ICC CWC 2019 match 20 highlights: Aus beat SL by 87 runs; Finch, Starc star
Leading from the front, skipper Aaron Finch stroked his way to a majestic 153, propelling Australia cricket team to a challenging 334. Check Sri Lanka vs Australia Live score and match commentary here
 "Aaron Finch")
Aaron Finch. Photo: Reuters
Justin Langer on fifth bowling option
During their match against Pakistan, the Australia skipper was forced to bowl two overs in the match because of Stoinis' absence and conceded 13 runs but was able to take the crucial wicket of Mohammad Hafeez. Glenn Maxwell too had to bowl seven overs in the match from which he gave away 58 runs. Australia still managed to all-out Pakistan on 266 runs when they were chasing a target of 308 runs and consequently secured a 41-run victory.
While talking about the fifth-bowling issue, Langer said: "We're going to have to really tighten up that area."
Langer further added that not having an all-rounder is problematic.
"We'll have to work it out, but it certainly makes it more problematic not having an all-rounder in there. It's probably harder for Finchy than anyone else to have less recognised bowlers. Everyone's got to be on top of their game," he said.
Langer is now focusing on their next clash against Sri Lanka and is hoping to work out the best combination.
"We'll try and work out the best combination to beat Sri Lanka," he said.
Justin Langer aware of challenges ahead of Australia if Stoinis fails to recover
Australia are going to face some major challenges in their upcoming matches in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup as the team's coach Justin Langer is still uncertain about Marcus Stoinis' comeback.
Langer said that they will have to adapt if the all-rounder fails to feature in the team again.
"We've talked a bit about it, but we'll just see how he pulls up over the next few days. We know that it's important to have an all-rounder in the side if we can and if we can't we've got to adapt but we'll just have to see how he pulls up," Cricket.com.au quoted Langer as saying.
Stoinis picked a left side strain while bowling during his team's match against India on Sunday. Keeping the seriousness of the injury in mind, the team has called Mitch Marsh to London, who will join the squad as cover.
We have not played anywhere near our best cricket: Finch
Australia are comfortably placed on the points table with wins in three out their World Cup games but skipper Aaron Finch feels his team has played nowhere near to its potential.
At the top of the order Finch, David Warner and Steve Smith, have hit the ground running with big scores aplenty.
But the middle order has yet to fire with Marcus Stoinis's side strain that will keep him out of the Sri Lanka clash at the Oval on Saturday not helping matters.
While in the bowing department, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc remain two of the world's best but behind them spots are still up for grabs.
But with so much cricket still to come, Finch is confident that their best cricket is just around the corner.
"I don't think we have gone anything near our best which is still a good thing. We have six points on the board but are not playing anywhere near our best cricket which is a real positive," said Finch here on Friday.
"But as long as we are improving and continue to go up and not backwards, I think that is the key."
Sri Lanka complain to ICC about green pitches, inadequate training facilities and accommodation
Complaining of step-motherly treatment meted out to them in the ongoing World Cup, an exasperated Sri Lanka has expressed dissatisfaction at the types of pitches provided, inadequate training and transport facilities apart from below-par accommodation.
Sri Lanka team manager Ashantha de Mel has written to the ICC, stating that Sri Lanka were made to play on two green decks in Cardiff, where they lost to New Zealand before defeating Afghanistan, whereas other teams who played on same venue were provided high-scoring pitches.
De Mel said another green track awaits Sri Lanka ahead of their match against Australia on Saturday.
"This is a World Cup where the top 10 countries are taking part and I feel that all the participants should be treated equally.
"What we have found out is that for the four matches we have played so far at Cardiff and Bristol the ICC has prepared a green pitch, and at the same venues where the other countries have played the pitches are brown and favourable for high scoring," De Mel told Sri Lankan newspaper 'Daily News'.
Key batsman for Sri Lanka
Dimuth Karunaratne
Sri Lankan skipper Karunaratne played an unbeaten knock of 52 against New Zealand in the first match and contributed 30 runs in the second game against Afghanistan. Under a lot of pressure and the ragtag attached to Sri Lanka, Karunaratne has to take his team back to its winning days.
Key batsman for Australia
Aaron Finch
In the four matches Australia has played so far, Finch contributed 190 runs with the bat and took one wicket against Pakistan in the last match. Australia's one-day stint saw massive improvement thanks to skipper Finch, who amassed 451 runs in five matches to guide his side trump Pakistan in the recently concluded bilateral series.
Call on Marcus Stoinis to be made next week
Marcus Stoinis will travel with Australia to Nottingham -- Australia's venue for the June 20 game against Bangladesh -- and there a final call would be made whether the injured all-rounder would remain in the squad for the rest of the World Cup or not.
Stoinis had to miss Australia's last game against Pakistan with a side strain, prompting the team management to fly in Mitchell Marsh. The 29-year-old has also been sidelined for Saturday's game against Sri Lanka at The Oval.
The right-hander batted in the Oval nets on Friday despite having a side strain which is preventing him from bowling. Stoinis has not been able to click in the campaign so far (19 runs at 19.5 and four wickets at 29.5) in the three matches he has played.
Skipper Aaron Finch exuded confidence on Mitchell, who is on standby and has begun training with the squad in case he is drafted into the official squad in place of Stoinis.
"Yeah, that's why he (Marsh)'s here ... but as a bit of a precaution more than anything, if Stoinis doesn't recover well enough over the next couple of days," Finch was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.
Here are the squads of both the teams
Australia world cup squad: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon
Sri Lanka world cup squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Avishka Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay
Preview
After registering a nervy win against Pakistan, Australia will look to come out with a commanding performance when they meet Sri Lanka in their fifth World Cup encounter at the Kennington Oval on Saturday.
With six points in four games, the defending champions are sitting pretty in the top section of the points table and, therefore, would aim to gain two points to get to the top of the chart.
One of the things that has been witnessed in Australia's campaign so far is that none of the games have been easy for them. Barring their first game against Afghanistan, the mighty Aussies have had to grind and struggle to registers wins against West Indies and Pakistan.
With David Warner returning to his usual batting fluency like he did against Pakistan, Australia's top-order looks more formidable, while the middle-order has been in good form to begin with.
Their bowling, too, is in fine form with Mitchell Starc leading their pace battery. While they were taken for plenty by the strong batting line-up of the Men in Blue, they put up a good show against Pakistan and will look to keep the foot on the pedal.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka, have four points from four games, which includes two washouts.
In their two completed games, Dimuth Karunaratne's men have not looked a very challenging side. Their batting has been in tatters, providing little chance to the bowlers to get them back into the game.
The onus, will however, be on Karunaratne and Kusal Perera to make sure they play positive brand of cricket and provide enough runs for the likes of Lasith Malinga to unleash themselves against the five-time world champions.
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First Published: Jun 15 2019 | 12:19 PM IST
