BRISBANE: A woeful India out of the equation, Australia and Sri Lanka will battle it out in best-of-three finals with the spirited islanders well-equipped to upstage the hosts in the summit clashes starting on Sunday.
Mahela Jayawardene and his men have beaten Australia in three straight games and what’s more, have bowled them out thrice which should matter more now that the first final is on a pacy and bouncy strip.
The Australians, on the other hand, haven’t been able to break the shackles imposed by the Lankans in this triangular series.
David Warner and Matthew Wade have been a disappointing presence at the top, scoring 195 and 214 runs at 24.37 and 26.75 average. Their best opening stand has been 70 against India at this very venue.
But Australia’s strength has been their work in the field. James Pattinson’s return has been fascinating and both Ben Hilfenhaus and Dan Christian have had a five-wicket haul against their names.
Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty has an impressive economy rate of 4.20 and he also has had nine scalps at 29.66 average. Clint McKay hasn’t done too badly either with 10 wickets and an economy rate of 4.78.
In many ways, Australia’s batting against Sri Lanka’s bowling holds the key to the finals. The latter should acquire that extra edge in favourable conditions of Gabba.
Unpaid Lankan stars continue to shine
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan cricketers, who punched India oput of the tri-series, will not get a single penny for these matches even after the release of their outstanding payments dating back to last year’s World Cup.
Sri Lanka’s cricketers are set to get more than more than $5 million in outstanding payments but that won’t cover the money they ought have made for the ongoing triseries also featuring Australia.
The general secretary of the Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association, Ken de Alwis, told the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ that payments are set to transferred to players’ accounts by Monday.
“We are concerned the full contractual terms have not been met by the cricket board, which we are not happy with. Under the circumstances, being paid up till January 31 is good enough for now,” De Alwis said. (Agencies)
