Australia enter this series without spearhead and captain Pat Cummins, who has sent his superhero cape to the dry-cleaners and stayed home for the birth of his second child while plotting the next step in Australia conquest of the cricketing world.

With Josh Hazlewood also sidelined, the bowling attack Australia’s selectors go with here in Galle is the subject of heated conjecture. Veterans Mitchell Starc and spinner Nathan Lyon seem certain to play. But who partners each?

Will people’s hero paceman Scott Boland get a chance alongside Starc with the new ball? Or does uncapped NSW firebrand Sean Abbott get his opportunity at last? Perhaps the medium pace of SCG Test hero allrounder Beau Webster is promoted up the bowling order?

Given the dry spinning wickets here in Galle, it’s also possible Australia could opt for a three-prong spin attack. Will Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann or rookie Cooper Connolly partner Lyon? Or will Australia pick just one of that trio and trust the part-time tweak of Travis Head who took a handy 4-10 to clinch the first Test for Australia in 2022?

There is risk with all three spinners, with Murphy not having played a Test in over a year, left-armer Kuhnemann recovering from thumb surgery and Connolly a veteran of just four first-class games.

The playing XIs for this match will be confirmed shortly, with plenty of debate over who will start and where they’ll bat/ bowl if picked.

Australia dropped a bombshell yesterday by confirming Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas as opener. Will the 19-year-old Boxing Day Test hero move down the order or drop out of the XI entirely? If the latter, who fills that vacant middle-order spot? Will Nathan McSweeney – a specialist No 5 at home – be recalled? Or are local reports on the money saying dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis is set to win a Test debut a month shy of his 30th birthday?

Feel free to drop me an email with your tuppence worth at any stage today. Or simply rhapsodise about Konstas in prose or poetry so we can get under Barney Ronay’s skin ahead of the Ashes…

There is deep intrigue surrounding this series, with key personnel missing from both squads, several stars believed to be playing injured and a host of fresh faces bracing for baptism in the pressure cooker of Test cricket.

Both sides had a good 2024, with Sri Lanka boasting a 6-4 win-loss record and Australia 7-2-1. However, Australia still have their tail up after defeating India 3-1 to win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade, whereas Sri Lanka finished the year with a 2-0 away loss to South Africa, losing both Tests by hefty 233-run and 109-run margins.

Here’s how Geoff Lemon previewed the first Test…

Preamble

Angus Fontaine