Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Australia possible playing 11 for first Test against Sri Lanka | Australia’s probable playing 11 for first Test at Galle
Australia is gearing up for the first Test of their upcoming series vs Sri Lanka amidst looming injury concerns over key players. The opening game will begin from 29th June at Galle after the two countries shared the spoils in the limited-overs contests earlier this month. The Aussies won the T20I series by 2-1 but Sri Lanka struck back to emerge victorious by a margin of 3-2 in the ODIs.
This has set the stage up perfectly for the red-ball series with both the Tests to be played at Galle. Australia had initially named a near full-strength Test squad under the captaincy of Pat Cummins.
Australia’s possible playing 11 for first Test at Galle
Usman Khwaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Swepson
Travis Head returns to training
Key middle-order batsman Travis Head’s hamstring strain paved the way for Glenn Maxwell’s return to the Test squad. With 160 runs in five games, Maxwell was Australia’s highest-run scorer in the recently-concluded ODI series.
He backed it up with five dismissals with the ball and was even the Man of the Match in the opening game of the series in Pallekele. It shot up hopes of the dynamic all-rounder’s return to the Test setup after five years.
However, Head returned to the field during Sri Lanka’s first training session on Sunday. The southpaw had a series of extended run-throughs and even spent substantial time in the nets. These developments have sparked rumours of him holding on to his spot in the XI, which could potentially disrupt Maxwell’s highly-anticipated comeback.
To be fair, Head averages a massive 152 after having scored 304 runs in three innings in Tests against Sri Lanka. He has 177 runs at an average of 35.40 in four Tests this year and has been a regular in the Australian middle-order in the last few years. There are arguably little doubts over him continuing in the XI given that he is cleared to be fit for the opening Test.
Who will partner Nathan Lyon?
Australia is also actively looking for a second spin option to partner Nathan Lyon after Ashton Agar was ruled out of the game due to a side issue. Left-arm spinner Jon Holland was recently drafted into the squad whereas the likes of Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy remain in the fray to replace Agar. Leg-spinner Swepson was handed his Baggy Green in Pakistan earlier this year.
Holland debuted in Galle six years ago whereas Kuhnemann delivered impressive performances in the recent ODI series. Holland trained with Lyon on Sunday as he and Kuhnemann are likely to be preferred given that off-spinners reportedly tend to edge their leg-spinning counterparts in subcontinent Tests.
However, Usman Khwaja begged to differ to this notion as he pushed for Swepson to continue in the XI in the upcoming Tests.
“It’s just two finger spinners (often being used) because finger-spin is easier to bowl than leg-spin. You don’t get many people like Mitchell Swepson who are up to his calibre, (with) his class and accuracy. He bowled some really good spells against Pakistan, but you still haven’t seen the best of Mitch Swepson,” Khawaja was quoted in a report by Cricket Australia.
He added, “I’ve seen a lot of him. He’s unbelievable and once he locks in, he’s as good as anyone … he can beat both sides of the bat and actually get more turn (than finger spinners).” Swepson had returned wicketless in three innings in the series vs Pakistan.
Swepson was eventually picked as the spinner for the first Test.
Mitchell Starc’s Finger Injury
Meanwhile, frontline pacer Mitchell Starc had sliced open his left index finger earlier this month. He didn’t participate in the training on Sunday and the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules actually prevent him from wearing a tape to start the game.
However, a dichotomy in the regulations ensure that the umpires would allow him to cover the wound if it splits open again during the course of the game. It is important to note that none of the other Aussie pacers participated in the training session either. Starc has featured in a solitary game in this tour so far and had taken three wickets in that T20I before injuring his finger.
Steve Smith’s No-Show
Steven Smith was an unusual absentee from the practice session as well. The 33-year-old had missed a chunk of the ODI series due to an injury to his left quad but he will be returning to training on Monday. Smith clarified that he would have been touch and go if it were the ODIs but will most definitely feature in the Test series. “I field in the slips, won’t be doing a great deal of running around in the field. And then in these conditions there’s not a lot of hard running,” Smith told the aforementioned website.
