By CricketCountry Staff
Australian captain Michael Clarke has won the toss and decided to bat in the first Test of the three Test match series at Galle on Wednesday.
Published: Aug 31, 2011, 10:58 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2011, 10:58 AM (IST)
The ongoing Test series will be the first for Australia under the leader ship of Michael Clarke who led the team in the last Test of the Ashes series © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Galle: Aug 31, 2011
Australian captain Michael Clarke has won the toss and decided to bat in the first Test of the three Test match series at Galle on Wednesday.
It will be the beginning of a new era for Australians when they take on Sri Lanka under new skipper Michael Clarke, with the first of the three Test matches beginning on Wednesday, August 31 at the Galle International Stadium.
This will be the first Test series for Australia under the leader ship of Michael Clarke who led the team in the last Test of the Ashes series.
As a batsman, Michael Clarke has hit the right note with a century in one of the practice matches on Saturday. Also a hundred by the debutant Usman Khawaja Sri Lanka Board President’s XI must be good news for the Australian middle order batting.
Also, New South Wales pacer Trent Copeland is set to make his Test debut in the first Test. Copeland will replace Ben Hilfenhaus .
Sri Lanka is presently placed at the fourth spot in ICC Test rankings, having won only one of the last 12 Tests played. Under them are placed the Australians – embarking their journey to regain the No. 1 spot – with one win in last eight Tests played.
Teams
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan (c), Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Prasanna Jayawardene(wk), Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv, Chanaka Welegedara..
Australia : Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (c), Michael Hussey, Usman Khawaja, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon, Trent Copeland.
