Australia v Sri Lanka, VB Series, Melbourne
Australia recall the big guns
Cricinfo staff
January 12, 2006
Australia take on a chastened Sri Lanka in the opening match of the VB Series, at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne, and will have a full-strength seam attack to call upon. Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee return after being rested for the Twenty20 international against South Africa, while Nathan Bracken will act as first change.
Stuart Clark and Brett Dorey have been left out but will both gain opportunities during the tournament, as Australia assess their options head of the World Cup. Ricky Ponting has said that there is likely to be an element of rotation among the squad, with the captain himself aiming to take a break at some point during the preliminary round.
Simon Katich retains his place as opener alongside Adam Gilchrist, while James Hopes returns as the allrounder in the middle order after recovering from injury. Australia's batting has been in fine form in recent ODIs, racking up 252, 322 and 331 in the three matches against New Zealand. However, the second-string bowling attack was less impressive; almost failing to defend 322 at Wellington and then conceding the world-record run chase of 332 at Christchurch.
Sri Lanka are coming off the back of a tough time in New Zealand, where they lost three of the four one-day internationals, and warmed-up for the triangular tournament with a humbling seven-wicket defeat against Victoria. They have a poor record in Australia; out of 29 ODIs they have only managed to win five. Their weakness against quality quick bowling on bouncy tracks has often been exposed.
This time the Sri Lankan batting consists of a number of inexperienced batsmen, including Michael Vandort and Upul Tharanga, who will not have encountered Australian conditions. The onus will be on Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Atapattu to bring stability to the batting, while Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan will, as usual, shoulder the bowling responsibility.
For the first time in a one-day international at the Telstra Dome the roof will remain open throughout the match.
Australia Adam Gilchrist (wk), Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath. Supersub Brad Hogg
Sri Lanka (probable) Jehan Mubarak, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Marvan Atapattu (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando. Supersub Malinga Bandara
