All-rounder Marcus Stoinis’ injury has upset the team balance, said Australia coach Justin Langer ahead of his side’s match against Sri Lanka.
Australia coach Justin Langer said Stoinis missed Wednesday’s victory over Pakistan due to a side strain, which he suffered against India three days earlier.
It prompted the reigning champion to fly in Mitchell Marsh as cover. Stoinis did some batting in Taunton’s indoor nets Wednesday, but the seam bowling all-rounder is set to miss a second match.
Australia has a five-day break before its next game against Bangladesh. “We’ve talked a bit about it, but we’ll just see how he pulls up over the next few days,” Langer said of Stoinis. “We know that it’s important to have an all-rounder in the side, if we can. And if we can’t, we’ve got to adapt.”
In the absence of Stoinis, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell combined as the team’s fifth bowler against Pakistan, conceding 71 runs between them off nine overs.
Skipper Finch chipped in with the wicket of all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez. “With the kind of batters we have, we feel we have got a very strong batting unit,” added Langer.
“I will say it’s probably harder for Finchy than anyone else to have less recognised bowlers. Everyone is got to be on top of their game.”
With wicketkeeper Alex Carey and quick Nathan Coulter-Nile proving their skills with the bat, playing five specialist bowlers is one option for the holder. But Langer is not totally convinced.