Aussies to ring changes for Warner's tenure

Not only will Australia take a newly-minted captain into the must-win third ODI against a buoyant Sri Lanka at the regional outpost of Dambulla on Wednesday afternoon.

Coach and national selector Darren Lehmann has indicated that skipper David Warner, who has taken over from Steve Smith now that he's returned to Sydney for a brief break, will likely lead a revamped line-up in the wake of Wednesday night's hefty loss in Colombo.

Not only will Smith's batting berth at No.3 need to filled, the selection panel – led by chair Rod Marsh who is currently in Sri Lanka – will consider a number of changes to the starting XI in an attempt to shore up deficiencies exposed by the home team's confident batters and confounding spinners.

Shaun Marsh, who posted Australia's first century of their failed Test campaign when he was included in the XI for the final match this month, is likely to come under strong consideration for Smith's spot after sitting out the first two ODIs in the capital.

But so too will Usman Khawaja, the deposed Test No.3 who was seen having a lengthy conversation with the selection chair at the conclusion of Wednesday's match when it was confirmed he had been excluded from the Australia squad for the pair of T20 games that immediately follow the ODI series.

Despite Khawaja being his country's leading runs scorer – with 143 at a strike rate of 137.50 per 100 balls faced – in their unsuccessful World T20 campaign in similar subcontinental conditions in India earlier this year.

"They (Shaun Marsh and Khawaja) are quality players and we expect them to play better than we did (on Wednesday night)," Lemann said today in confirming that Marsh was overlooked for the first two ODIs in Sri Lanka as selectors backed the batters who had helped carry Australia to a recent tri-series win in the Caribbean.

"We went with the guys who did really well in the West Indies and won that series.

"It's now a case of him (Marsh) or Usman coming into the side to replace Steven (Smith) and I'm sure one of them will do really well."

Marsh, who was named in the T20 squad that also includes reigning one-day player of the year Glenn Maxwell and Queensland's Chris Lynn, missed the West Indies campaign due to the birth of his and wife Bec's first child, Austin.

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South Australia captain Travis Head, who played just one match during that tri-series featuring South Africa and the West Indies but has looked increasingly assured in outings against Sri Lanka's spinners, might also be in line for a promotion in the batting order.

Head has batted at number seven in the opening two matches here, behind wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and Moises Henriques who is filling the batting allrounder role in the absence of Mitchell Marsh while he is also being rested ahead of the upcoming Australia summer.

But Henriques has struggled to combat Sri Lanka's battery of spinners and posted a string of single-figure scores while Wade – despite being Australia's leading runs scorer in the ODI series to date – was overlooked for the T20 squad in favour of Test 'keeper Peter Nevill.

Which, in turn, could open the door for the Head (with just three ODIs but a burgeoning reputation to his name) to take on a more senior role in the revamped line-up.

"He has played really well, the young fellow," Lehmann said in summation of Head's performances in the first two matches.

"He looks really calm at this level.

"The wickets have been a little bit challenging, especially (Wednesday night) batting second was tough work.

"Having said that, you've got to find a way.

"Whatever side we come up with, we expect them to do well.

"We'll just have a look at the batting order, as we normally do."

The decision to replace Wade for the T20 matches appeared outwardly curious given his efforts in the top-order over the past two games, and in light of Nevill's batting struggles during the Test series where he averaged just 8.50 with a top score of 24.

But it might also be an opportunity to give him further batting and keeping experience on dry, dusty Asian pitches ahead of the crucial four-Test tour to India next February and March.

"He (Wade) is certainly seen as a T20 player, but Peter Nevill did a really good job at the World T20 for us," Lehmann said in reference to the recent tournament in India where Nevill faced a total of five balls in four matches and took one catch and a stumping in conceding just five byes.

"He's the incumbent and we've decided to keep him there for these two games."

While the batting remains a concern for the selectors and new skipper Warner, who himself has returned successive single figure scores in the ODIs having posted a solitary half-century in the Tests, it was the bowling that was most found wanting on Wednesday.

The loss of Nathan Coulter-Nile, who also returned to Australia today to try and determine the cause of his lower back soreness, has been countered by the early arrival of Victorian seamers John Hastings and Scott Boland ahead of other members of the T20 squad.

But Sri Lanka's spinners continue to weave a spell on the turning pitches while the home team's batters have targeted the Australian spin attack, most notably Head's part-time off-breaks in the second ODI.

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Lehmann praised the efforts of legspinner Adam Zampa who he claimed helped drag Australia back into the match with his three wickets.

But he pointed to the straightforward catch that the South Australian dropped at a crucial point of the game as an example of the improvement that Zampa, and other members of the squad, need to find if they are to turn around Wednesday's result.

"I'd like him to catch well, that might help at some stage," Lehmann said of the 24-year-old leggie.

"There's other parts of your game that you've got to improve but his bowling has been very good for us.

"The concern for me (in Wednesday's loss) was the basics.

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"I don't reckon we did the basics in any discipline well for the first time in a long time.

"Normally two out of three (batting, bowling and fielding) we're not bad at.

"But last night we got blown away really in all three disciplines.

"The basics, if we do them well we know we compete and play well."