy Sri Lanka in Sunday's series opener in Adelaide, which the hosts won by 134 runs.

Starc will rejoin the squad on Thursday once brother, Brandon - a world-class high jumper - has tied the knot.

While Cummins enjoyed a rare limited overs reunion with Starc, he said the left- armer's absence in Brisbane wouldn't mean instant respite for the visitors on another fast and bouncy wicket.

"[Bowling short is] something we speak about, no doubt, especially at the Gabba or Adelaide Oval, where it's quite fast and bouncy," Cummins said.

"And all our bowlers are 6 [foot] four [inches] or 6'5."

Versatile quick Sean Abbott, a new addition to the squad to replace the injured Andrew Tye, is the other option Australia could turn to as they look to wrap up the three-match series.

Cummins isn't taking the tourist lightly despite Australia's dominance on Sunday, recalling how a tight loss in game two of a previous tour led to a shock series defeat.

"They're a really good side; looking down their team sheet yesterday, even some on their bench, they've got some pretty dangerous batters that didn't fire yesterday," he said.

"We've got to be pretty wary of them."

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/starc-to-miss-t20-for-brother-s-wedding-20191028-p5350y.html

 

[The Viper]

‘Dreadful’ Sri Lanka would not ‘have beaten a club side’ – Mark Waugh

Former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh ridiculed Sri Lanka after the visitors were soundly thrashed in the second T20I in Brisbane on Wednesday

The ease in which Australia knocked over Sri Lanka in the first and second T20Is of the three-match series has left some Australians disappointed with the one-sided and boring series.

Sri Lanka were defeated by 134 runs in Adelaide in the first game and suffered a nine-wicket thrashing in Brisbane, and the lack of fight from the islanders comes as a shock after their successful series in Pakistan, where they whitewashed the number-one ranked T20I side 3-0.

“Listen, Sri Lanka were absolutely dreadful, they wouldn’t have beaten a club side,” former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh, who is currently a TV commentator, said of Sri Lanka’s dismal showing Down Under.

Echoing similar sentiments, Sri Lanka’s interim head coach Rumesh Ratnayake said his team’s performance was “unacceptable”.

“I’m gutted, really, the boys are gutted — unacceptable,” Ratnayake told reporters. “The way we batted, it looked like we would be all out in the 12th over or so.”

Ratnayake pointed to the brief period between the conclusion of Sri Lanka’s tour to Pakistan and the start of their series in Australia as insufficient time to prepare for Australian conditions, but affirmed he was not “taking anything away from Australia.”

The third and final T20I takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 1.

https://www.islandcricket.lk/news/featured/dreadful-sri-lanka-mark-waugh-2019/