Skipper Cummins says team can \u2018easily get 15 to 20 overs out of him\u2019
\n GALLE
\nAll-rounder Glenn Maxwell remains in Australia\u2019s plans for the second Test against Covid-hit Sri Lanka on an expected turner at Galle, skipper Pat Cummins said Thursday.
\nMaxwell, a batsman who bowls off-spin, will fight for a place in the team with fast bowler Mitchell Starc as the tourists look to clinch the series in the final match starting Friday.
\nCummins said he will announce the XI at the toss.
\n\u201cSame 12 (as in the last match), we are going to have a look at the wicket today, maybe in the morning as well and see what they end up doing with it,\u201d Cummins told reporters after having a first look at the pitch.
\n\u201cThe wicket may be different to last week,\u201d he said. \u201cLast week we probably didn\u2019t need two quicks but we know Mitchell Starc\u2019s class, so wait and see.\u201d
\nCummins said Maxwell, who last played a Test in 2017, will come in \u201cas a spinning all-rounder at (number) eight\u201d if he is picked.
\n\u201cI thought he was the pick of the bowlers in the one-day series. He was excellent,\u201d Cummins said of Maxwell who took five wickets in his team\u2019s 3-2 ODI loss to Sri Lanka.
\n\u201cYou feel like you can easily get 15 to 20 overs out of him.\u201d
\nThe tourists won the opener by 10 wickets inside three days with off-spinner Nathan Lyon taking nine wickets.
\nCummins said anyone getting a game in the sub-continent has an eye on next year\u2019s tour to India, where Australia will play four Tests across February and March.
\nStarc was the leading Australian bowler with 24 scalps when the tourists were whitewashed in their 2016 trip to Sri Lanka, but Cummins said the veteran quick would understand the team call if he misses out.
\n\u201cHe\u2019ll be fine. It\u2019s purely conditions-based,\u201d said Cummins.
\n\u201cThey know their quality. Mitch Starc was the leading wicket-taker here last time. They\u2019re great team players. They know their worth to the team.\u201d
\nSri Lanka have been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak with Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay and Asitha Fernando all testing positive for the virus.
\nThe hosts had already reinforced their spin bowling contingent with the addition of Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Prabath Jayasuriya along with all-rounder Lakshitha Manasinghe, who bowls off-spin.
\nLakshan Sandakan, a left-arm wrist-spinner who last played a Test in 2018, was Thursday added to the squad as further cover.
\nCummins said they have some knowledge about Sri Lanka\u2019s additions, especially mystery spinner Theekshana and left-arm orthodox Wellalage \u2014 both of whom await a Test debut after their one-day exploits.
\n\u201cTwo spinners who we saw quite a bit of in the one-day series,\u201d said Cummins.
\n\u201cNot too much extra planning. We\u2019ll wait and see. We feel like we have been lucky to avoid it (Covid) so far,\u201d said the fast bowler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Skipper Cummins says team can \u2018easily get 15 to 20 overs out of him\u2019 GALLE All-rounder Glenn Maxwell remains in Australia\u2019s plans for the second Test against Covid-hit Sri Lanka on an expected turner at Galle, skipper Pat Cummins said Thursday. Maxwell, a batsman who bowls off-spin, will fight for a place in the team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[423,9472],"class_list":{"0":"post-270490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-glenn-maxwell"},"yoast_head":"\n