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Pallekele: Australia open their campaign in Sri Lanka with two Twenty20 internationals on Saturday and Monday which could set the tone for the rest of the tour.
Seasoned Australian fast bowler Brett Lee said he felt the Twenty20 games were the right way to start the seven-week tour, which also features five one-day internationals and three Tests.
Australia, once the masters of the game, will look to rebuild their battered reputation during the tour after falling to fifth place in the Test rankings, one behind Sri Lanka.
The Aussies, winners of four World Cup titles, were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the last edition played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh earlier this year.
Australia's Twenty20 captain Cameron White will return home after Monday since he is not part of either the one-day or Test squad that will be led by Michael Clarke.
The Twenty20 games will be played under floodlights at the Pallekele International Stadium, a new facility near the hill town of Kandy built for the World Cup.
Cameron White will have a point to prove when he leads Australia in a two-match T20 series against Sri Lanka from Saturday night.
The long-time Victorian skipper was appointed national captain in the shortest form of the game in January when Michael Clarke retired from T20 cricket.
But a poor World Cup, which came after he had also struggled on home soil against England and before that Sri Lanka, meant that selectors overlooked him for the one-day portion of the tour.
White hasn't reached 50 in his past 16 ODI innings and has just two half-centuries from his past 24 stints at the crease in the 50-over game.
But having been given the chance to lead his country, White will thrive on the added responsibility that comes with the job as he strives to build on the 1-1 result against England in January.
While there are the likes of hardened campaigners like Shane Watson, Brett Lee, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, White's squad is relatively inexperienced at international level.
Batsmen Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch, David Warner and David Hussey, all-rounders John Hastings, Steve Smith and Stephen O'Keefe and fast bowler James Pattinson are all players still in the infancy of their international careers.
And with selectors recognising the need to pick players who are specialists at this form of the game, all of them have their chance to impress and not only cement their places in the T20 squad but also potentially graduate to the ODI and Test cricket in the future.
With a 13-man squad selectors are likely to be keen to see that all players get at least one start in the two-game series at Pallekelle Stadium although Finch is in doubt after rolling his ankle earlier this week.
Smith is another player who will be eager to put his best foot forward after being overlooked for the three-Test series that follows the limited-overs portion of the tour while Pattinson will be the only debutant if he wins the nod.
The teams have met just four times in T20s previously and the ledger is square at 2-2 although three of the four matches have been played on neutral soil.
The results have alternated so far with Australia prevailing by 10 wickets in Cape Town in September 2007 before Sri Lanka turned the tables by six wickets in June 2009 in Nottingham.
In May last year in Bridgetown Australia won by 81 runs before Sri Lanka won the most recent battle by seven wickets in Perth last October.
These matches and upcoming games at home this summer will also help White and his team as they build towards next year's ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, one of the few titles Australia is yet to capture.
Teams from
Sri Lanka Tilakratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sunranga Lakmal, Jeevan Mendis, Ajanta Mendis, Thissara Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumara Sangakkara (wk), Chamara Silva.
Australia Cameron White (capt), Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin (wk), John Hastings, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Steven O'Keefe, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson.
Pitch and conditions
The Australians have been delighted by a hint of pace in the Kandy practice wickets and are hopeful for more of the same from the match strip. The Sri Lankans have trained in the evening to prepare for any moisture that may be present for a 7pm start.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Saturday August 6, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 19:00 (13:30 GMT, 23:30 EST)
