Publications
Partners
Galle - Australian captain Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat in the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium on Wednesday.
The start was delayed by an hour due to overnight rains, but adequate covering of the entire ground ensured the wicket and the outfield remained dry.
Australia awarded Test caps to seamer Trent Copeland and off-spinner Nathan Lyon, while Pakistan-born Usman Khawaja was preferred to Shaun Marsh for the number six position.
Lyon, 23, who had played just four first-class matches when he was picked for the tour, was given the nod for the opening Test over left-arm spinner Michael Beer.
Copeland, 25, a lanky seamer from New South Wales, picked up six wickets during the three-day tour match in Colombo last week in which left-hander Khawaja scored a century.
Sri Lanka left out unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis and decided to go with two seamers in Chanaka Welegedera and Suranga Lakmal, and two slow bowlers in Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv.
Teams
Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Usman Khawaja, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Trent Copeland, Nathan Lyon. 12th man: Michael Beer.
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Suraj Randiv, Suranga Lakmal, Chanaka Welegedara, Rangana Herath. 12th man: Ajantha Mendis.
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Aleem Dar (PAK)
TV umpire: Tony Hill (NZL)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
