Australia choose to bat

Michael Clarke won the toss and Australia will bat first against Sri Lanka in Hobart, but they will be without Shane Watson after he was left out of the side. Watson has not played for Australia this home summer and the selectors decided to ease him back into the squad by naming him 12th man, and he is more likely to play on Sunday against India.

That decision means David Warner and Matthew Wade will again open, while Peter Forrest has been handed the job of taking the No.3 spot from Ricky Ponting as Australia look to the future. Ryan Harris has also returned to the side, replacing Mitchell Starc, while Clint McKay has been left out of the starting line-up.

Sri Lanka named an unchanged side after their impressive victory against India in Brisbane on Tuesday, and they can move to the top of the table if they beat Australia. The match was set to begin in fine and sunny conditions on a pitch that looked good for batting.

The teams:
Australia: 1. David Warner, 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Peter Forrest, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 David Hussey, 7 Daniel Christian, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.

Sri Lanka: 1 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Rangana Herath. (Source: Cricinfo)