Sri Lanka head to New Zealand for a 2-month long tour that will see them play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is. The Tests are part of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship while the ODI series is part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.
The tour begins on Thursday, March 9th with the 1st Test at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch and ends Saturday, April 8th with the 3rd T20I at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown.
New Zealand
High on confidence after pulling off an improbable 1-run win at Wellington to level the 2-Test series 1-1 against England recently, the Black Caps who became only the 4th team to win after following on have named an unchanged squad for the Test series.
All 13 players who featured in that game make the team except for uncapped seamer Jacob Duffy, leg spinner Ish Sodhi, and the injured Kyle Jamieson. Out-of-contract Trent Boult, continues to remain unselected as he has decided to focus on franchise T20 cricket instead.
Tim Southee leads a team that sees a healthy mix of experience and youth and includes former captain Kane Williamson spearheading the batting, Neil Wagner backing up the skipper in the bowling department and Tom Blundell as the wicket-keeping mainstay.
The reigning World Test champions are out of contention for a berth in the WTC final but Sri Lanka are still in with an outside chance. A 2-0 series win could see them make it to the title round.
Squads
Tests: Tim Southee (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Blair Tickner, Neil Wagner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson and Will Young.
ODI & T20I Squads Are Yet To Be Announced
Sri Lanka
The Lankans are prepared for this one for sure. Their pre-series training was at Radella about 4000 feet above sea level to simulate conditions that are close to New Zealand. Their 17-man squad announcement was not something we expected though. One of their more prolific batsmen Pathum Nissanka has been dropped while 2 uncapped players Nishan Madushka and Milan Rathnayake make an appearance. There are a few notable comebacks as well in Lahiru Kumara and Chamika Karunaratne who last played his only Test back in 2019.
However, more baffling is their bowling line-up. New Zealand conditions do favour seam and bounce and while Sri Lanka have decided to go with pace, most of the spin department has been dropped altogether. This includes Maheesh Theekshana, Lakshitha Manasinghe, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dunith Wellalage and Dilshan Madushanka with the only spinner in the squad being slow left-armer Prabath Jayasuriya. Ramesh Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis are part-time spinners who can always step in when required though.
Led by Captain Dimuth Karunaratne, the batting is more settled with Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya, Kamindu and Niroshan Dickwella a good mix of experience and proven youth. Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella and Nishan Madushka are also all wicket keeper-batsmen.
Squads
Tests: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya De Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Nishan Madushka, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Chamika Karunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake
ODI & T20I Squads Are Yet To Be Announced
Head-to-Head
Tests
Total – 36 | New Zealand – 16 | Sri Lanka – 9 | Drawn – 11
ODIs
Total – 99 | New Zealand – 49 | Sri Lanka – 41 | No Result – 8 | Tied – 11
T20Is
Total – 20 | New Zealand – 11 | Sri Lanka – 8 | No Result – 1
Schedule
Tests
1st Test – Thursday, March 09 (Hagley Oval, Christchurch)
2nd Test – Friday, March 17 (Basin Reserve, Wellington)
ODIs
1st ODI – Saturday, March 25 (Eden Park, Auckland)
2nd ODI – Tuesday, March 28 (Hagley Oval, Christchurch)
3rd ODI – Friday, March 31 (Seddon Park, Hamilton)
T20Is
1st T20 – Sunday, April 02 (Eden Park, Auckland)
2nd T20 – Wednesday, April 05 (University Oval, Dunedin)
3rd T20 – Saturday, April 08 (John Davies Oval, Queenstown)
