The first of the two Test matches between Australia and Sri Lanka takes place in Brisbane on Thursday with the opening game being played under the lights at The Gabba. Both sides conclude their winters in this series so are expected to give it their all.
Both teams go into this series off the back of hurtful defeats over Christmas so this is a last chance for redemption and to get something out of what has been a pretty fruitless few months all in all. Whoever wins here will be guaranteed a share of the series.
[the_ad id=”30626″]
Australia
Throughout the series with India there was one thing which stood out a mile and that was the fact that they no longer have a batting line up good enough for this level. There was little value on their wicket, poor technique for the most part, and a mixed attitude which only served to get them into trouble. Those batsman have the chance to redeem themselves here and potentially book a spot on the plane to England for The Ashes.
If there was some comfort for the Australians in the series against India then it comes in the form of their bowlers who were as good as we could have expected. They were always a wicket away from getting them ahead in the matches that they lost but there will be far worse efforts put up against India in the weeks and months ahead than that one.
Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankans were a lot more competitive in New Zealand than they were in their own conditions against England and that has to go down as a huge surprise given their perennial struggles overseas. In fairness though they struggled when they were in their pomp let alone now when they are going through a transition period so it is very much to their credit that they went so well in New Zealand.
One of the problems they always look likely to have however comes with their bowlers where they lack the penetration to stay on top for long enough periods of time. That in turn puts pressure on their batsmen and while they went well in New Zealand it is a tough ask to expect them to bail them out for too long.
Team News
Australia have announced their side and they will be giving a debut to Kurtis Patterson. Joe Burns replaces Aaron Finch at the top of the order while Jhye Richardson features in place of Josh Hazlewood who is out injured.
Sri Lanka will be without the injured Angelo Mathews which is a massive blow to their chances of getting anything from this match. Lahiru Thirimanne is expected to come in for him with Lahiru Kamara expected to get the new ball.
The Gabba
There have been 60 past Test matches on this ground but this will be the first day-night one. Australia have a wonderful record here with 38 wins and just eight defeats. There have been 13 draws and one tie. Sri Lanka have only played here twice and have a draw and a loss on their record on the ground.
This is usually a good place to bat with it likely to get better on the second and third days. Word is that there has been a lot of grass left on the pitch so there should be no shortage of pace and bounce, which is likely to be music to the ears of the home side.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
One man who was solid enough for Australia in the series with India is Tim Paine and I think his performance line is far too low at 88.5. Paine was very good with the gloves and in these conditions I’m expecting him to get a lot of catches and then with the bat he was adequate enough too. I would expect him to get somewhere near half of this total with the willow in hand and then he can make up the remainder of the target through catches. I’m happy to play the over here.
Tips
Back T.Paine’s Performance – Over 88.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019
