Key events
Preamble
Rob Smyth
Hello and welcome to live, over-by-over coverage of the second and final ODI between Sri Lanka and Australia in Colombo.
Less than three weeks ago it looked like 10 of Australia’s World Cup-winning XI would be off to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, with David Warner the only man missing. Now there are six men standing: Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and the Mitches, Starc and Marsh, have all been ruled out, and Australia find themselves having to rebuild a great team on the hoof.
This is their last official ODI before the Champions Trophy opener against England a week tomorrow. At the moment no warm-ups are scheduled, so Australia are likely to pick what Andrew McDonald thinks is their provisional XI going into the tournament.
That should mean a return for Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis, though it’s the composition of the bowling attack that is more intriguing. Adam Zampa is a sure thing; the other three or four places are up for grabs.
The bowling ability of Maxwell and Head, as well as Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Short, plus the stellar batting form of Alex Carey, gives them plenty of options both in terms of personnel and the balance of the side.
Today’s match should give us a pretty good idea of their thinking, and whether this rejigged team has the potential to add the Champions Trophy to Australia’s bulging cabinet.
