Ponting unhappy with Konstas axing
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting is scratching his head at the team selection for this Test.
“Don’t like it. To be honest,” he said on Seven’s coverage.
“In two Test matches time they are playing in England and Konstas will be straight back into the side then.
“We have seen Travis Head open the batting in the sub-continent before and he did very well.
“No doubt he will look to get Australia off to a flyer and almost bat like he’s in one-day mode, (but) there is a missed opportunity for Australia to get to know more about Sam Konstas.
“If he is the player we all think he is, I would have loved to have seen him work out a way to play spin over the next few weeks.”
He adds he “thought Konstas had to play”.
Australia to bat first after winning the toss
Steve Smith correctly calls heads and Australia will bat first after winning the toss.
Smith says he is unsure how the wicket will play, calling the pitch “tacky” at first sight.
Both teams are going with three spinners.
Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva says he would have liked to bat first as well.
Here are the two confirmed line-ups. Sam Konstas has been dropped from Australia’s side.
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (C), Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (WK), Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (C), Kusal Mendis (WK), Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
Josh Inglis presented Baggy Green ahead of debut
Josh Inglis will make his Test debut this afternoon, and he’s been presented his Baggy Green by Geoff Marsh.
The full Australian XI for the first Test will be confirmed shortly at the coin toss.
How to watch the Sri Lanka vs Australia Test match
While we’ll be covering the match live here in this blog, here’s a bit of additional information on how and where to watch the Test.
Welcome!
Good afternoon and welcome to ABC Sport’s live coverage of the Test series between Sri Lanka and Australia.
This is a two-match series, with both being played at the wonderfully picturesque Galle International Cricket Stadium.
It is Australia’s first trip to Sri Lanka since 2022, a series which finished 1-1 with both matches played at the same venue.
The action is set to get underway in just over 45 minutes’ time, so strap yourselves in as we bring you all the news and the coin toss before live play.
