SOK injury could lead to spin SOS

Nathan Lyon declared it a "pretty big loss" to a "vital" member of the bowling attack but Australia must play the waiting game to see if Stephen O'Keefe can bowl again in the first Test against Sri Lanka.

O'Keefe limped off the Pallekele Stadium outfield after two balls of his 17th over in Sri Lanka's second innings, having pulled up clutching his right leg. It left Australia a strike weapon short as the hosts bounced back to rack up a 196-run lead and turn what had looked a one-sided contest into one headed for a thrilling conclusion.

Cricket Australia's Bupa Support Team staff later confirmed O'Keefe was being assessed for a right hamstring complaint, but no update on his condition is expected before the fourth day when all eyes will be trained to see if the popular New South Welshman takes his place in the warm-ups.

While O'Keefe's immediate future remains unclear, fellow spinner Lyon was under no illusion of the impact.

"I feel sorry for Steve, he's one of my good mates and to see him injure himself…" Lyon trailed off after day three's play.

"I'm not sure where he's at or where the medical staff are at but to see him go off the field and for Australia to lose a vital member of our bowling attack is a pretty big loss for us.

"To lose someone like SOK (O'Keefe), who's a quality bowler, on a wicket like that with a couple spinning, a couple sliding on … he's very talented in these conditions.

"It was a big loss, but injuries happen in cricket and we as a bowling unit have to bounce back and pull together and fill in for him and hopefully get the right result for SOK."

Lyon deftly referred questions about options to the National Selection Panel should O'Keefe's worst fears be realised and a replacement slow bowler needed form Australia.

Australia could always revert to a three-seamer attack and play Lyon as the sole spinner, but if back up is required, then Rod Marsh, Darren Lehmann and the selectors have options

Jon Holland

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The Victorian left-armer is currently in Brisbane with the Australia A squad, having earned a late call-up following the injury to Ashton Agar (see below). Holland finished the 2015-16 Sheffield Shield season strongly, taking a match-winning eight wickets for the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers in the final having taken six in his previous match, his first of the campaign.

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His eight in the season decider took him to 106 career first-class dismissals in a career that has been badly interrupted by injury.

Adam Zampa

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The young leg-spinner has quickly established himself as Australia's No.1 slow bowler in limited-overs cricket and is now hoping for an extended run in Shield cricket to push his claims for a Test spot. With an unflattering first-class average of more than 50, we're yet to see the best of Zampa with the red ball but he's already shown he's up to the challenge of international cricket.

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The 24-year-old has taken 18 wickets in 13 white-ball matches for his country this year and has also impressed in the IPL and Caribbean Premier League, where he's currently playing for Guyana.

Fawad Ahmed

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Australia's second spinner on their Test tours of the West Indies and England last year, Fawad has seemingly fallen out of favour with national selectors. Not only has O'Keefe jumped ahead of him in Test cricket, the 34-year-old was not selected for the Australia A series this winter.

But the Pakistan-born leggie did have another strong Shield season last summer, leading all spinners with 27 wickets at 33 and helping the Bushrangers to their second consecutive title.

Mitchell Swepson

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The young Queensland legspinner earned high praise from no less than Steve Smith earlier this month after the Test skipper faced the young Bull in the nets in Sri Lanka.

Swepson was in the subcontinent with the National Performance Squad, but he has now returned to Australia for the 'A' series over the coming months, where he is scheduled to play for both Australia A in the first-class format and the NPS in the 50-over quadrangular series.

Swepson played six Shield matches for the Bulls last summer, taking 17 wickets in his debut season, leading to the departure of fellow leggie Cameron Boyce to Tasmania.

The outsiders

Leg-spinner Cameron Boyce and rookie NSW offie Arjun Nair will also feature in the winter quadrangular 'A' series matches in Queensland, but both are at long odds to be called up to Test duty.

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Boyce was forced to seek an opportunity with Tasmania for this coming season after being forced out of Queensland's Shield side by Swepson, and a first-class record of 92 wickets at 49 doesn't help his cause.

Eighteen-year-old Nair is a highly-rated off-spin bowler who can turn the ball both ways, but his youth and inexperience makes him an unlikely candidate.

Quick Single: Spinner Nair dares to be different

Off-spinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell was a surprise omission from the initial Test squad but is considered more of a batting allrounder than a frontline spinner.

The unlucky one

Ashton Agar would surely have been first in line if back-up is required, but will be out of action for up to four months after injuring his right shoulder in a pre-season accident two weeks ago.

Quick Single: Agar sidelined by shoulder surgery

The injury requires surgery, the second time the left-armer has had surgery on his right shoulder in 18 months.

The injury forced Agar out of the current Australia A series in Queensland, where he was replaced by Jon Holland, and is also expected to miss the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup.