Hastings' handy hints to swing in Aussies favour

John Hastings' sketchy recollections of his involvement with the one and only iteration of the Sri Lanka Premier League in 2012 might be his team's best source of local intelligence heading into tonight's final ODI against Sri Lanka.

While the Test members of Australia's touring party – whose Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka enters its ninth week today – found experience at Pallekele Stadium during the first Test in July, they were deprived the chance to gauge how the venue fares under floodlights.

That was because, despite each afternoon session of that Test which Sri Lanka won being lost to rain and poor light, the local authorities had deemed they would not allow the lights to be used to prolong each day's play.

Those members of the world champions' ODI squad who attended Saturday night's optional training session were given a brief taste of the light levels when the four towers sprung into life as dusk approached.

But it is Hastings experience as a member of the Kandy-based Kandurata Warriors in the ill-fated tournament that folded after one season (due to organisational issues and a lack of sponsorship) that might yield most benefits.

"I played here a little while ago in the one and only Sri Lanka Premier League, and this was our home ground and I enjoyed bowling here," Hastings said of the venue in heart of the hill country that hosts a distinctly cooler, damper micro-climate than other areas of the small tropical island.

"It did swing a bit at night when I played here.

"Hopefully that's the case again, if we can win a toss for a change that would be nice and if we can do that I'm sure we'll have a bat.

"So it will be nice to play under lights (because) it will be a little bit cooler.

"There was some good pace and bounce in it (the Pallekele pitch in 2012).

"But I doubt there will be pace and bounce in it (for tomorrow's game)."

Indeed, Nathan Lyon – who seems likely to earn a recall for the dead-rubber match possibly at the expense of leg-spinner Adam Zampa who will remain in Sri Lanka for the two T20 Internationals later this week – gained extravagant turn on the centre wickets the Australians used for practice today.

And with Australia's premier fast bowling destroyer of both the Tests and the ODIs – left-armer Mitchelll Starc – also due for a spell from Sunday's game, it seems likely the Pallekele pitch will once again favour spinners.

Especially now that Sri Lanka's most experienced seam bowling allrounder – and their captain – Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour with the calf strain he suffered at Dambulla last Wednesday, the tourists are once again expecting a trial by spin.

Sri Lanka has also omitted their opening bowler from recent matches (Thisara Perera) and the left-arm wrist-spinner who was a revelation in the Test at Pallekele (Lakshan Sandakan) from their hefty 16-man squad for the final ODI.

They have been replaced by batsmen Upul Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella (who becomes the fourth accomplished wicketkeeper-batsman in the squad) as well as seam bowling all-rounder Dasun Shanaka.

But Hastings pointed out that no matter who came in as substitute players, any team would find it tough to cover a player of Mathews' all-round abilities and leadership credentials.

"I think it will be hard to replace a star allrounder like that," the Victorian seamer said shortly after a number of Australia players took part in a Cricket Cares coaching clinic for children affected by the recent devastating flooding and landslides that destroyed entire villages in the surrounding hill country.

"They've just lost two really big players for them, haven't they?

"(Recently retired opener Tillakartne) Dilshan's left with 300-odd games (experience), and Mathews has played a heap of games as well.

Image Id: 14F9BD45FA2F441886A3737DA30DD187 Image Caption: Australian players sit down with local Kandy children // cricket.com.au

"So they've lost a lot of experience and I think that's going to be something we might be able to exploit on the pitch if we can take a couple of early wickets like we have done (in all previous matches).

"And then really put their young middle-order under pressure, then hopefully we can come away with a win."

And it is the maintenance of that "winning habit" that Hastings says will be the motivation in the final match of a series already decided.

With an eye to preparing for the T20 Internationals at Pallekele and Colombo on Tuesday and Friday, and the month-long tour to South Africa that follows almost immediately.

"The main thing for us is to try and keep a winning habit, especially moving into the T20s and – not looking too far ahead – but obviously we've got a one-day tournament in South Africa after this as well," Hastings said.

"So if we can put a few processes in place in this game and the T20s, focussing on our death bowling, I think is going to be crucial in moving us forward as well.

"But I think more importantly we want to win because we lost three-nil in the Tests which wasn't ideal for us, and if we can win four-one in this series, it would be great."