SL vs AUS: Hope Australia can some joy and entertainment to crisis-hit Sri Lanka, says Aaron Finch

Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch said that he hopes his team can bring some joy and entertainment to the Sri Lankan fans who have been hit by the country’s worst economic crisis.

Australian cricketers reached Sri Lanka on Wednesday for the six-week-long all-format tour comprising eight limited-overs matches and two Tests. Earlier, many Aussie cricketers had raised concerns about the crisis in Sri Lanka.

“We are here to play cricket. Hopefully, we can bring some joy, some entertainment to Sri Lanka … This is the first time we’re here since 2016, which is such a long gap,” he said.

“It’s such a special place to tour. The hospitality that you get here, the friendliness, and their love for the game is unbelievable.”

The protests and frequent power cuts as a result of the economic crisis have led to some questions about day-night games. Asked if they were confident about those games, Finch said: “It’s well and truly above my pay grade. But all that stuff was ticked off between the two boards and the governments before the tour went ahead.

“Whether they shift the games to day games, I’m not sure what’s going to happen … but over the last week or so, I haven’t heard any complaints (from teammates).”

Australia begin their tour on Tuesday with the first of their three Twenty20 matches against a Sri Lanka team ranked ninth in this format.

Finch, who led Australia to their maiden T20 World Cup title last year, ruled out any complacency against a home side containing batter Kusal Mendis and spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.

“We had a couple of close series against them … they are a very dangerous side,” Finch said.

“If you just look at the top order, you’ve got Kusal there who can be as damaging as anyone on his day and obviously Hasaranga has had an unbelievable couple of years in T20 cricket.”