Sri Lanka v Australia – 1st Test: Match Preview
Following the team’s competitive defeat at the recently concluded One Day International (ODI) series against Australia, the Sri Lankan hosts are all set mark their return on the upcoming, opening Test fixture against the Australian tourists.
The 5-day fixture is set to begin on Wednesday, August 31, 2011, at the Galle International Stadium, and comes as part of the scheduled 3-Test series from Australia’s ongoing Tour to Sri Lanka; set to last till Tuesday, September 20, 2011.
The match is scheduled to come out with some potent performances from the two sides since Sri Lanka would be wanting to get back to the visitors with a win following the team’s defeat at the recent ODI spell.
On the other hand, for the Australians, the match comes with much importance following the team’s disappointing run at the previous seasons, especially the Ashes.
However, not only the performance, many agree to the fact that Australia’s cricketing slump came after the some important retirements of veterans such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Glenn-Donald-McGrath-c60183 and Mathew Hayden.
Hence, skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 may want to deliver a strong batting performance and will also look onto regaining Australia’s previous goodwill as the world champions in almost all formats of Cricket.
As for the upcoming Galle fixture, Australia will be stepping out with a much overhauled Test squad under the captaincy of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 who will be leading an assortment of veteran as well as fresh players on the team.
Talking about ‘fresh players’, the Australian cricketing fraternity had recently been coming out with some out loud headlines, criticising Cricket Australia’s (CA) selectors for adding un-tested players on the team’s Test squad against Sri Lanka.
However, the issue remaining unchanged, the ‘fresh players’ on the squad now include three uncapped players, including pacers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nathan-Michael-Lyon-c78822.
Other new faces on the side feature top order batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Michael-Beer-c1949.
As for the remaining players, the star batting roster includes skipper Clarke, Vice-captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MEK-Hussey-c1942.
While the bowlers’ squad, the list includes, pacers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SE-Marsh-c2470, who will be complemented by the one-off spinner Lyon.
The Sri Lankan Test squad, on the other hand, comes under the captaincy of able skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397.
Other probable batsmen on the team may include http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MF-Maharoof-c1944.
The last time Australia faced http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in a Test match, was in November 2007 during that year’s Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.
Both the teams went head to head in the 2-Test competition which eventually came to a closure with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 securing the series title with an undefeated 2-0 lead.
However, following the Lankans’ defeat, the team has groomed into a better cricketing side which was quite evident during Sri Lanka’s recent Tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013.
As for the recent ODI series against Australia, the 3-2 series result, concluding in visitors’ favour delivered some potent bowling performances by the Lankan hosts; primarily from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540.
With Malinga now absent from the Test squad, much reliance will be laid on the other pacers of the team, coupled with a forceful display from star batters, Sangakkara, Dilshan and veteran Jayawardene.
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