Starc backed to unleash opening salvo

Mitchell Starc will open the bowling for Australia, but Sri Lanka may be missing their entire pace bowling attack from Brisbane.

Marcus Harris takes part in a net session at Manuka Oval yesterday. Picture: AFP

Mitchell Starc will open the bowling for Australia, but Sri Lanka is dealing with the possibility that its entire pace attack from the first Test is out for the second amid reports Suranga Lakmal was taken for scans on his back last night.

The visitors had already lost Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara after the Brisbane game, but had comforted themselves with the fact that Lakmal, who took 5-75 in the Test, was apparently fit.

The side is contemplating using the uncapped Chamika Karunaratne and left-armer Vishwa Fernando — who has played two Tests — as replacements and possibly adding another spinner.

It’s terrible news for the visitors who lost by an innings in Brisbane and were hoping for a better performance in this Test. Karunaratne only arrived two days ago.

The Australian batsman, however, will be looking forward to filling their saddlebags on a friendly deck against what is essentially a second-choice seam-bowling attack.

Coach Justin Langer and selector Greg Chappell broke the news to Marcus Stoinis at the centre wicket yesterday afternoon that he would not be playing, as the other players had an optional training session behind the stands.

After Chappell walked away, Langer and all-rounder Stoinis engaged in a long and animated discussion, but not too much can be read into that as Langer is prone to animation and is rarely brief.

Stoinis at least knows now that he has moved ahead of Mitch Marsh in the pecking order.

Captain Tim Paine announced there would be no changes to the side after the training session.

“Coming off a good win, we are happy with our combination,” he said. “This pitch is probably slightly different … we just think that we’ll be able to get more overs out of Marnus (Labuschagne) on a pitch like this.”

Starc’s struggles this summer had many thinking he would not be given the new ball in Canberra but Paine says he will not be demoting the left-armer despite Pat Cummins’ 10-wicket haul at the Gabba.

“I think Jhye (Richardson) bowled beautifully with it and obviously we’ve used ‘Starcy’ for a long time with the new ball,” Paine said. “We think he (Starc) is still our best new-ball bowler when he gets it right so we’ll always give him the first few.

“Hopefully, he can swing a few and if he does he’s more than likely to get an early breakthrough. But what we have done is bring Pat on a lot earlier than we have in the past.

“We’re still reasonably happy with his (Starc’s) output. He’s not 100 per cent at his best, but I think that’s a sign of how good a bowler he is that he’s still finding ways to pick up wickets at certain times and, like I said post-Brisbane Test, when he gets it right he’s going to be devastating.

“Hopefully, it will be this Test straight up tomorrow morning or potentially some reverse swing when he is devastating. Hopefully, there’s a chance of that here.”

No Australian batsman has made a century in the past six Test matches and if they don’t take the chance here it will be the equal third-worst drought in the side’s history.

Labuschagne and Travis Head’s scores of 81 and 84, respectively, in Brisbane were the two highest of the summer. Paine revealed there has been plenty of talk about the inability to score three figures and believes the problem is in the batsmen’s heads.

“I think it is in every team … batting and scoring hundreds becomes more mental than it is technical,” he said. “The longer you go without it, the more you want it and the harder you try.

“Those guys have to concentrate on what they know works and have to be disciplined enough to do it for long enough and, if they are, then they’ll get a hundred this Test.

“I thought Travis and Marnus, in particular, batted really well and, kind of sitting back, thought if they hadn’t had to go back out, Travis in particular, and bat through that night session that he may have had a Test hundred.

“Those two are really close to it and I think this wicket will be another great opportunity for all our batting group to get that hundred that we haven’t been able to score this summer.