I'm assuming this Test is in Brisbane?

why labu over puckovski? :(

Because it is the right decision.

I too would have bitten the bullet and tossed the kid into the cauldron. 

Burns is the lucky one. I suppose his decent Shield record got him there.. as it should. But the pressure is well and truly on him now to perform against the new ball. Perform or perish with Renshaw breathing down his neck.

No DC  the match has been moved to Bellerive just so you can see it live.:P

Can Australia salvage some pride after the shellacking we took from India? A good start has been made with two of three squad members debuting. Would also have liked to see the baby of the squad..Will Pucovski make his debut. If you are going to bring someone into the cauldron of Test cricket what better time than against an opposition that is no longer strong without their retired greats.

A better time would be not dropping him into this negative and shambolic Australian team. I'd wait till Smith comes back so we don't actively need to rely on him and heap pressure onto him.

Fair point.

I disagree after seeing him bat at Bellerive, live.

Apart from playing short balls, he is currently the most assured batter we have.

I think we should  play Puck against an attack he looked composed in his second innings and against a team he has already played against.

Toss coming up. Pitch whisperer Phil Tuffnell?  says "win toss and bat.. this is a belter"

I want Paine to send the Lankans in as we want first use of the swinging dusk conditions when the pink ball suddenly starts hooping. Add the movement in the air to the pace and bounce in the pitch and we can put this rather inexperienced Lankans outfit under immense pressure. I also wanna see our quicks hammer them with the short ball in the first session. Ruffle their feathers as tho to say "welcome to Australia. we are not going to allow you to win your first match let alone your first series on our soil".

Mike Hussey hands Patterson his BaggyGreen.. while Fleming does likewise to Jhye Richardson.

Paine loses yet another toss. Chandimal batting first. 

I have often wondered why QLD does not have daylite saving? 

As I see it Starc is the quick under the most pressure. He was moderate at best in India series.. Needs a turn around in form to be ensured a plane seat to England.

Sri Lanka will bat first

Im so sick of people calling Burns "lucky" or "under pressure". Hes the form opener in the country and if anything its taken too long for him to be selected (should have opened instead of Finch and arguably been picked ahead of Harris). Hes average 52 in the last year and a half of shield and high forties for the last 3 seasons. On sheild form hes one of the first names in the side at the moment. Hes also one of the few batsmen in the team with a career FC over 40

I am one of those saying Joe is under pressure. I also said he deserved his recall as Shield form should be rewarded. The reason I see him under pressure is his loose technique against the moving new ball. I do not think he is an opener. Prefer he batted #5 or #6.

Having just seen him fail at Bellerive, live, in two successive innings on a pitch which Patterson made look benign, I can't agree with you, Red Kat.

Plenty of balls beat his outside edge too in both innings.

Lucky people don't determine form or pick players based on 1 test.

Did not catch the name of the singer of our National Anthem. Powerful voice. Very moving.

How thrilled would Richardson be feeling opening the attack for his country on his debut. 

I'm disappointed in his pace, Baggers.

A few balls haven't been recorded on the speed gun, but Richardson has only bowled 134 - 137 kph. I've seen him recorded at 140 kph in Mickey Mouse cricket.

We could have had Meredith bowling outswingers at 10 kph faster!

Notwithstanding, his outswingers look very good with the new ball. It will be interesting to see how Richardson bowls with an older ball.

He just bowled one at 139 kph.

He has the ability to crank it even faster DC. Perhaps just settling into his spell mate. 

I'm not sure he has that capacity, Baggers.

The only ones in Austrlaia who do are Starc, Meredith  and Stanlake. The latter can  bowl more than a few overs in Mickey Mouse cricket though.

I think it is a case that the selectors haven't seen enough of  Meredith in the last few weeks.

Others are mooted because of their  figures a lot, which carry weighting. However, I've seen some prospective players live in the last few weeks, and class ( supported by experts) can be identified. 

Pucoski, Meredith and Michael Neser have more ability than some players with better figures achieved at a lower level - Sheffield Shield. For mine all should be in this  Test team.

For the record I'd have Richardson instead of Hazlewood anyway, given the latter's poor Test figures over the last year.

 Good on the West Aussie for taking a wicket!

Cummins get the break through. What a special player hes becoming

Yes and Starc continues going backwards. Is this third Test on the trot where he has failed to take a wicket in his opening spell?

Tim Paine hinted that Australia wouldn't hold back on the bouncer with his view that it was underused against India. 

Not seen any where near a bouncer barrage so far. 

Nice edge Cummins!

Sri Lanka 1-27.

Go Richardson, his first test wicket!

Sri Lanka are 2-31.

I really dont get this...

Ball less that 15 overs old and Lyon having to bowl...

Starc and Cummins have only done 4 overs...

This is one aspect where I have a problem with Tim. Gets the spinner on too early. The quicks are going well. Ball is still hard. Bowl em.

Yeah - Lyon may be much better than Ajaz Patel - but its the quicks that carved them in NZ, not the spinner. These guys do play spin well enough on day 1...

Have you got a series scorecard  handy Paddles.

Bowling
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2739/sri-lanka-tour-of-new-zealand-2018-19/stats#/?statsType=mostWickets&seriesType=bilateral&seriesId=2739&matchTypeId=1&seriesTeam1=5&seriesTeam2=13

Batting
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2739/sri-lanka-tour-of-new-zealand-2018-19/stats#/?statsType=mostRuns&seriesType=bilateral&seriesId=2739&matchTypeId=1&seriesTeam1=5&seriesTeam2=13

Angelo Mathews broke himself trying to save Sri Lanka... They really struggle with swing - they played Wagner's bouncers well enough till the final innings of the series. They they just gave in without Mathews.

thanks.

In the last 5 tests Sri Lanka have played abroad against Windies and Kiwis, they’ve only averaged 210 in the first innings of games.

Karuna gifts Lyon a wicket. Or did I read that one incorrectly?

Good snaffle all the same by Tim.

alright richardson!

Very skillful bowler this kid.

Got Kohli in all 3 ODIs. 

Richardson has learnt his trade well. Reason he should be on the plane to England is he has already performed well there.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/11337/scorecard/804875/england-under-19s-vs-australia-under-19s-only-youth-test-australia-under-19s-tour-of-england-2015

Hes got the big one too

Tremain for Starc might not be a bad choice too. Really keep our bowlers on their toes and fighting for places

better to have berendorff so you get the footprints

Cummins bowls round the stumps  a lot. I would have Behrendorff in a flash but will his back stand five day cricket?

Cummo has upped his pace this spell and now joins in the wicket taking spree.

Beauty of a delivery, 3 for Richardson

Looks like we'll be in after dinner for a good 15-20 overs at this rate.

Pereira retired hurt, that looked nasty

A brute of a delivery. Just out of the reach of short leg too.

Starc our best tail mopper upper bags his 200th.

lol

This is going to backfire on us as we are going to be batting during the nite session.

Yep if we aren't careful we could be in a bit of trouble ourselves.

starc with the second best strike rate ever for ozzies with 200+ wickets

144 all out. Good bowling effort but batting will be tough

144 must be the lowest total we’ve bowled a team out for some time.

I think it was Lakmal, but he had it all over Burns and Renshaw in Hobart last week.

First ball recorded Kunara bowled 142 kph, with the second at 141kph.

Apart from Meredith, this guy is the quickest I’ve seen live in Long form cricket live at Bellerive.

Lakmal is getting a lot of outswing to a right hander.

Beautiful ball from Lakmal to Burns as he missed the outside edge.

For those adamant Burns should be in the team, we saw a lot of this in Hobart last week.

He deserved his spot on his Shield form but he just does not convince me. To be fair he did get a good ball.  

After  a dodgy start I thought he was just starting to settle down in when he was out.

Given what I saw in Hobart, I think Usman and Harris are the best  current opening combination. Puck to bat further down.

Outside Starc, Kumara is quicker than any of the other Aussie bowlers playing Test cricket this season.

Burns looks out of form against both Lakmal and Kumara, as he was in Hobart.

I expect he will be dismissed soon.

Shot Burns!

Nice pull for 4 off 147kph short ball from Kumara!

Same result again from another 146kph short ball!

Wow!

We’ve been lucky in terms of balls beating the bat, hitting the pads and going past outside edges.

Correct. The Lankans had the ball doing some tricks in the twilite.

Pacheera ( ?) bowled with some heat and Lakmal really made the ball swing at 130 kph.

I thought  Usman got out from poor shot selection and loss of concentration   - again.

Given they're are quite a few cricketers on here I thought  I would've  been taken to task about complaining about Cummins' decline in pace.

What I think has  happened is that he may be able to bowl within himself, with a decreased risk of injury, and with greater control, bowling 135- 143 kph. His figures have been exceptional over the last year.

What I notice in his action is his right arm comes high over the wicket in a lovely follow through that follows  a right handed batter's line. Cummins is making them play so many balls.

He does not have the prodigious swing  of some bowlers, but by being so accurate in line and making the batters play so many balls, he must be increasing his chances of getting a wicket. Cummins probably doesn't do this by bowling 140 - 150kph. 

I'd surmise he bowls a higher percentage of balls that force  batters to play than Hazlewood, and Starc in particular. I surmise he has been influenced by the likes of McGrath, Lillee, Hadlee and Gillespie, who were effective late in their careers at reduced speed. 

Richardson has bowled better in this innings than Hazlewood has for some time. He has also made the batters play more balls than Starc. I would've dropped Hazlewood anyway. I think selectors too often play names.

Many years ago the big name and star of the Aus bowling attack, Geoff Lawson, was underperforming. It took ages for the selectors to drop him and he was hopping mad when they finally did. He faded quickly after that.

I think the coaches should look at data and work out how many balls are being played from deliveries sent down, strike rates compared to 6 months ago, quality of the opposition, etcetera. If they did, surely they would've acted more quickly than they have?

A joke in cricket circles is that Greg Chappell, the selector, is so arrogant, he already knows the  answers without looking at players perform!

I don't ever recall Henry as a star.

Reid - sure. Billy - yes. Merv had fan support. Alderman the 89 Ashes. But Henry? He was more like Whitney and Dodemaide...

some talk of dropping starc rather than hazelwood

would go berendorf for starc if anyone

he's out of form but hard to drop a player who's strike rate is the second best ever

Richardson showed Hazlewood up big time as an actual swing bowler.

more a like for like replacement

my main concern with richardson is I think he can be knocked off his game easily if he goes for runs. When he is confident he can be pretty lethal

Hazlewood is not a swing bowler.. he is a specialist seam bowler. Chalk and cheese.

I would be saying Richardson showed up Starc..  those two are more similar.

Richardson has bowled better in this innings than Hazlewood has for some time. He has also made the batters play more balls than Starc. I would've dropped Hazlewood anyway. I think selectors too often play names. 

I agree with most of what you say DC but too soon to compare the respective merits of Richardson  over Hazlewood. For a start they are completely different bowlers. Hazlewood is the quintessential seam bowler.. relying on his wrist action to stand up the seam and move it laterally. That is his stock ball.. must bowl it at least 90% of all his deliveries. Richardson looks to be a more rounded bowler. Swing comes easily to him. He also looks to be able to seam the ball. He has good variety.. with the odd yorker thrown in. He says he has based his game on one of his role models.. Dayle Steyn. I can see it. They are of similar build, a whippy action, similar pace and can swing at will. If you wanna compare Haze to someone.. make it Cummins.  Since cutting his pace Cummo is now more a line and length merchant like his good Blues bowling mate. I have to say he is bowling better than Haze and is now close to being our best  elite bowler. I would still challenge you over who of the two makes the batsman play the most. If I was dropping one of our top three it would be Starc. Is it set in stone that we need a left armer in our attack?

Brilliant post, Baggers!

I love technical detail.

I like Starc's different angle and the fact he gets the ball to move at times at great pace.

This is why I like a left hand bowler in the side = totally different dimension to a right hander.
On Cummins, what does he have to do to become a genuine all rounder? & how would that change the batting lineup.
I still don't know why we are playing Sri Lanka in a test - to use some one elses terminology it is really a mickey mouse test
and to me should not be rated as such as it will inflate averages. 
As for Burns, on current form he should not be playing, if you can't score against this lot, good ball or not - drop him

Thanks for compliment DC. 

Starc is the jekyll and hyde of the cricket world. When on song he can swing the new ball fast full and late like few in the game. He has the pace and statue to steeple a ball just short of full length and all but behead a batsman. His round the wicket attack on the tail is the best in the game. That is his jekyll. Few misdirect deliveries and waste the new ball as Starc does. He can not build pressure for any length of time as his waywardness gifts too many easy runs. He seems to lack intensity when it is most needed. He is painfully short of consistency. That is his mr hyde side. Congrats on his 200 wicket milestone. Few realise it has taken him since 2011 to achieve this. That is 49 matches in 8 yrs. He has been in and out of our test side like a yo yo. 

This is why I like a left hand bowler in the side = totally different dimension to a right hander.

That may have been the case once. These days many right armers bowl around the wicket specially to lefties..similar line similar angle as a left armer. Kinda negates the need for a left armer imo.

Don't quite agree as a leftie, especially bowling around the wicket delivers the ball from a totally 
different angle - This is why I like Starc.

The selectors need to have a criteria and stick to it. No one under @40FC average that has been built over several years not one. If they do not have a skills coach they should get one. A person who can identify whether a Test aspirant has the technique and temperament to stand up to Test cricket. That aspirant has to prove that he is going to put a price on his wicket with determination and patience. That he will treat every ball on its merits. Above all leave the good ball. Be compact in attack and defence. Defend under the eyeline. Use soft hands.  Use your feet when driving. Against spin use all the crease and make an effort to rotate the strike. If we could get six blokes with those attributes plus our famed Aussie spirit we could return to our glory days.

Just what I was saying about Harris. Flashings at ball he should be leaving.

This recklessness has almost reached epidemic proportions at the moment.

The Poms must have played some poor shots.. Windies have rolled them for 77 overnite in Barbados.

Flashes at this one connects and is out. Bloody awful patience.

Do you think it is due to a collective loss of confidence after a morale sapping series defeat to India, Baggers?