Top spot at stake as Australia await another trial by spin

August 4-8, 2016
Start time 10.00 local (04.30 GMT)

Galled by their own performance in Pallekele, here Australia might be just be Galled full stop. Rod Marsh, the national selector, spoke after the loss in the first Test of Australia's excellent preparation. "What else can we do, really?" he wondered out loud. He sounded like an exasperated parent whose wayward kids can only be guided so far. But Australia will need to do something different when the second Test starts in Galle. They enter the match 1-0 down in the three-Test series and a losing campaign would likely result in them slipping from No.1 on the rankings. They could even fall as far as third.

It was Sri Lanka's spinners - as well of course as Kusal Mendis with his outstanding century - who troubled Australia most in Pallekele. And that was the one venue on this tour that might actually have suited Australia somewhat. On a dry pitch in Galle, spinners are expected to gain significant turn right from the outset. Overall at Galle, 61.79% of Test wickets have been taken by spinners. Of all Test venues to have hosted at least 10 matches, only Chittagong has a higher proportion of wickets for the slow bowlers. You half expect Michael J. Fox to be Galle's deputy mayor, such a spin city it is.

It is also the only home venue at which Sri Lanka have a winning record of better than 50%. They are hard to beat on the turning pitch, and will be brimming with confidence after their win in the first Test. Steven Smith, by comparison, will be desperate to turn Australia's fortunes around after his first loss as Test captain.

Sri Lanka: WDLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

 Australia: LWWDW

There is a reason left-arm wrist-spin is also known as left-arm unorthodox: it is extremely rare. Why? Hard to say. But right-armers are more common than left-armers, and finger-spinners more common than wrist-spinners, so it is natural that it should be the least prevalent variety of spin. So much so, in fact, that Lakshan Sandakan is the first left-arm wrist-spinner from Asia to play Test cricket. It's an extraordinary fact, considering how turning pitches are mostly the norm in the in the subcontinent. But Sandakan's rarity makes him all the more of a threat, and Australia's batsmen struggled with the unknown in Pallekele. On debut, Sandakan finished with match figures of 7 for 107; he extracted big turn and bowled very few bad deliveries. He could just be the perfect spin partner for Rangana Herath.

Back in May, the national selectors picked five spinners to represent Australia during winter tours. Jon Holland didn't figure in the shortlist. In the Test squad to tour Sri Lanka were Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe, and in the Australia A squad were Ashton Agar, Cameron Boyce and Mitch Swepson. And yet here is Holland in Galle, set to become Australia's 444th Test cricketer. Holland was called up for Australia A because of an injury to Agar. Now, an injury to O'Keefe and Holland was flown to Sri Lanka before he even had a chance to play for Australia A. An attacking left-armer who has been highly rated since his early days, Holland has had limited opportunities with Victoria in recent years due to the presence of Fawad Ahmed. But when he plays, he takes wickets.

Nuwan Pradeep is in doubt with a hamstring strain, which could force Sri Lanka to field a debutant fast bowler - either Vishwa Fernando or Asitha Fernando. Three frontline spinners are again expected on a pitch that should turn plenty. There is the chance that Sri Lanka might drop the opener Dimuth Karunaratne, but the lack of experience elsewhere in the side could save him.

Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Kusal Perera, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Vishwa Fernando/Asitha Fernando.

Holland will come in for O'Keefe, Australia's only change to the XI.

Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Jon Holland.

The Galle pitch was already very dry a couple of days out from the Test and should take turn from the beginning.

"As a chinaman bowler, Sandakan has impressed everyone with his control. When you have such control, you can be devastating. He can also bowl the googly. Then more than anything, he gets turn. That's the complete package you expect from a spin bowler."
Rangana Herath on his spin colleague Lakshan Sandakan

"I wasn't yelling at the players. It was obviously disappointing, the loss in Kandy, my first loss as captain. It was a different experience and hopefully it doesn't happen too often. We know what we have to do to turn it around, it's just about making sure we go out there and do it."
Steven Smith seeks to rebound from his first loss as Test captain