Australia captain heads home to rest, Warner to lead

ESPNCricinfo: Australia captain Steven Smith will miss the remainder of the tour of Sri Lanka - three ODIs and two T20Is - as he returns home to rest ahead of the tour of South Africa. David Warner will lead the side in the rest of the fixtures in Sri Lanka. Smith revealed the development at the end of the second ODI in Colombo, which Sri Lanka won by 82 runs to level the five-match series at 1-1.

“I hate missing cricket, but in the long run it will do me a world of good,” Smith was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia on Twitter. “The schedule is very busy. I still want to take on the role in all three formats and do it to the best of my ability.”

Australia have lost four of their five international fixtures on tour so far, but Smith suggested his early departure had been considered since much earlier in the tour. Australia’s last match in Sri Lanka is a T20 international on September 9. Their tour of South Africa begins on September 27 with an ODI against Ireland in Benoni, after which they play five ODIs against South Africa.

“We spoke about it at the start of the Test series,” Smith said. “There is the South Africa series next, and a big summer with six Test matches and a few one-dayers against New Zealand in between, before we go to India. So it was talked about - to try and give me a little break at some point. We had a few discussions - myself, Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh, who also consulted with the other selectors. It took a bit of convincing to get me over the line.”

Smith, who is Australia’s captain across all formats, said the role remained manageable despite the team’s busy schedule. He has captained in 42 international matches - including in 11 Tests - over the past year, in addition to playing in the IPL, most recently for Rising Pune Supergiants. He did not rule out taking his break from cricket during the IPL, but was quick to suggest the tournament was a valuable experience.

“For me, I’ve got a lot of time for the IPL,” he said. “I think it’s been a great learning curve for me. I think I’ve learned a lot about the way I play, particularly white-ball cricket, from the IPL. Playing a lot of back-to-back games I think you learn a lot about yourself as a player. I’ve certainly got a lot of time for the IPL in that respect. But captaining Australia is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of time. At some point, maybe it could give. For now, I want to continue trying to play everything that I can.”

Cricket Australia’s national selector Rod Marsh said in a statement: “Steve has a large amount of cricket coming up in the next 12 months and we wanted to find a time for him to freshen up and these last five matches provide a good opportunity to do so.

“Regardless of the results of the first two matches our plan was always for Steve to take a break and refresh ahead of the ODI Series against South Africa next month.”

Smith’s replacement Warner has not captained Australia in any format, and now takes charge in a tour in which he has been in indifferent form.

“This is a great leadership opportunity for David, he has really embraced his role as vice-captain and we are confident he will do a great job in Steve’s place,” Marsh said.

Injured Coulter-Nile out of Sri Lanka tour

ESPNCricinfo: Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has been ruled out of the remainder of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka with an injury to his lower back. Australia have named a 13-man squad for the two T20s that round out the tour, with wicketkeeper Peter Nevill retaining his place and allrounder Glenn Maxwell and batsman Chris Lynn set to join the group.

But Coulter-Nile, who played in all four of Australia’s matches at the World T20 in India earlier this year, will not be part of the series and will instead fly home to have his injury assessed. Coulter-Nile has been in Sri Lanka since the start of the tour as part of the Test and ODI squads but has not played a match.

“Nathan had been experiencing a gradual increase in lower back pain which is now preventing him from bowling at match intensity,” Australia’s physiotherapist David Beakley said. “He will now return to Perth for further investigation which will determine the extent of the injury and possible return to play timelines.”

Coulter-Nile will not officially be replaced in the ODI squad for the remaining three matches, with the selectors comfortable that enough cover is already present. Scott Boland and John Hastings, who are in the T20 squad, have arrived in Sri Lanka early and are travelling with the ODI team and could be called on if fast-bowling cover is needed.

Maxwell, who was dropped from the ODI squad due to disappointing batting form, will get a chance to impress in the two T20s alongside Lynn, who has played five T20s for his country.

“Both Chris and Glenn are dynamic players who are both capable of winning a game from their own bat and they also bring that x-factor in the field,” national selector Rod Marsh said.

Matthew Wade had been Australia’s preferred gloveman in the T20 format until the selectors sprung a surprise by installing Test wicketkeeper Nevill for the World T20 in India earlier this year. Wade remains the incumbent ODI keeper, and scored a career-best 76 in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday, but Nevill remains the choice for T20s.

“Peter is the incumbent wicket-keeper in the T20 side and had a very good World T20 for Australia, the panel wanted to keep that consistency heading into these two matches,” Marsh said.

Australia play Sri Lanka in two T20s in Pallekele and Colombo on September 6 and 9. David Warner will captain the side in the absence of Steven Smith, who is flying home to rest ahead of the upcoming tour of South Africa and a busy home summer.

Squad David Warner (capt), Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill (wk), James Faulkner, John Hastings, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Scott Boland.