Australia bat first against Sri Lanka at MCG

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first in the 1st Twenty20 International against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. 

The Twenty20 series unkindly dubbed the ‘Who Cares Cup’ will get underway on Friday, with the MCG hosting the series opener between Australia and Sri Lanka.

With many of Australia’s best players currently deep in preparations for a four-Test series in India, there will be many new faces taking to the MCG.

The most familiar ‘new’ face belongs to 36-year-old Michael Klinger, who will make a long overdue international appearance and becomes Australia’s 10th oldest debutant in any format and comfortably its oldest in T20.

Other new faces in the international T20 scene include young West Australian Ashton Turner and Queensland quick Billy Stanlake, while the side will be captained by veteran opener Aaron Finch.

It will also mark the end of a six-year international absence for wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who hasn’t played a T20I since January 2011.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be encouraged by the explosive return of fast bowler Lasith Malinga who struck in his first over of the tour with a searing inswinging yorker in the Prime Minister’s XI fixture on Wednesday night.

TEAMS

Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), Michael Klinger, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Tim Paine, James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Andrew Tye

Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga (capt), Dilshan Munaweera,Asela Gunaratne, Milinda Siriwardana, Chamara Kapugedera, Seekkugge Prasanna, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga, Vikum Sanjaya