Shaun Marsh set for debut at No. 3

Shaun Marsh will bat at No. 3 for Australia in place of the absent Ricky Ponting in the second Test in Pallekele, after Michael Clarke confirmed an otherwise unchanged XI to face Sri Lanka.

Ponting is at home for the birth of his second child, handing Marsh his chance to wear a baggy green cap. The decision to bat Marsh at No. 3 is something of a surprise, as it was thought that Usman Khawaja, who made his debut in Ponting's place at the SCG in January and batted at No. 6 in the first Test in Galle, would be promoted. However, Marsh has played the majority of his international cricket for Australia at the top of the order, and may be more comfortable starting against the newer ball.

Australia: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phil Hughes, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Usman Khawaja, 7 Brad Haddin, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Trent Copeland, 11 Nathan Lyon.

More to follow ...

Published by Unknown on 01:46. Filed under Australia, Breaking News, Feature, Srilanka . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0