Australia XI Announced For 1st ODI Against Sri Lanka

Australia has announced its XI for the 1st ODI match of the five-match series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Australia XI confirmed for 1st ODI:-

Captain Aaron Finch on Tuesday confirmed his XI for the first ODI against Sri Lanka after news bowler Kane Richardson was ruled out of the squad with a hamstring problem.

Also read:- ENG vs NZ: Ollie Pope Gives England Dressing Room Hope About No. 3 Position

Finch said that Richardson was injured during the final T20 practice, but he was seriously unaware of the seriousness until he got it scanned.

Boxing Day Test star Scott Boland has been called up to the squad, but he will not feature in the first ODI, instead, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Jhye Richardson will stock the pace.

Mitchell Marsh was ruled out due to injury:-

It has been a tough tour for Australia’s seamers, with Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott, and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh ruled out due to injury so far.

The five-match ODI series comes after three T20Is in which Australia claimed the first two but got the hosts back in a thrilling final match.

After sitting out the T20Is, Cummins replaced Kane Richardson in the squad for his first ODI in 18 months, while Marnus Labuschagne replaced Josh Inglis and Matthew Wade replaced Alex Carey behind the stumps.

Ashton Agar remains in charge of slow-ball duty, which means the wait for Mitch Swepson to make his first appearance on the tour will continue.

• David Warner
• Aaron Finch (c)
• Steve Smith
• Marnus Labuschagne
• Alex Carey
• Marcus Stoinis
• Glen Maxwell
• Ashton agro
• Pat Cummins
• Jhye Richardson
• Josh Hazlewood

The first two ODIs in the series are at Pallekele before they travel to Colombo for the last three.

Finch flagged the possibility of playing two spinners later in the series as the pitches are likely to call for more variety, while injuries to the pacers mean they have to be mindful of their workload.

An Extra Spinner or possible form:-

“Coming back to Colombo, the wickets will probably be a little dry and we would like to play an extra spinner or possibly an extra all-rounder to be able to get through the 50 overs,” Finch said.

“It’s not ideal, but it’s a part of traveling life in this day and age.”

Read more:- IND vs SA Dream11 Prediction Today With Playing XI, Pitch Report & Players Stats

“We still think that going in Maxwell and Stoinis with a spinner and all-rounder, Marnus can bowl a few overs here and there as well, we think we’ve got enough cover for that fifth bowler.

“We think two out-and-out spinners probably won’t be needed as much on this surface. But in Colombo, that will definitely be considered.”