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Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2016: Angelo Mathews urges his players to play Mitchell Starc cautiously

Mitchell Starc also became the fastest bowler to take 100 ODI wickets during the first match of the 50-overs format of the tour.

Angelo Mathews would want a better performance from his boys and hope to level the series in 2nd ODI © Getty Images
Angelo Mathews would want a better performance from his boys and hope to level the series in 2nd ODI © Getty Images

Angelo Mathews said his team would seek to shelve the ambitious strokes against Mitchell Starc, even if the pitch for the second One-Day International (ODI) is better for batting than the previous surface as the pacer is in form and should be respected for that. Starc was already miserly during the first ODI. He did not concede a boundary in his ten overs, which cost only 32 runs and also took three wickets. Each of those dismissals, however, was the result of an expansive drive gone awry. Mathews said his team would seek to a safety first approach against the pacer and play him with more caution. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs Australia 2016, 2nd ODI at Colombo

According to CricInfo, Mathews stated, “We have a clear plan for him, i.e. to refrain from attacking him, so that we don’t give him wickets. If we can score 40 or 50 runs off him, we feel that we can catch up against the other bowlers. Because he’s bowling well, we should give him that respect. But at the same time we also have to put his loose balls away.”

Starc became the fastest bowler to take 100 ODI wickets during the first match of the 50-overs format of the tour but did not return the best figures of the evening. James Faulkner took 4 for 38 in his ten overs, and used slower balls to excellent effect.

On tackling Faulkner, the Sri Lankan skipper added, “With Faulkner, his variations were excellent on that pitch, because of how dry it was. We struggled with those variations, so we’ll come with a plan tomorrow.”

As far as Sri Lanka’s bowlers are concerned, left-arm wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan took two wickets in his debut match but, as in the Tests, proved expensive as well, giving away 33 runs in five overs. Like in the Tests, Mathews brought him on to bowl relatively late in the innings. His first over was the 25th of the chase. READ: Mathews blames middle-order collapse for defeat

On using the debutant in the middle overs, the captain stated, “I wanted to spread the field a bit and bring Sandakan in with that protection – I didn’t want to bowl him in the Powerplay. We also have Amila Aponso, who bowled brilliantly, and also Dilruwan Perera, who’s very experienced in international cricket. I wanted to bring Sandakan on against guys like Matthew Wade and Faulkner, who haven’t seen him much. He didn’t bowl that well in the last Test, so he’s a bit low on confidence. I wanted to make sure to bring him on later and give him that protection.”

Sri Lanka’s XI for the first ODI did not feature a specialist quick, with all-rounders Thisara Perera and Mathews himself the only seam options. An injury to Nuwan Pradeep has now ruled yet another quick out of contention, but the hosts have named a batsman in Pradeep’s place. Coach Graham Ford said newcomer Angelo Perera may play at some point in the series. READ: Working with Donald is fantastic: Starc

“The selectors felt that Angelo Perera played really well in England. He’s a very capable player. I remember him from the first time I was involved with the team. He has a chance of playing. He had a good net today, so there’s a chance that he could be considered”, concluded Ford.

The five-ODI series is currently in favour of Australia with a 1-0 lead.

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