Match Facts

Who: Australia v Sri Lanka

When: Saturday October 5. Coin toss at 7.30pm AEST, first ball at 8pm AEST (2pm local time)

Where: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates

How to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Officials: Suzanne Redfern, Anna Harris (standing umpires), Lauren Agenbag (third), Kim Cotton (fourth)

Live scores: Australia v Sri Lanka match centre

The scenario

Sri Lanka started their World Cup campaign in Sharjah on Thursday, but it did not go to plan as they fell 31 runs short of Pakistan’s 116 all out.

Australia have had to wait until Saturday to get their own campaign underway with what will be their only day time match for the tournament.

In a tough group that also contains India, Pakistan and New Zealand, a win here would go a long way towards securing a top two finish and a semi-final berth.

As a reminder, here are Australia’s Group A fixtures: 

October 5: v Sri Lanka, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 8pm AEST

October 8: v New Zealand, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 9 AEDT

October 11: v Pakistan, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 12 AEDT

October 13: v India, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 14 AEDT

The squads

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Australia have had a few injury concerns coming into this World Cup opener, with Grace Harris and Phoebe Litchfield under injury clouds. Harris suffered a mild calf strain ahead of the New Zealand T20I series and has been working her way back to a return, while Litchfield reported groin soreness following Australia’s first full training session in Dubai.

Kim Garth missed the NZ series with a knee injury but has recovered and bowled in the warm-up game against England.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Anushka Sanjeewani, Harshitha Madhavi, Nilakshika de Silva, Inoka Ranaweera, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Sachini Nisansala, Vishmi Gunaratne, Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana. Travelling reserve: Kaushini Nuthyangana

Chamari Athapaththu is leading a similar squad to the one that saw Sri Lanka to their first-ever Women’s Asia Cup title win in July. Inoka Ranaweera was the only inclusion, with the left-arm spinner adding significant experience to their bowling attack.

How to watch

The new era for watching World Cup cricket in Australia continues.

All 23 matches of the tournament will be shown live on Amazon’s Prime Video online subscription streaming service after the internet giant recently acquired the Aussie broadcast rights for all ICC events for the next four years. There is no free-to-air Australian broadcast of this World Cup as a result.

You can sign up to Prime Video by clicking here, with a 30-day free trial on offer for new members.

How to recap

If you can’t catch the match live, you can catch on demand highlights packages on Prime Video.

The rest of the information you need will be right here on cricket.com.au: scores, recaps, interviews and highlights will all review what took place and keep you informed on the key takeaways. 

Local knowledge

Only 10 women’s T20Is had been played at the venue prior to this tournament, offering little data to go off.

Just two matches have been played at the ground at this early stage of the tournament, but the early indication is that it is suiting the spinners.

Pakistan chose to bat first in their night game against Sri Lanka expecting dew, but none eventuated. 

Australia has never played here, while Sri Lanka’s three T20Is at the venue were against Pakistan back in 2015.

Possible starting XIs

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c)(wk), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck

Australia had two players under an injury cloud going into the match, and the availability of Phoebe Litchfield and Grace Harris will impact the final XI. They will have kept a very close eye on the first two games in Sharjah on Thursday, which could determine whether they stick to the same formula for their bowling attack as they did against New Zealand last month, or bring in another spinner in Alana King.

Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Fernando, Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodani

Sri Lanka went into their showdown with Pakistan with left-armer Udeshik Prabodhani as their only seamer, alongside a bevy of spinners. Prabodhani picked up three Pakistan wickets in that game, while off-spinners Chamari Athapaththu and Kavisha Dilhari, and left-arm orthodox spinner Sugandika Kumari took seven between them. 

Players to watch

Beth Mooney has a strong record against Sri Lanka, who she has hit 247 runs at 82 against from six innings, with a strike rate of 130.85. It’s going to be very, very hot in Sharjah on Friday afternoon and while the Queenslander famously battles in extreme heat, she also has a tendency to rise to the occasion when the odds are against her.

The chat around Sri Lanka is typically focussed on their skipper Chamari Athapaththu and for good reason. But that’s a little too obvious, and the left-hander has found some strong support in her batting line-up of late, including Harshitha Samarawickrama, who was player of the match in their triumphant Asia Cup final win over India when she hit 69no from 51 balls.

Recent form

Past 10 T20 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result 

Australia: WWWWWWWLWW

Australia recorded clean sweeps in their past two T20I series against New Zealand and Bangladesh. Their last defeat in the format was a historic first loss to South Africa during their multi-format series in January.

Sri Lanka: LWWWWWWLLW

Sri Lanka went on a tear in July, going through the Asia Cup undefeated. Their six-match winning streak came to an end in Ireland in August, when they were beaten without skipper Chamari Athapaththu available.

Last time they met

The teams last met at the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa. In that game in Gqeberha, Meg Lanning put Sri Lanka in to bat first and Megan Schutt dominated, taking 4-24 to restrict their rivals to 8-112. Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney made fairly light work of the chase, hitting 54no and 56no respectively as Australia sealed a 10-wicket win in 15.5 overs.

Head-to-head

Played: 7

Australia wins: 7

Sri Lanka wins: 0

2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

Warm-up matches

September 29: Australia defeated England by 33 runs

October 1: Australia defeated West Indies by 35 runs

Australia’s Group A fixtures

October 5: v Sri Lanka, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 8pm AEST

October 8: v New Zealand, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 9 AEDT

October 11: v Pakistan, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 12 AEDT

October 13: v India, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 14 AEDT

Finals

October 17: Semi-final 1, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 18 AEDT

October 18: Semi-final 2, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 19 AEDT

October 20: Final, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 21 AEDT

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial