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The coach is eager for hundreds to become bigger so the team is able to post 300-plus scores frequently

Andrew McGlashan19-Jul-2021Coach Phil Simmons is targeting another uplift in West Indies’ ODI batting returns when they face Australia in a three-match series in Barbados this week.They put in three consistent displays batting second to beat Sri Lanka 3-0 earlier this year – which followed their 3-0 drubbing in Bangladesh during January – but Simmons is eager for the batting order to show they can kick on beyond 300.That wasn’t required against Sri Lanka as, by batting second, they knew what was needed each time and paced their chases, winning with three overs, two balls and nine balls remaining respectively in the three matches.There were top-order hundreds in each of those matches – from Shai Hope, Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo – which was further encouragement for Simmons but he knows there will be a need to post 300-plus totals on occasions and wants those at the top of the order to push on further.”We are looking for the way we batted to continue and improvements have to be made in the middle overs from 20-39 in order for us to get from 280-290 to the 320-330 we’ll need against Australia,” Simmons said. “We’ve been discussing that since the Sri Lanka series so now it’s time to put it into action.”Related

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Given the rate he naturally scores at, there is the potential for Lewis to turn his already sizeable contributions into huge scores as he did back in 2017 against England when he made 176 at The Oval. Against Sri Lanka, he was dismissed for 65 in the 29th over and 103 in the 38th, indicating he has the chance to bat for much longer.”It’s been great [that] in the last series the top three all got hundreds and what we are asking of them now is one of the top three carry on until the end so we get to that 320-330,” Simmons said.Lewis is one of the players who crosses over from West Indies’ T20 squad to their ODI set up but while Simmons can see some advantage to that as they look to build on the 4-1 series win quickly, adjusting to the longer game will be important.”Because there are some players from the T20 squad in this one some momentum can be taken over but there are other guys coming in,” he said. “We have to settle and play the way this format needs to be played. A lot more partnerships, bigger partnerships, things like that.”Reflecting on the T20 series where West Indies responded impressively after the loss against South Africa, Simmons picked out the variety of match-winners as one of the most satisfying areas.”The good thing about this series is that in different games different people came out as the ones leading. Dre [Russell] finished the first game, [Dwayne] Bravo took the mantle when he went up to bat, [Shimron] Hetymer had it, Chris [Gayle] had it in one game, [Sheldon] Cottrell came back in the last two games and showed what he’s capable of. And Fabian [Allen], he showed in South Africa games what he can do later in the innings and how his bowling has improved – he’s always been dynamite in the field – so they’ve all played their part.”Simmons said he was hopeful that captain Kieron Pollard, who sat out the whole T20 series with a hamstring injury, would be able to take his place in the first match on Tuesday and also indicated the likely return of Jason Holder after he was rested.Riley Meredith, Mitchell Swepson and Josh Philippe are among the Australia players uncapped in ODIs•Getty Images

Meanwhile, Australia are waiting on the fitness of captain Aaron Finch after he picked up a knee injury in the final T20. Ben McDermott and Ashton Agar are making good progress from their quad and hamstring injuries respectively.If Finch is unavailable, there are a range of options for a stand-in captain including former Test vice-captains Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh, former ODI vice-captain Alex Carey, Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques and Matthew Wade who stood in for Finch in a T20 against India last year.The visitors could hand out a number of new caps in the opening match with McDermott and Josh Philippe a chance of playing while legspinner Mitchell Swepson may come into consideration. As in the T20I series, Australia’s batting line-up in particular will be a long way from a first-choice top order.Both teams have played just six ODIs since the World Cup Super League began last year due to the disruption of Covid-19 and though this series comes amid a heavy T20 focus, the points on offer will sharpen minds.”That’s the only motivation you need, it’s points and it’s leading to World Cup 2023,” Simmons said. “The Australians are not going to be an easy target and they will be coming stronger after losing the T20 series.”West Indies ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Shai Hope, Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd

Hrishikesh Kanitkar, SS Das, Sitanshu Kotak to be batting coaches while board considers rolling out exclusive contracts for fast bowlers

Edited PTI story17-Nov-2021The BCCI is set to appoint Australia’s Troy Cooley as fast-bowling coach, and former India batters Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Shiv Sunder Das, along with Sitanshu Kotak, as the batting coaches at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.Former India and Mumbai legspinner Sairaj Bahutule will be the spin-bowling coach.Cooley is being roped in with an aim to create the country’s next generation of fast bowlers. A reputed fast-bowling coach, Cooley was with the England set-up during their historic 2005 Ashes campaign in which their fast bowlers, on home soil, became a nightmare for the Australian batters. The success of Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones and Steve Harmison was in part attributed to Cooley. Cooley was then roped in by Cricket Australia the following year and he worked with the national team till the 2010-11 season after which he joined the board’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.”I would say one of the biggest success for both Sourav [Ganguly, the BCCI president] and Jay [Shah, the secretary] is to convince Troy Cooley to work with India’s next batch of pacers at the National Cricket Academy,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. “We are hearing that BCCI is giving Cooley a three-year contract and he will closely co-ordinate with the NCA head of cricket, VVS Laxman.”BCCI set to introduce exclusive fast-bowlers’ contracts
The BCCI is planning on how to prepare the next crop of fast bowlers and one of the decisions set to be taken is an ‘Exclusive Young Pacers Contract’.It is understood that Ganguly, Shah, head coach Rahul Dravid and NCA’s new head VVS Laxman are trying to devise a contract that is exclusive and different from the central contract.It is learnt that Cooley and Laxman will hand-pick 10 young fast bowlers who are currently not in the national reckoning or do not have central contracts. These young pacers will be selected from the junior and first-class set-ups and handed ‘BCCI fast bowlers’ contract.’ They will be evaluated by Dravid and Laxman to see if they can be fast-tracked into the pathways team (India A) and then the senior side.Kanitkar, Das appointed batting coaches
Kanitkar and Das are back in the NCA fold in their familiar role as batting coaches, along with Kotak, who is set to travel to South Africa with the India A team.The three fielding coaches at the NCA will be Subhadeep Ghosh, T Dilip and Munish Bali. Dilip is currently working with the India senior team for the series against New Zealand while Ghosh will travel to South Africa with the A team. Bali is expected to work with the India men’s U-19 side.Both Ghosh and Das were part of India Women’s support staff for the multi-format tour of Australia in September-October.

Earlier, the franchise named Andy Flower as the head coach

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2021Former India opener and two-time IPL winning captain Gautam Gambhir has been named mentor of the Lucknow IPL team that will debut in 2022. The yet-to-be-named franchise is one of two new IPL teams, along with the Ahmedabad franchise, who will join the competition starting next season.The Lucknow franchise was bought by Indian business conglomerate RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) in August for nearly USD 1 billion, and had appointed former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower as the head coach on Friday.”Thanks a lot to Dr Goenka and the RPSG Group for presenting me this wonderful opportunity in their setup,” Gambhir said. “The fire to win a contest still burns bright inside me, the desire to leave a winner’s legacy still kicks me 24×7. I will not be contesting for a dressing room but for the spirit and soul of Uttar Pradesh.””Gautam has an impeccable career record,” Goenka said. “I respect his cricketing mind and look forward to working with him.”Gambhir played in the IPL for 10 seasons, being part of his home franchise Delhi Daredevils from 2008 to 2010. He was then bought by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011 and was also named the captain. Under his captaincy, Knight Riders won the title twice, in 2012 and 2014. He was released ahead of the 2018 season and returned to captain the Daredevils, but stepped down midway, handing over the reins to Shreyas Iyer following a woeful start to the season. Following his retirement, Gambhir moved into politics but has maintained his association with cricket, having taken up a role as a broadcaster.Gambhir’s prolific international career – during which he made 4154 runs in 58 Tests, 5238 runs in 147 ODIs and 932 runs in 37 T20Is – ended in December 2018, when he announced his retirement from all cricket.

Rehan Ahmed three-for in the penultimate over helps England crawl out of difficult position

Sreshth Shah01-Feb-2022
The first semi-final between two sets of nervous teenagers had it all. Broken stumps, dropped catches, run-outs, six-hitting cameos, a five-ball over, and a catch off a no-ball. England, though, held their nerve, and despite all their errors, crossed the line to reach their first U-19 World Cup final in 24 years.Afghanistan, chasing a spot in their very first ICC World Cup final, lost out in key moments. After getting England six down for only 136, Afghanistan could not end the innings well with the ball, conceding 95 in the last 12 overs. Then, two of their top four batters were out for ducks in a chase of 231.But late in the contest, Afghanistan were offered a backdoor pass into the match when England seamer James Sales had a horrific start to the 44th over. At that stage, Afghanistan needed 43 in four overs, but Sales conceded 10 runs courtesy two no-balls – the first of which also cost him a wicket – before delivering a legal ball, and by the end of the over, the equation was down to 23 off 18.However, left-arm seamer Joshua Boyden bowled a tight 45th, and legspinner Rehan Ahmed took three wickets in the 46th to book England’s spot in Saturday’s final against India or Australia.It was a brave call from England captain Tom Prest to bat first in cloudy conditions, and the opener George Thomas rode on some good fortune to smack a 69-ball 50. He survived getting dropped by Noor Ahmad, but the Afghan left-arm wristspinner eventually got him out.Thomas’ wicket, though, was the fourth to go down, with England losing Jacob Bethell, Prest and James Rew for meagre contributions. Naveed Zadran and Nangeyalia Kharote had made the early breakthroughs, before legspinner Izharulhaq Naveed dismissed William Luxton for 11. A lengthy rain break gave England a chance to regroup, but when Rehan fell after a 44-ball resistance, England were 136 for 6 and in trouble.That’s when George Bell and Alex Horton linked up to drag England to 231. Bell was more orthodox of the two, and hit six fours in his unbeaten 56. Horton smacked a breezy 36-ball 53 to give England the momentum at the break.England’s defense of 231 – target adjusted after DLS – began in a near-perfect manner when Boyden had Kharote out for a duck. Known for swinging the new ball, Boyden’s cutter had the batter through his shot too early and his stumps were left flattened.However, Mohammad Ishaq and Allah Noor (60) led Afghanistan’s recovery with a 93-run stand hovering at around four runs per over. Even though they did hit five sixes and eight fours between them, the stand had its periods of slow cricket with pressure from England’s bowlers, especially spinner Bethell. Eventually the pressure of a rising required run rate finally broke the stand when Ishaq was run out on 43 while responding to a quick single.Afghanistan needed another good stand to follow, but Thomas Aspinwall got in their way. He took two wickets in his first spell, including that of Allah, to expose Afghanistan’s lower-middle order. Even though Bilal Ahmad hit 33 in 34 balls, Afghanistan’s last roll of the dice was the partnership between Abdul Hadi and Noor Ahmad to take them over the line.Noor quickly got down to clearing the boundary with his strong hits as England briefly lost their way. Then came the Sales over that razed 20 runs off the target, leaving Afghanistan needing 7.67 per over to win with three overs to go. Boyden, though, made his presence felt with a four-run over, and Rehan made the most of the rising pressure to run through the tail with three wickets in the 46th. With only one wicket in hand, 18 off Boyden’s final over was too much for Afghanistan to achieve.

He has admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Neeyamur Rashid

Mohammad Isam04-Feb-2022Mohammad Shahzad was reprimanded by match officials after he smoked at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Friday. A demerit point was also added to Shahzad’s disciplinary record as his action was found to be in breach of Article 2.20 of the BCB code of conduct, which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”.Shahzad was among the players who were milling around the ground waiting for Minister Group Dhaka’s BPL match against Comilla Victorians to begin. Both of Friday’s matches were abandoned due to rain, but the talking point was how Shahzad flouted smoking rules inside the stadium.According to the BCB’s press release, Shahzad admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Neeyamur Rashid and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.Several media outlets carried photographs of Shahzad smoking in the stadium while standing next to some other players. There are also reports of Dhaka coach Mizanur Rahman being the first to warn Shahzad not to smoke on the outfield. Later, Tamim Iqbal apparently asked him to get inside the dressing room.Shahzad has been a Dhaka regular, having made 53 and 42 apart from four single-digit scores in the tournament so far. Dhaka are third on the table with seven points from seven games after Friday’s washout.

Spin-bowling allrounder credits Shakib Al Hasan for timely advice in Centurion: “I always listen to him in tough situations”

Mohammad Isam19-Mar-2022Mehidy Hasan Miraz wants to “dream big” and “win more overseas series” after playing a crucial role in Bangladesh’s historic ODI win in South Africa in the first match on Friday.Mehidy leaked 39 runs in his first five overs but ended up with 4 for 61, including the prized wicket of David Miller, who fell in the 46th over for a 57-ball 79. It was a crucial stage in the game, and the decision by Tamim Iqbal to bring Mehidy back for his second spell turned out to be a key one.”When I was leaking a lot of runs, I told Tamim that he can trust me. I will get him the wickets,” Mehidy said. “Litton was also supporting me. He was constantly telling me that I can turn things around.”Related

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He said that Shakib Al Hasan’s timely advice to change his approach and cut down on pace helped to turn the tables in Centurion.”I tried to bowl according to the merit of the wicket. I got a bit of turn from my end in the second spell,” he added. “Shakib told me to bowl slower. I always listen to Shakib in tough situations. He has vast experience, and he usually assesses the wicket very well.”When I am in two minds or under pressure, I keep telling myself that I can do it. I think this is a good thing. I motivate myself.”Mehidy, who recently hit an unbeaten 81 to help Bangladesh win from a near-impossible position against Afghanistan, has been having a purple patch of late, including playing a crucial role in Bangladesh’s Test win against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in January. In 2021, he had even risen to No. 2 in the ICC ODI bowling rankings.Mehidy said that Bangladesh now have bigger things to achieve, given that the team has won ODIs in every country they have played.”It is not possible to look for progress if you don’t have big dreams,” he said. “We are dreaming big. We want to win more overseas series. We want to win the Asia Cup, the World Cup. We are following these plans and trying to stick to the right process.”

New Zealand captain stroked 140* before bowlers rallied to bowl Netherlands out cheaply

Himanshu Agrawal02-Apr-2022Tom Latham cracked a career-best 140*, producing a batting masterclass in a near single-handed effort to take his side to 264 – and eventually a comfortable win – after they were 32 for 5 at one stage. New Zealand collapsed from 22 without loss to lose 5 for 10 inside six overs, as Netherlands sniffed a miracle only for the opposition captain to spoil their party.On a day when his team-mates should have rather given him a gift, it was instead birthday boy Latham himself who was forced to do some favour to them. But his bowlers, led by allrounder Michael Bracewell, ensured that the total was safely defended, with all six of them taking at least a wicket each.Netherlands’ reply started with both openers gone inside the first two overs itself, after which Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede steadied the ship. The 77-run stand that followed looked like the only while during which the visitors were in the chase, as the pair kept finding the fence with repeated boundaries.Related

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Vikramjit hit seven in his knock of 31, displaying an array of shots in the process: from the punch to the pull, from the slice to the slash. But once he deposited a Colin de Grandhomme full toss – a slower delivery bowled at 98kph – to long-on, the wheels soon started to come off for Netherlands.What was 81 for 2 at one stage became 146 all out, with Michael Bracewell grabbing three of the wickets to fall, two of those with an offspinner’s dream deliveries. He looped one up wide outside off to lure Pieter Seelaar to drive, as the Netherlands captain got forward only to see the ball turn back in sharply to hit off stump.Michael Bracewell continued dealing with flight, dip and turn when he had Michael Rippon stumped off an identical delivery, with Latham behind having all the time in the world to whip the bails off.But it was earlier in the day that Latham gradually dragged the game away from the bowling side. Watching from the dressing room, he saw Logan van Beek and Fred Klaassen rule with the ball after Netherlands had elected to bowl first on a brown-looking pitch.Despite his side being in trouble, Latham kept ticking the scoreboard by rotating the strike as well as striking the occasional boundary in the company of de Grandhomme, who played a more sedate role. By the 23rd over, when the latter departed after a brief recovery for a 40-ball 16, Latham had already reached 37 off 42 balls, never allowing the Netherlands’ bowlers to capitalise on the momentum by being content to just see them off and holding one end up.He next got an able partner in Michael’s cousin Doug Bracewell, who took after a quiet start of 9 from 23 deliveries. When he fell for a more-than-handy 41 off 51 balls in the 40th over, New Zealand still had only 179 on the board with just three wickets remaining.But Latham was in no mood to give up. After having added 90 with Doug Bracewell, he put on 42 with Ish Sodhi, racing to his sixth ODI hundred on the way, which came from his 101st delivery. The last six overs yielded 61 for the hosts, with their captain pressing the accelerator by clobbering five sixes and a four.All those maximums went over the leg-side boundaries, with three of those – where he fell on his back while smashing – a tribute to the modern expert Rishabh Pant’s methods: the one off van Beek in the 48th over saw Latham step across to a wide delivery outside off, and swipe him over deep square leg; and when Brandon Glover was called upon to bowl the last over, Latham refused singles off the first three deliveries before ramping successive sixes past the short boundary over fine leg and jamming his bat down for four between short third man and point.Who knew what kind of day his 30th birthday would turn out to be?

England fast bowler’s injury problems deepen with news of latest setback

Matt Roller19-May-2022Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the 2022 English summer with a stress fracture of the lower back as the injury saga which threatens to jeopardise his career rolls on.Archer, who last played for England in March 2021, had hoped to make his comeback from a long-term elbow injury for Sussex in the T20 Blast next week and had planned to play some second-team warm-up matches before their opening fixture against Glamorgan next Thursday.But he never made it on to the pitch and the ECB confirmed on Thursday morning that had been ruled out for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a back problem.Related

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“No timeframe has been set for his return,” a statement read. “A management plan will be determined following further specialist opinion over the coming days.”Archer, 27, has undergone three bouts of surgery in the last 14 months: one on his hand to remove a shard of glass, and two on his elbow.He made an aborted comeback after the first elbow surgery, playing one T20 Blast game and one Royal London Cup warm-up match for Sussex, before he was diagnosed with a stress fracture, prompting the second operation in December.He trained with England in Barbados as part of his rehabilitation during their T20I and Test tours to the Caribbean earlier this year and skipped the ongoing IPL – after he was signed for INR 8 crore (USD 1.06 million) by Mumbai Indians – with the intention of returning to competitive cricket in time for the start of the Blast.Archer admitted earlier this month that he had feared for his career at one stage during his lay-off and his latest setback will raise unavoidable concerns as to whether his body will be able to cope with the demands of first-class cricket again.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The ECB was already concerned about the number of English fast bowlers suffering injuries, with Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher among the seamers who were not considered for selection for the first Test squad of the summer.”It’s definitely a concern and trying to find out why this is happening is something that we need to look into,” Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, said on Wednesday. “We need to make sure that hopefully, it never happens again. But as you know with all fast bowlers, these unfortunately are the things that do happen – stress fractures in particular.”Archer is the third quick to be afflicted by a back stress injury this season. Mahmood was ruled out for the summer earlier this week, while Fisher was initially rested for four weeks due to concern around a “hot spot” before Yorkshire said he would face a further spell of monitoring.

England head coach reveals his fears about working together – that they’re too similar

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2022Brendon McCullum believes the England captaincy has come at the right time for Ben Stokes and admitted he initially feared the two were too similar to succeed together.McCullum was appointed as coach of the England Test side in the second week of May. By then, new managing director Rob Key had already taken the decision to make Stokes captain after Joe Root had stepped down at the start of the summer after five years in the post.The fear in the lead-up and reaction to Stokes’ appointment was burdening a talismanic allrounder with yet more responsibility, especially after he had come back from a mental health break less than a year before.McCullum, in a rare interview since taking his post, described the timing of Stokes’ appointment as “perfect”. And while talking up their similarities, acknowledged there were areas for them to improve on. Even after a strong start which sees England 2-0 up in this three-match series with New Zealand, the similarities between the pair will lead to some blindspots.”I think where Stokesy’s at in his career, and his aspirations as a leader and where he sees his team needs to go, it aligns beautifully to his personality and also to mine,” McCullum told SENZ Radio.”The danger probably was that we’d be too similar. But I think both of us have got such motivation to try and improve the side that we give and take in the areas we need to, and we try and ensure that we surround ourselves with leaders within the group as well, both on the field and also support staff who can fill in some of the gaps where we may not be as strong as well.Related

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“So understanding that we’re not the perfect products either, but I think being able to bounce off each other and to also push each other towards the danger, as well because sometimes even you have doubts. But if you’re able to have that filtering system between both the captain and the coach and to remain on task with what we’re trying to achieve and the direction that we want to go, I think it gives you a better chance of ensuring that there’s consistency with that message.”He also played it coy when asked about his words at tea on the final day of the Trent Bridge Test. England still had 160 of their 299 target to achieve, but did so in just 16 overs as Jonny Bairstow and Stokes went postal. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo last week, Ben Foakes revealed McCullum was “like William Wallace” when giving his team talk.”I don’t want to go too much into kind of what we what we said because it’s sacred in the dressing room,” said McCullum. “But I was echoing the sentiments of the skipper really, his messaging has been incredibly powerful and simple, trying to remove the fear of failure”There’s moments in Test matches, there’s moments in series, there’s moments in careers where you’ve got to be strong enough to stick to what the plan was initially. And just because there’s more at risk, or there’s more on the table, you shouldn’t walk away from that. And that was very much the message, go out there and try to win lads, that’s what we’re here for. We’ve done well even if we get beat, we’ve played a good game of cricket and if someone’s able to stand up to us and beat us when we throw everything at them then you’ve got to be content with it. And that was very much the messaging and the guys have been fantastic.”I couldn’t have asked for a more receptive dressing room than what we’ve had in the last two Test matches. But a lot of that is down to the skipper, his way and his methods are very much aligned to mine.”And so the messaging is from both angles, coach and a captain, I think it is able to resonate a lot more often. And with a lot more authenticity, which is able to permeate right throughout the group. So there was a little snapshot, it’s not always going to work, we’re going to get beat at some point as well, trying to play the same method. But that’s what’s going to give us our greatest chance to ensure that England is competitive and that England is able to be at the top of the tree in Test cricket and ultimately will allow Test cricket to hopefully continue to thrive.”

The visitors’ depth is being tested by injury but the pressure will be on Sri Lanka’s top order

Andrew McGlashan13-Jun-2022 • Updated on 14-Jun-2022

Big picture

Welcome back to the five-match ODI series, although, maybe, for the last time? Not since before the 2019 World Cup has there been a bilateral contest of this length in the men’s format. For Sri Lanka and Australia, it’s an extended opportunity to work on their games ahead of next year’s ODI World Cup, but these matches will have no bearing on qualification as they aren’t part of the one-and-done Super League (just nod and accept, it’s a cricket thing).There will be a glut of ODIs over the next nine months as FTP and Super League commitments are completed before the cut-off date. Australia have been particularly light on in the 50-over game since the pandemic; they did not play a single match at home last season and have had just two series -against West Indies and Pakistan – since late 2020.This will also be the first time they have had the majority of their first-choice ODI squad together in more than 18 months – Adam Zampa is missing on paternity leave – so while injuries have created some complications, it marks a moment where planning for the World Cup in India can start to get serious, in conditions that at times may not be a million miles away from those at the tournament. It is a chance for Andrew McDonald and Aaron Finch to start forming the style of one-day cricket they believe can be successful (early hint: expect an aggressive outlook with the bat that started in Pakistan).Related

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Australia will rotate through their fast-bowling depth, which is being tested with Kane Richardson now ruled out of the ODIs with a hamstring injury. Mitchell Starc will miss at least the first two matches, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will be managed. There may also be some different batting combinations tried. Travis Head’s successful return in Pakistan means there are no shortage of top-order options, and when Mitchell Marsh is fit and Cameron Green ready to bowl, the all-round depth is well served.Sri Lanka have named a 21-player squad, which may seem a touch excessive for a home series but at least means they can tick the all-bases-covered box. Their ODI cricket remains inconsistent and they are currently outside the automatic-qualification zone in the Super League. They have won their last two series, at home against South Africa and Zimbabwe, but have dropped what could be vital games in both. This will be the first ODI series under new coach Chris Silverwood.As ever, when facing Australia in subcontinent conditions, there will be a temptation to go with a spin-heavy attack, but Sri Lanka’s prospects will come down to whether their batting order can perform consistently. The record-breaking finish to the chase in the final T20I was a timely confidence boost. There is also significant excitement around uncapped 19-year-old allrounder Dunith Wellalage, and he may get a chance in the XI.

Recent form

(last five matches, most recent first)Sri Lanka WLWWL
Australia LLWWLKusal Mendis has to do well with the bat if he wants to remain the No. 1 contender for the wicketkeeper-batter’s position•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

If Kusal Mendis is given the nod as the wicketkeeper [see below], he will need to repay the faith with the bat. In the six ODIs he has played in the last two years, he has a top score of 36 and there are no shortage of candidates to take the gloves with Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella also part of the large squad. An ODI average of a tick under 30 from 80 innings feels underwhelming for a player of Mendis’ talent.Pat Cummins is among a group of senior Australia players returning to ODI colours since late 2020. He left the IPL early to recover from a hip injury, which Finch revealed he had been carrying for the last 12-14 months. These one-day matches will also act as his tune-up for the Test series in Galle. Cummins’ only previous cricket in Sri Lanka came when he was part of the 2012 T20 World Cup.

Team news

Nineteen-year-old Wellalage, a left-arm spinner who bats pretty well, seems likely to debut on Tuesday, joining a spin attack that comprises Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. This means Chamika Karunaratne is likely to be the second seam option behind Dushmantha Chameera.Sri Lanka have a few options on the wicketkeeper-batter front. They could keep Mendis in place, though he wasn’t particularly effective with the bat in the T20Is. Charith Asalanka will likely move down to his familiar No. 5 position in ODIs. Word from captain Dasun Shanaka is that they will keep the six batters, two allrounders, three bowlers combination from the ODIs. Bowling-wise, Hasaranga, Chameera and Theekshana are pretty much certain to play.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Dunith Wellalage, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Maheesh TheekshanaAustralia’s injury list is growing with Kane Richardson the latest casualty. Jhye Richardson has been preferred ahead of a second frontline spinner in Mitchell Swepson. Finch said they were keen to use Alex Carey at No. 5 to provide another left-handed option in the middle order.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Jhye Richardson, 11, Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions

Although the last T20I became a reasonably high-scoring game, there were also times when both sides struggled with the bat. The day-time element to the ODIs could be a factor. In the Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe series earlier in the year that was held entirely in Pallekele, the opening match saw Sri Lanka chase down 297 reasonably comfortably before Zimbabwe defended 302 and were then bundled out for 70. There is a chance of storms interrupting play.

Stats and trivia

• Warner, Smith, Cummins and Maxwell have not played an ODI since facing India in late 2020.
• The last bilateral ODI series between the two teams was in Sri Lanka in 2016 when Australia won 4-1. National selector George Bailey was Player of the Series then.