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Sydney: Sri Lanka's sprightly cricketers will look to end their winless streak when they take on an Australia sans talismanic skipper Michael Clarke in the tri-series one-dayer on Friday.
Lying at the bottom of the points table, the closest Sri Lanka got to a win in the series was the nerve-wrecking tie against India in their last match.
But the islanders, unpaid for the past several months by their Board, have shown the stomach for a fight and they might just get the elusive win to show for the hard work so far when they take on Australia, which will have an old guard in Ricky Ponting as captain.
With Clarke out nursing a hamstring strain and the selectors not too confident about vice-captain David Warner, Ponting has been handed the job he quit last year.
"I want to make it very clear this is Michael Clarke's team that I'm just stepping up to look after for a couple of days," Ponting said.
Australia goes into the match on the back of a narrow four-wicket loss to India in their previous match. The biggest concern to emerge from the defeat was the top-order failure.
The flamboyant Warner's fireworks didn't last long enough and the gamble to push Ponting to the opener's slot didn't work either. With Clarke out, Ponting's form would be all the more crucial in Friday's match even though Michael Hussey's return will bolster the line-up.
It was left to debutant Peter Forrest and David Hussey to rescue the innings in Adelaide but once they departed, the Aussies failed to build on the foundation they had laid.
Another baffling decision was to keep in-form rookie wicketkeeper Mathew Wade down the order after asking him to open in the previous couple of matches.
On the upside, a new batting talent in Forrest was unearthed and it would be interesting how the 26-year-old does tomorrow after striking an impressive half century on debut.
On the bowling front, veteran pace spearhead Brett Lee is expected to be back to lead the attack after making a stunning early recovery from a toe injury. Ryan Harris has been "forced" to rest under the rotation policy - something that the bowler is not too happy about himself.
On other hand, Sri Lanka, have batting problems of their own to sort out. The aggressive Tillakaratne Dilshan's bat has been uncharacteristically quiet and Kumar Sangakkara is also due to play an innings of substance.
Dinesh Chandimal and Mahela Jayawardene though batted well in the match against India but the lack of a concerted effort means that bowlers have been far too often left too little to play with.
The bowlers, on their part, have done a decent job. This was evident from the way they stifled a formidable Indian batting line-up in the previous match.
The likes of Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulsekara need their batsmen to put enough runs on the board to ensure that their effort gets the team the right result.
At the SCG, Sri Lanka should again play two spinners, and changes to the pace-bowling group appear unlikely. Upul Tharanga is yet to reach double figures in this series but scored a couple of half-centuries in the recent series against South Africa. An extended run of poor form from him could lead to top-order changes, but for now he is likely to retain his spot.
Teams from:
Australia: David Warner, Matthew Wade (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Mike Hussey, David Hussey, Peter Forrest, Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty, Mitchell Marsh, Clint McKay and Mitchell Starc
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Sachithra Senanayake, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad and Lahiru Thirumanne.
Pitch and conditions
The SCG is usually a good batting surface and last time a one-day international was played at the venue, Australia chased down 334 to beat England. However, the weather could play a part: the forecast for Friday suggests the chance of thunderstorms and a top temperature of 28C.
Stats and trivia
Should Sangakkara reach 10,000 runs in this game he will be easily the fastest Sri Lankan to the milestone, in 315 games, compared to Jayasuriya's 337 and Jayawardene's 355
Sri Lanka were the last team to beat Australia in an ODI at the SCG, with a 29-run victory in November 2010
Match facts
Friday February 17, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 1420 local (0320 GMT, 08:50am SL)
