Australia tour of Sri Lanka 2025

[JanLorMill]

Adam White mentioned the other day that a few years back Webster would occasionally bowl a mixture of away swingers to right handers and offies against the left handers within the same over but as Lemmon has pointed out he's pretty much given away the off spinners.

He hasn't bowled his offies for years now

[GVGjr]

Mitch Marsh returned to play for the Scorchers last night (Enthralling game BTW) but he didn't bowl a ball.
He is really going to have to start making runs with the bat because he's not offering much else at the moment.

[Bornadog]

Hazelwood ruled out of tour.

[FrediKanoute]

Really dont want to move Head around too much so would prefer to go to SL with Khawaja and Kontas as openers. Yes Khawaja had a poor series, but he had a number of mates. Lambo, Smith, Head are lock's for 3,4 & 5. I think Webster has done enough to at least play the 1st test in SL. His bowling will be handy if we decide to play two spinners. Starc and Boland should be the 2 starting quicks with Abbot and Richardson as back ups. Lton and Kuenneman the spinners.

In terms of back up batsmen, McSweeney should go. Can open or bat middle order. Patterson should also get a look in based on form.

[jeemak]

Really dont want to move Head around too much so would prefer to go to SL with Khawaja and Kontas as openers. Yes Khawaja had a poor series, but he had a number of mates. Lambo, Smith, Head are lock's for 3,4 & 5. I think Webster has done enough to at least play the 1st test in SL. His bowling will be handy if we decide to play two spinners. Starc and Boland should be the 2 starting quicks with Abbot and Richardson as back ups. Lton and Kuenneman the spinners.

In terms of back up batsmen, McSweeney should go. Can open or bat middle order. Patterson should also get a look in based on form.

I don't mind the logic of putting Handscombe in for the conditions rather than McSweeney. The rest of your summations are reasonable.

[Stevo]

They should take 15 players
Khawaja
Konstas
Labuschagne
Smith
Head
Webster
Carey
Starc
Lyon
Boland
Murphy

Abbott
McSweeney
Richardson
Kuhnemann

I wouldn't take Khawaja and I'd move Head into the opening role for these two tests. We are going to have to start blooding new players and this could be the series to do it.

[Axe Man]

Australia squad for Test tour of Sri Lanka

West Australian young gun Cooper Connolly has received his maiden Test call-up, with the left-arm spinning all-rounder set to be named in the squad for Sri Lanka unveiled on Thursday at 12pm AEDT.

He will join the returning Nathan McSweeney as well as finger-spinners Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann.

Connolly, 21, has played just four first-class matches but has starred for the Perth Scorchers this summer and has played a handful of white-ball internationals for Australia after being called up for the tour of the UK last year.

On Wednesday, this masthead confirmed the return of Nathan McSweeney to the group after he was dropped midway through the Border-Gavaskar series.

Sean Abbott is also in the frame for a long-awaited Test debut as he joins the fast bowling cartel for the Sri Lankan squad led by Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.

Abbott’s lower order batting gives him an extra dimension at the selection table.

Glenn Maxwell appears increasingly likely to miss the cut, with former Australian captain Ricky Ponting saying on Channel 7 on Wednesday night that it would be a retrograde move to pick the 36-year-old Victorian.

“I really can’t see how he can (be selected),” Ponting said. “This is nothing against Glenn. He has been a fantastic international player for a long time. But I think it is going to be backwards step for the Australian Test team if they go back to Glenn Maxwell for a one-off tour.

“I think they will be better off bringing in some youngsters in and around the group and give them what a taste of it is like. Sometimes going on one of the hardest tours will be, as youngster, will be the quickest way to learn.”

Steve Smith looks set to return to the captaincy, with Pat Cummins expected to miss the tour for the birth of his second child.

Having played a bit part role in the home summer, Nathan Lyon is expected to shoulder a much heavier workload in Sri Lanka. Fingerspinners Kuhnemann and Murphy will both join him in the squad, with no specialist wristspinner expected.

[Bornadog]

Agree Maxwell should miss out. At 36 years old, time has now passed him if we are looking at the future.

[Axe Man]

Agree Maxwell should miss out. At 36 years old, time has now passed him if we are looking at the future.

Even if he was 26 he doesn't play first class cricket so not sure how he could be considered.

Looks like the selectors see something in Connolly (or Cannoli as my son pronounced it ) as a similar big hitting batsman that bowls spin.

[Axe Man]

AUSRALIA SQUAD FOR TEST TOUR OF SRI LANKA


Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

[lemmon]

Connolly's a good pick - he strikes the ball beautifully and is a very good fielder but the left-arm door knobs are pretty innocuous.

It feels like the selectors are going to pick on talent and eye with these young guys. There's an onus on states to get and board and start investing in youngsters because the selectors will pick them regardless of if they're in their Shield team or not.

[GVGjr]

I asked the question if Connolly might be a chance for this tour but he has only played 6 first class games and has never taken a shield wicket.

[lemmon]

I asked the question if Connolly might be a chance for this tour but he has only played 6 first class games and has never taken a shield wicket.

It was a good pick up - it's probably not too far fetched that he gets a game as well.

If we go 1-0 up and the second Test is a raging turner, I could see them opting for Connolly at 8 to really lengthen the batting line-up. Almost similar to how India used Washington Sundar.

[GVGjr]

It was a good pick up - it's probably not too far fetched that he gets a game as well.

If we go 1-0 up and the second Test is a raging turner, I could see them opting for Connolly at 8 to really lengthen the batting line-up. Almost similar to how India used Washington Sundar.

I sort of follow the Scorchers in the BBL so have been seeing a bit of Connolly but really it Adam White who suggested he could be a long shot if the selectors wanted to get him over early before the ODI.

[Brody23]

Konstas
Usman
Marnus
Smith
Head
Webster
Carey
Starc
Lyon
Kuhneman
Boland

My tip with how they’ll line up for the first test
they also might not go with Boland and add Murphy but with Head and Lyon both bowling offies I think they’ll go Kuhneman