Toss Australia chose to bat v Sri Lanka
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
In his first match as the stand-in captain of Australia's one-day side, George Bailey won the toss and chose to bat on a hot day at the MCG. Australia named their team on the eve of the game and there were no last-minute changes, with the debutants Aaron Finch and Phillip Hughes to open and their fellow first-gamer Usman Khawaja to come in at No.3.
It is the first time since 1986 that Australia have fielded so many debutants in a one-day international, and the first time since the days of World Series Cricket that debutants would fill the top three batting positions.
"It's exciting for the whole group," Bailey said. "Three debutants and it's straight to the top of the order for those guys. The word we have really spoken about all week is opportunity. Opportunity for individuals and also as a group, we've been written off in a few circles so it would be nice to prove something and show the depth of Australian cricket."
Sri Lanka named Ajantha Mendis as their lead spinner with Jeevan Mendis as the other main spin option, while Nuwan Kulasekara was included after recovering from injury.
Australia 1 Phillip Hughes, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 George Bailey (capt), 5 David Hussey, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.
Sri Lanka 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Ajantha Mendis.
Inexperienced Australia bat at the MCG
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Inexperienced Australia bat at the MCG
