Australia begin their three-match Test series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday Afternoon (AEST) and will be confident of taking victory fairly comfortably.
They are playing in a country they have enjoyed plenty of success in over the years – the hosts won’t go down without a fight though.
Apart from form and squad selection, which can obviously be analysed it is very interesting to note that Sri Lanka is the only country in the sub-continent that Australia have actually enjoyed themselves in.
While it is well known that Australia have no luck against India for the most part, and indeed Pakistan whether those matches have been played in Pakistan or their new home in Abu Dhabi, it has been a different story in Sri Lanka.
The last time the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy was fought for came all the way back in 2012-13 with Australia winning that home series 3-0. Overall Australia have won 17 of their 26 matches against the countries, with all but one of the others being draws.
So simplified, Sri Lanka have beaten Australia once in 26 matches which is an astounding record and leaves Australia in a good position coming into this year’s series.
Sri Lanka, right through their history in Test cricket have always had a strong bowling attack, particularly when playing on home soil with Muttiath Muralitharan standing out at the head of that list and this time around will be no different.
Unfortunately for the hosts though, their attack – which was talked up by former top-order batsman Mihaela Jayawardene as ‘potentially the best in the world’ – was found out big time away from home in their most recent series against England.
In fact, they were comprehensively hammered. Despite England’s top order woes, which have been well documented, they always found a way to put a big partnership together and Sri Lanka’s bowlers just struggled.
While it is easy to say Sri Lanka aren’t in form and should improve come this series at home they will need to overcome an Australian outfit which has built fairly impressively, and as already mentioned has an incredible record in the head-to-head record of the countries.
Unlike Sri Lanka, Australia haven’t played any Test cricket since the back end of February when they toured New Zealand. If you were to go on that form, and indeed during their home summer when they hosted New Zealand and the West Indies then they are in good form.
But that wasn’t the sub-continent.
Depending how much you read into limited overs form, they are also looking strong based on their recent tri-series victory over the West Indies and South Africa.
Australia did play one warm-up game heading into the series taking on a Sri Lankan board XI and winning comprehensively, as should probably have been expected.
Steve O’Keefe played a staring role with the ball, taking five wickets in each innings and with a dry and turning track predicted for the first match of the series he has been included in Australia’s XI.
What is worrying is that Nathan Lyon didn’t pick up a single wicket in the first innings and went at over five runs per over. Without the extra paceman, even if Mitch Marsh can fill that void the pressure will be on him to get it right from the outset.
It was a promising effort from the Australian batting as well, all though maybe a sign of things to come as each batsman made a start and was simply unable to go on with it. Joe Burns had 72, while it was left to Steve O’Keefe to top score with 78.
Still, for a first hit out it wasn’t a bad effort and another few days of training should have them primed and ready.
What this really looks like is a battle for Sri Lanka to score enough runs in order for their bowling attack to be given a chance at winning games.
Alot of this responsibility, to score runs will rest with captain Angelo Matthews and wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. Easily their most experienced players, they anchored the team in the series against England to no avail and will hope to have more support on home soil.
Kaushal Silva and Kusal Mendis, who both batted in the top order against England showed some positive signs and will absolutely need to see off the new ball which is likely to be taken by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Protecting Chandimal and Matthews from that could be the key to the series.
For the Sri Lankan batting, it isn’t about setting mind blowing targets though, it is all about being consistent and scoring enough runs to give their bowlers a chance against what tends to be an inconsistent Australian batting line-up away from home.
Despite being 38 years of age, Rangana Herath looks to be the key to the Sri Lankan bowling line-up at home on dry and turning pitches.
The Australian batting order, with some notable exceptions have struggled against spin, so don’t be surprised to see Herath introduced to the attack early in an attempt to pick up wickets. He was also in decent form during the England tour.
From an Australian point of view, they need to be aggressive against the spin. They have gone for a defensive mindset before and it has worked about as well as trying to run through a brick wall. Calculated risk taking is a must.
Either way, it shapes as an interesting tour and the weather could have a big say.
If that gets any life out of the pitches then the advantage instantly goes to the Aussies thanks to Starc and Hazlewood – Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep simply aren’t on the same level when it comes to pace bowling.
1st Test: July 26-30, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy – 2:30pm
2nd Test: August 4-8, Galle International Stadium, – 2:30pm
3rd Test: August 13-17, Colombo Sinhalese Sports Club – 2:30pm
Sri Lanka
Angelo Mathews (c), Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Asitha Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Rangana Herath, Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Roshen Silva, Kaushal Silva
Australia
Steven Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Jackson Bird, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), Steve O’Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges
Prediction
Australia have always struggled on the sub-continent and it is almost a given that they will run into some sort of road block throughout any away series they spend there. In saying that, they haven’t run into a stack of problems in Sri Lanka.
Still, Sri Lanka are a lot weaker than the likes of Pakistan and India and therefore we should see a series win for the green and gold, who have built up a solid squad.
In saying that, they do need to get their team selection right match-by-match, based on the pitch and conditions, and perform with the bat against what is talked up as a very strong Sri Lankan bowling attack.
Sri Lanka will fight hard though and it should be a good battle. They have plenty of talent, particularly with the ball which means it should be a very low scoring series and of course they will do a mile better at home than what they did against England away from home.
The weather will play a part as well, which it so often does in Sri Lanka. The first match of the series could be almost totally lost while long range forecasts suggest play should be possible in the second and third tests.
If that is the case then Australia should get the job done in a pair of close encounters, despite the headline.
It definietely won’t be all one-way traffic.
Australia 2-0.
As with every match Australia play, The Roar will be providing live coverage of each and every day’s play throughout the series. Be sure to check it out and get involved in the conversation!
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
Nathan Lyon's spell with English county Lancashire has been halved as Cricket Australia looks to protect the fitness of the star spinner. The Australian,…
Cricket Australia insists Optus Stadium can replace the Gabba as the men's Test team's new fortress after handing Perth the first match against India.…
It's no longer about how many runs score individually - it is about the team's ability to win Test in pressure moments.
