Sri Lanka v Australia: Cricket World Cup 2019 – live!

2nd over: Australia 12-0 (Warner 4, Finch 8) Goodness me, how’s the touch from Aaron Finch!? First delivery of the day from Nuwan Pradeep is on a decent line and length but the Aussie skipper stands tall and caresses a textbook off drive on the up for four: think vintage Michael Vaughan. Four balls later he times another sweet sweet boundary, this one driven with the full face of the bat past the non-striker in a stroke that Finch holds for so long it looks as though the wind has caught him and he might never change. This would actually be fine because it was such a glorious follow through to a perfect on drive.

“Nice shout out for words with only one friend” emails Bill Pairman. “My favourite is “dingly dell” which works both ways. The only dingly thing is a dell, all dells are dingly. They’re like an elderly couple who have been together since childhood, ever-faithful to each other, still as deeply enamoured as the day they first kissed.” Very high standard of emails this morning. High fives all round.

1st over: Australia 4-0 (Warner 4, Finch 0) Malinga opens from the Vauxhall end and he begins superbly, swinging one into Warner’s pads then beating the outside edge with a length delivery. Warner is typically unfussed, clipping the next off his pads through midwicket with a firm push that races away for four like it’s hopped on an airport travelator. This is a fast outfield.

Aaron Finch and David Warner are out in the middle. Lasith Malinga has the white ball in his hand. There’s plenty of blue sky among the fluffy clouds in south London. Time for cricket.

If today’s lopsided looking contest fails to deliver, just wait until tomorrow…

It is a match that – on the surface at least – is just one of 48 at this rain-splattered Cricket World Cup. But when India and Pakistan face off in Manchester on Sunday the sporting contest will be magnified and warped by so much else: the 70-plus years of shared history and antipathy between the two countries, the recent political tensions in Kashmir, and the stultifying pressure that comes when several hundred million eyeballs are watching on.

Anthem time. A quick opportunity to inform you that today’s officials are Aleem Dar and Richard Illingworth with Michael Gough keeping his eye on DRS.

“My new number one cricket journo is without doubt Isa Guha. She has the ironic air of a daughter in an Ivy Compton-Burnett novel – trapped inside a Victorian country house with her father, a tyrannical male landowner, and his bumptious son, with only her native wit and charm available to combat them.” I told you Ian Forth logging on was good, didn’t I? Isa Guha is indeed brilliant. In Australia she is often saddled with some unenviable commentary box assignments which he handles with a grace I doubt I could emulate.

Just staying with The Judge a little longer, it may well contain the greatest cover quote of all time from Mike Selvey in reference to Smith’s famed Square Cut. “Should I ever be condemned to beheading, I would like Robin Smith to be the swordsman,” he wrote. Brilliant.

“Pleased to see the word ‘pundit’ here,” emails Peter Salmon. “My friends and I got obsessed with the word a while ago in relation to Aussie Rules football – we loved that the pundits were always ‘being proved wrong’. Looking into the etymology it turns out pundit comes from the Sanskrit ‘pandita’, meaning a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism particularly the Vedic scriptures, dahrma, Hindi philosophy, or secular subjects such as music. So it seemed eminently reasonable they didn’t know much about Aussie Rules, hence getting it wrong. More generally it means ‘knowledge owner’ and I have to say Alistair Cook’s first stint on the wireless yesterday showed him as a pretty good ‘knowledge owner.’” I haven’t heard much from the Chef so I’ll withhold judgement, but I’m delighted he’s made a good start to life behind the mic.

The last time I was on here (Australia vs Pakistan) I shared that Robin Smith was one of my cricketing heroes growing up. That was in reference to a new autobiography being published about Smith’s eventful life (written with OBO guru Rob Smyth).

Smith recently spoke to Donald McRae and provided a glimpse at how raw some passages of The Judge are likely to be.

“What do you think about Lasit Malinga?” asks CS Pancham. “Will he cause problems for Australian batsmen?” I would expect so, yes. I think he’s a terrific bowler and ideally suited to the kinds of pitches we’ve seen so far this tournament which have benefited that two-length approach (very full or very short). He averages 24.65 against Australia in ODIs with a strike rate of two wickets per ten overs.

Ian Forth has logged on, which is always an enjoyable moment on the OBO. “OB Jato makes a very pertinent point but my eye was drawn to “wreck havoc”. It’s more usually “wreak havoc” but wreak’s one of those funny words that only really likes hanging out with one friend, to wit, in its case, ‘havoc’. See also: ‘fell swoop’; Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali; Teresa May and her cat.”

One change also for Sri Lanka with Milinda Siriwardana replacing Suranag Lakmal. That means doubts over both Nuwan Pradeep (injured finger) and Lasith Malinga (flew home to attend funeral) have been resolved with the two bowlers making the starting line.

Sri Lanka XI: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera (wk), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Nuwan Pradeep, Lasith Malinga

One change to Australia’s line-up with Jason Behrendorff replacing Nathan Coulter-Nile. Finch indicated the hero of his side’s win over the Windies was a little stiff and sore.

That still means a four-man pace attack with ten overs to be found from Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, or even the lesser spotted Steve Smith, who was seen rolling his arm over in the nets this week.

Australia XI: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Kane Richardson.

Aaron Finch called incorrectly (his fifth lost toss in a row this World Cup) and Dimuth Karunaratne wasted no time sticking Australia in. Finch agreed with the strategy suggesting he would also have bowled first to take advantage of some overcast conditions and any life in the new pitch.

Want to know what the Oval’s like behind the scenes? Of course you do! And as luck would have it here’s Mark Butcher to show you around.

This is also an opportunity for me to segue into nominating Butch as my favourite cricketing pundit (and your chance to email or tweet me with your alternatives – with supporting information, of course). I’ve long enjoyed his well-informed perspective on the game, his ability to move with the times, and most crucially how he argues his point confidently but respectfully in a manner that advances debate.

This is a lovely read from Barney Ronay on the presence of rain during the early phase of this World Cup.

Rain tells you the summer game is also about melancholy and boredom, that this is a story told often in minor chords too, its moments of colour bordered by vital passages of grey. In the current battle for the sport’s soul rain stands on one side saying this is not a product to be sold by the yard. Formats will come and go. But you have to be made to love cricket, not simply offered it up ready-made. In England, at least, the uncertainty remains. Cricket will always fight with the skies.

If you missed any of yesterday’s action you can catch up here in written and audio formats. TLDR: England hammered the Windies but Roy and Morgan picked up injuries.

“Sri Lanka’s pacers could wreck unlikely havoc today, but I am concerned with only one query regarding Australia right now,” emails OB Jato, “Stoinis?”.

Indeed, Australia’s line-up is unbalanced without their allrounder and the selection strategy against Pakistan did not look like one capable of winning a World Cup. Marcus Stoinis remains unavailable for selection with the side strain he suffered against India but he is expected to return to training next week.

Mel Jones has had a look at the pitch for Australian TV and she likes what she sees. It’s a fresh surface and Jones reckons it’ll have plenty of pace, unlike the worn tracks that have been used at the Oval so far this tournament that have lacked the venue’s customary pace and bounce.

Let’s get the weather out of the way early – it’s dry, and it is forecast to remain dry for the majority of play with just the slight risk of a shower during the afternoon. It’s a bit nippy out still though with the temperature unlikely to get out of the teens while a brisk southerly will keep everyone on their toes.