Sri Lanka v Australia, first Test: All you need to know

Match details

Who: Sri Lanka v Australia

What: First Test match

When: 29th January-2nd February 2025, 3:30pm AEDT first ball

Where: Galle International Cricket Stadium

How to watch: Channel 7, 7plus

How to listen: ABC radio, SEN radio

Live scores: Match Centre 

Officials: Chris Gaffaney and Adrian Holdstock (standing), Joel Wilson (third), Ruchira Palliyaguruge (fourth) 

Highlights, news and reactions post-play: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app and the Unplayable Podcast. Listen and subscribe to the podcast below: 

The squads

Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Rathnayake

A few injury concerns for the hosts, most significantly opener Pathum Nissanka who has a sore groin. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva (side) and star batter Kamindu Mendis (hand) are also under injury clouds but are expected to play.

There are two uncapped players in Sri Lanka's big 18-player squad, batter Lahiru Udara and spinning allrounder Sonal Dinusha.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

It's going to be a very different-looking bowling attack for Australia with captain Pat Cummins (paternity leave) and Josh Hazlewood (side) not on tour.

Stand-in captain Steve Smith has an elbow concern as well after hurting it playing for the Sydney Sixers. Matthew Kuhnemann joined the squad late after getting his freshly fractured thumb operating on in Australia before departing.

Tour fixtures

First Test: January 29-February 2, Galle (3.30pm AEDT)

Second Test: February 6-10, Galle (3.30pm AEDT)

First ODI: February 12, Colombo (3.30pm AEDT)

Second ODI: February 14, Colombo (3.30pm AEDT)

Session times

First Session: 10:00am – 12:00pm IST (3:30pm – 5:30pm AEDT)

 

Second Session: 12:40pm – 2:40pm IST (6:10pm – 8:10pm AEDT)

 

Third Session: 3:00pm – 5:00pm IST (8:30pm – 10:30pm AEDT)

 

* An extra 30 minutes can be used to complete daily overs

Broadcast info

Both Tests and ODIs of Australia's tour of Sri Lanka will be broadcast live and free on Channel 7 and the 7plus app.  

Foxtel has had a stranglehold on rights for Australia's overseas matches since broadcasting tours of India and Pakistan back in 1998.

However, Foxtel has not regularly broadcast Test series from Sri Lanka not involving Australia and therefore do not have a long-running agreement with cricket's governing body in the subcontinent nation.

This will be the first non-Ashes overseas men's Test tour shown on free-to-air TV in Australia since Mark Taylor's team played in South Africa in 1997.

For those listen on the wireless, both ABC and SEN radio will cover the series. 

Local knowledge

Much like this tour, Australia's most recent Test tour to Sri Lanka contained two Tests, both in Galle. Australia won the first Test by 10 wickets before the hosts replied with an innings and 39-run victory.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith both scored century in the latter, with Mitch Starc the best of the Aussie bowlers with 4-89.

Overall, Australia have three wins from their six Tests at the venue.

Rapid stats

• Steve Smith needs one run to reach 10,000 in Test cricket, which would make him the fourth Australian to the milestone and 15th player overall, if he achieves the milestone in his next innings (205), he’d be the fifth fastest player overall to reach it in the history of the format (Brian Lara, 195, Sachin Tendulkar, 195, Kumar Sangakkara, 195, Ricky Ponting, 196)
• Australia have lost only one of their last eight men’s Test series against Sri Lanka (W6 D1)
• Australia haven't managed a series victory in their past two series in Sri Lanka (1-1 in July 2022 and 0-3 in August 2016)
• Sri Lanka will be looking to avoid back-to-back defeats in men’s Test series for the first time since January 2021, following their 0-2 loss against South Africa in December 2024
• Australia have lost only one of their last 11 men’s Test series (W7 D3) – a 1-2 defeat against India in March 2023
• Sri Lanka have won five of their last six men’s Tests at Galle International Stadium; their only defeat in that span was a four-wicket loss against Pakistan in July 2023
• Sri Lanka have a collective batting average of 33.9 in men’s Tests since the beginning of 2024, the best of any team in that time
• No team has had a higher percentage of their batters dismissed via run outs than Sri Lanka (6.1%) since the beginning of 2024
• Pathum Nissanka (917) is 83 away from becoming the 38th player to score 1,000 runs for Sri Lanka in men’s Tests

Possible line-ups

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Matthews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Nishan Peiris, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara

The top seven is pretty set assuming Pathum Nassanka, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis are all fit to play. Oshada Fernando is likely the next man in if a top order spot becomes available, while Sadeera Samarawickrama could fill a middle order gap. 

For the bowlers, left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasruiya and right-arm quick Asitha Fernando would appear to be the locks. Recently the Lankans have gone with two quicks and two spinners, falling back on the part-time spin of de Silva. Off-spinner Nishan Peiris took nine wickets on debut against New Zealand in September and would appear to be ahead of leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay in the pecking order. The final spot probably comes down to the genuine pace of Lahiru Kumara or the crafty left-arm swing of Vishwa Fernando.

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Nathan McSweeney, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Mitch Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

Australia will make changes from their most recent Test, against India in Sydney, given captain Pat Cummins is absent on paternity leave. There could be other tactical changes too, with Aussie selectors keen to get their batting order, and personnel, right in vastly different conditions to the SCG over New Year's. 

At the top of the order, it was confirmed on Tuesday that Travis Head would open the batting with the selections believing he's more suited to a spot higher up the order in Asian conditions. That could squeeze out Usman Khawaja or Sam Konstas, or see one of them slide down the order. Nathan McSweeney's another option in Head's No.5 position, and looks a natural fit for the middle order if given the chance. 

Further down the order, Mitch Starc and Nathan Lyon are of course the certainties to play, but there are no shortage of potential combinations of who could join them. For extra spin, Australia will look to Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann and even Cooper Connolly, but there is a risk going with Kuhnemann as the left-armer has just had thumb surgery. It's very unlikely the Aussies will play three quicks, so Starc's pace partner (if one is selected) will be between the unerring accuracy of Scott Boland or the extra pace and batting ability of uncapped Sean Abbott.

What are they playing for?

The trophy on offer is one of the most unique in world cricket, even world sport. 

The Warne-Muralidaran trophy takes its name from the two most prolific bowlers in Test history, Australian Shane Warne and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralidaran.

Although the two nations had been playing against one another in Test cricket since 1983, ahead of the series in 2007-08 the two cricketing boards decided to create a perpetual trophy celebrating the two legends.

Both Warne and Muralidaran had casts made of their bowling hands, which are now immortalised on the trophy. 

Since the trophy's inception there have been six series contested, with Australia winning four and Sri Lanka winning one (with one drawn series). Australia is the current holder of the WMT. 

Players to watch 

Kamindu Mendis: Kamindu made his Test debut in the second Test of Australia's 2022 tour to Sri Lanka, scoring 61 in the hosts' big win. Since then though, he has torn up Test cricket, and now has 1110 runs from only 10 Tests. He scored back-to-back tons against Bangladesh, scored 113 against England in Manchester and smacked New Zealand for two centuries in September - including a whopping 182 not out. His Test average sits at 74.00 heading into this series against Australia. 

Beau Webster: With a wicket, catches and the winning runs on debut in Sydney, Webster must be thinking Test cricket is an easy game. But he now holds an important role in Australia's order as the batting allrounder. He can bowl both medium pace and off-spin, and we could see both get rolled out during the two Tests in Galle. With the bat, he's shown in first-class cricket that he's able to bat for long periods or savagely take on the bowling, depending on the situation. 

Head-to-head stats

Overall: Sri Lanka five wins, Australia 20 wins, eight draws

In Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka five wins, Australia seven wins, six draws

Past 10 years: Sri Lanka four wins, Australia three wins, zero draws

Most runs (overall): Mike Hussey 994, Ricky Ponting 975, Mahela Jayawardene 969, Kumar Sangakkara 878, Aravinda de Silva 803

Most runs (in Sri Lanka): Ricky Ponting 575, Mahela Jayawardene 529, Angelo Matthews 517, Dinesh Chandimal 469, Mike Hussey 463

Most wickets (overall): Rangana Herath 66, Shane Warne 59, Muttiah Muralidaran 54, Mitch Starc 51, Nathan Lyon 46

Most wickets (in Sri Lanka): Rangana Herath 54, Muttiah Muralidaran 47, Shane Warne 37, Nathan Lyon 35, Mitch Starc 29

World Test Championship update

Barring any unforeseen points penalties for slow over rates, Australia have qualified for the third WTC final, to play South Africa at Lord's in June. Sri Lanka were in contention right until the very end, but needed to defeat the Proteas away from home to give themselves a shot.

Form guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, D: draw   

Sri Lanka: LLWWWLLWWW

A pretty good record for Sri Lanka in 2024, six wins, four losses. After snatching a victory in England during their 2-1 series loss, they trounced New Zealand 2-0 in their series in September. However, the year ended on a sour note with a 2-0 loss to South Africa away from home, losing the Tests by 233 and 109 runs.

Australia: WWDWLWWLWW

A 3-1 win over India locked in Australia's place in the WTC and regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade. Even though they made changes through that series, some forced and some not, the Aussies kept winning and will take confidence into the Sri Lankan challenge.

Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

Sri Lanka squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka (subject to fitness), Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Rathnayake

First Test: January 29-February 2, Galle (3.30pm AEDT)

Second Test: February 6-10, Galle (3.30pm AEDT)

First ODI: February 12, Colombo (3.30pm AEDT)

Second ODI: February 14, Colombo (3.30pm AEDT)