Sri Lanka get in to the thick of warm-ups vs Aussies May 26
Sri Lanka will get in to the thick of warming up preparations for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy when they take on Australia on Friday May 26 at the Kennington Oval, London at 3:00 p.m. IST. Angelo Mathews’ charges will go in to their final practice match against New Zealand on Friday May 30 at Edgbaston, Birmingham same time. Sri Lanka has won one of two warm ups against Scotland having lost the opener.
However, the emphatic 9-wicket win over the Scots in the second game on Tuesday was a morale reviving tonic to the Sri Lankan camp as the islanders brace for tougher opposition showdowns against Australia and New Zealand. Furthermore, the Sri Lankan think tank would overly be happy with the batting performances in both games where a total of 287 was posted in the lost game to the Scots. In that encounter three top order batsmen opener Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedera notched half centuries. What must be pleasing right up there is that the openers Perera and Upul Tharanga have come good. Tharanga struck a solid unbeaten 53 in the victorious game. The contrasting styles of Kusal Janith Perera as a bludgeoner, and Tharanga fortified with a much experience derived stoic composure as a grafting run accumulator could be the ideal launching pad to Sri Lanka’s campaign. The warm ups against Australia and New Zealand would be an interesting feed to the team balance that would give Sri Lanka options for their crucial championship opener on June 3 at the Kensington Oval. Australia has thrown their hat in to the ring with a highly experienced packed outfit while New Zealand, in notable captaincy change in showpiece contests in Kane Williamson having filled in the shoes of Brendon McCullum sometime ago, possesses a few top performers in Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and Trent Boult.
Sri Lanka’s Head Coach, Graham Ford has hoped for batting friendly flat English tracks rather than sub-continent friendly spinning pitches. Ford has aired that flat tracks would ideally suit Sri Lanka’s batsmen in looking to mount big scores.
Notably, only six teams will play warm-up matches. England and South Africa figure in the three-match One-day International (ODI) series ahead of the tournament. Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh will play the warm-up matches at two designated venues- Kennington Oval in London and Edgbaston in Birmingham.
The six warm-up matches will take place between May 26 to May 30. Each team will play two matches. Out of these six, only India’s matches will be telecast live. All the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 practice matches will be day games.
ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Warm-up Matches Schedule
| Date | Teams | Venue | Time | Live on TV |
| 26 May | Australia vs Sri Lanka | Kennington Oval, London | 3:00 PM IST | No |
| 27 May | Pakistan vs Bangladesh | Edgbaston, Birmingham | 3:00 PM IST | No |
| 28 May | India vs New Zealand | Kennington Oval, London | 3:00 PM IST | Yes |
| 29 May | Australia vs Pakistan | Edgbaston, Birmingham | 3:00 PM IST | No |
| 30 May | New Zealand vs Sri Lanka | Edgbaston, Birmingham | 3:00 PM IST | No |
| 30 May | India vs Bangladesh | Kennington Oval, London | 3:00 PM IST | Live |
Sri Lanka squad:
Angelo Mathews (Capt), Upul Tharanga (V. Capt), Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Asela Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thisara Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Seekkuge Prasanna.
Standbys: Dilruwan Perera, Dhanushka Gunathilake
By Srian Obeyesekere
-The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Sri Lanka Cricket-
