Steven Smith’s Australia faces a tough spin test in Sri Lanka which begins in a little over a week’s time from now. Three Test matches is what the young Aussie side will be playing against a Sri Lankan team that certainly is not strong even on paper, following the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. What Sri Lanka does have even now is ace left-arm spinner Rangana Herath who can easily run through any opposition in home conditions. The Aussies will have their task cut out facing him. While the hosts hold the edge because of the Herath factor, they are otherwise plagued by injury problems to few of its bowlers which include Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera.
Australia are on the right track, coming earlier than the actual schedule to spend more time in acclimatizing to the Sri Lankan conditions. According to several Australian cricket news and game predictions that we see online, this serious preparation from the Australian camp is sending good signals back home about the team’s eagerness in conquering the sub-continent. What’s more, the Aussies have recently appointed South African great Allan Donald as their bowling coach. We know that Donald has a wealth of experience and success as a fast bowler in sub-continental conditions which will be useful for the Australian pace attack comprising the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, Nathan Coulter-Nile along with all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Moises Henriques.
The tourists have made two more big decisions in roping in Sri Lankan greats Muttiah Muralitharan and Thilan Samaraweera as their spin consultant and batting consultant respectively. This for sure will go against the interests of the Sri Lankan team as the duo bring to the table an incredible experience of playing in the Sri Lankan conditions. This is Australia’s first tour to Sri Lanka after a long gap of five years, so this will be the first of its kind for even players like David Warner and Skipper Steven Smith, the two big names in the batting department.
Australia are the favorites to win the Test Series but their recent record against spin hasn’t been great. Their last tour to India in 2013 was a disaster as they went down 0-4 with the batsmen unable to tackle the duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on turning tracks. Quite a few players from that disastrous Indian tour are part of the Australian team for the ongoing Sri Lankan tour, and will be looking to prove their mettle against spin this time around.
The first of the three Sri Lanka vs Australia Tests begins on July 26th at Pallekele. The other two Tests are at Galle and SSC, Colombo. Australia have the edge over Sri Lanka as of now. Nathan Lyon could be the trump card for them. Let’s see how it goes for him and his team. Whoever wins, we are in for an exciting contest between two young teams.