Andrew McDonald hints Australia might play unusual combination in Sri Lanka as per needs

Australia has announced the squad for the two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka to be played in June-July and they have picked up the likes of Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson, and Ashton Agar. Apart from the three spinners, Todd Murphy, Matt Kuhnemann, and Tanveer Sangha will be part of Australia’s A tour to the Island nation prior to the Tests. Australia went in with two spinners in the playing XI in the recent historic Test tour to Pakistan and it did work well for them.

However, with the two Tests happening in Galle, the visiting side has the option to field three spinners with Agar playing as an all-rounder. It will be a big move if it does happen as Australia has traditionally not been a side that prefers stacking up the XI with spinners.

It’s how you fit them (Starc and Cummins) in: Andrew McDonald

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald mentioned that Australia is open to the option of playing three spinners in the playing XI if the need arises in Sri Lanka and felt that it was the only way to get both Starc and Cummins into the XI. He added that it will be tough to drop Starc going by his numbers in the subcontinent conditions.

“It’s always there. You pick three spinners in your squad for that exact reason. We challenged ourselves on it in Pakistan but the information we had leading into the games there was probably two spinners at best. Galle creates another conversation. It’s how you fit them in. Mitchell Starc has an unbelievable record in the subcontinent and Sri Lanka in particular. I think the last tour there he was the leading wicket-taker. So you’re going to be a brave man to leave out either the captain [Pat Cummins] or Mitch Starc to pick a third spinner. So it’s really how it fits,” said the head coach Andrew McDonald to SEN on Tuesday.

McDonald also felt that Agar can play at number seven to provide a wide range of options and noted the difficulties of playing back-to-back games in Galle in the upcoming tour.

“Can Ashton Agar potentially bat one spot higher to create a bit of space? I think what we’ve done is we’ve given ourselves the options through what we’ve picked and that’s the important part. We feel as though we’ve got the balance to play multiple ways depending on the conditions. Two Test matches in the one venue back-to-back is an uncommon thing as well. There are a few variables on the ground. But we’ll hope to make some good decisions when we get there,” he added.