http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 vs Sri Lanka T20
The Australians and Sri Lankans are set to kick start their short limited overs series with a potentially explosive one-off T20 match on the fastest wicket in the World, the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) ground at Perth.
The two teams would be aiming to test out their strengths before they lock horns in an ODI series that follows the T20 encounter tomorrow.
The Sri Lankans have traditionally struggled to make an impact on the bouncy Australian tracks, a predicament of all touring teams from the Sub-continent.
They have won only 8 matches in all formats there and once again a big Test awaits them at Perth.
Led by the influential Kumar Sangakkara the tourists have one eye on the 50 overs World Cup that they co-host with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 and Sri Lanka next year, and the preparations for the tournament would get underway with the battle at the WACA tomorrow.
Although, it is only a T20 match the tourists know that a win here would set them in the right frame of mind before the three-match ODI series.
The ODIs would come thick and fast and have been scheduled in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane on 3rd, 5th and 7th November respectively.
Both teams have some explosive players in the line-up who have the potential to change the course of a match within minutes.
The Australians have an attacking middle and top order led by the left handed dynamite David Warner, who has been hailed as a T20 specialist for many years now.
The left hander, who finally won a call to the 50-overs squad in India did not feature in the series where only one match was played and the rest washed out.
The hosts would be heavily relying on Cameron White, who struck a dazzling 89 including 6 sixes in the only ODI against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 where the action took place.
He would be the one captain Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 would be eying for inspiration as he aims to silence critics, who think that he is a waste in the shortest format of the game, and is only a good leader of men.
The bowling line-up is led by left armer Dirk Nannes, who has impressed in his T20 appearances the World over.
On the other hand the Sri Lankans also feature Muttiah Muralitheran the veteran off spinner, who retired from the longest format of the game after amassing a tally of 800 wickets.
The man from Kandy has vowed to play on in the shorter formats till the World Cup and he would be hoping to find rhythm and form in Australian conditions a place he has not enjoyed touring much over the years.
The day and night encounter is set to be played in front of a packed stadium, the series is a prelude to the biggest battle of the year for the Australians, the battle for the Ashes.
The Test series starts later this month, and the tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 is basically aimed at warming up the Australian crowd for the series against the old enemy.
Non-the-less the limited overs encounter has its own value for the two teams, who are fine tuning their resources in a time for the biggest ODI tournament that starts in February next year.
Sri Lanka squad Kumar Sangakkara (capt, wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Silva, Jeevan Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedara, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah
Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv, Dammika Prasad, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dinesh-c54134 Chandimal.
Australia squad David Warner, Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326, Brad Haddin (wk), Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Steven Smith, John Hastings, Steve O'Keefe, Peter Siddle, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes
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