White Warns Over Spin Threat in Series Opener

Pallekele: Ajantha Mendis was the architect of Australia's demise, taking six wickets - the first man to do so in a T20 international - at a cost of just 16 runs from his four overs.

And although White will take no part in the forthcoming five one-day internationals and three Tests, he expects the turning ball to constitute a danger to the tourists throughout the series.

"It was pretty obvious that once there was a couple of new batters, it was quite hard work," White said.

It's going to be no different during the one-day series. It'll be hard and tough work for the batsmen against the spinners.

Everyone knows that, it's no secret and it's just going to be about who can come out on top at the end of the series.

White was hopeful the return of two old hands - Test and one-day captain Michael Clarke and his predecessor Ricky Ponting - would boost Australia's resistance to the unique threat of Mendis.

"A couple of senior players coming back into the side, Michael and Ricky, have seen a lot of Mendis so they'll have, straight from the start, a bit more experience there and I think just the more you get to face guys like that, who you haven't seen as much, it becomes easier," White said.

He's a different bowler but, as I said, the more you get to see of guys like that, the easier they become to face.

"Definitely, as Mendis showed tonight, he's a very good bowler. Clearly, six wickets in a Twenty20 game for under 20 runs is an unbelievable effort."

At 1-71 early in their innings, Australia looked comfortably within reach of victory, but Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan never doubted his team's ability to hinder the run chase.

"We knew one or two wickets and we could put pressure on them. We were hanging in, and waiting for a breakthrough," Dilshan said.

With David Warner returning home, Brad Haddin will open for Australia in Shane Watson's company, freeing up space for the returning middle-order troika. Shaun Marsh and David Hussey looked suspect against spin in the Twenty20s, but Australia may be forced to play both in an attempt to delay the start of their tail.

Angelo Mathews has pulled off incredible stunts in the outfield twice within the span of three years, but there is so much more to his cricket than breath-taking boundary-line jugglery.

Teams from

Sri Lanka Tillakaratne Dilshan (captain), Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal, Ajantha Mendis, Thissara Perera, Lasith Malinga

Australia Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, John Hastings, James Pattinson, Doug Bollinger, Xavier Doherty.

Pitch and conditions
Pallekele is set to host its third international game in five days. The track had slowed down considerably by the end of the second Twenty20, allowing Sri Lanka's spinners to dominate proceedings. If the strip retains that character for the first ODI, both captains will be anxious to bat first.

Stats and trivia

• These teams have played 72 ODIs against each other, with Australia winning 47 and Sri Lanka 22
• Mahela Jayawardene is set to play his 343rd ODI for Sri Lanka (348th in all), which will make him the second most-capped player to have played for the country, level with Muttiah Muralitharan.
• Ricky Ponting has made 1450 runs against Sri Lanka, making him the third highest run-getter in head-to-heads between these teams. He needs only one run to draw level with Aravinda de Silva. Adam Gilchrist leads the table with 1511 runs.

Match facts
Wednesday August 10, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 14:30 (9:00 GMT, 19:00 EST)