Todd Murphy was left out of Australia's XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
In short:
Australia named Cooper Connolly ahead of Todd Murphy for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Connolly was selected because he added more with the bat than off-spinner Murphy.
What's next?
Sri Lanka will resume on 9-229 in its first innings on the second day.
Australia bowling coaching Daniel Vettori says Cooper Connolly's batting ability is the reason he was picked ahead of off-spinner Todd Murphy for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
With only four first-class caps to his name, batting all-rounder Connolly was named to make his Test debut as Australia chases a 2-0 series victory.
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Much was made of Connolly providing a second left-arm off-spin option next to Matt Kuhnemann, the leading wicket-taker in the triumphant first Test.
But it was mostly for his batting that Connolly was selected ahead of the specialist spinner, with his average 61.8 in first-class cricket compared to Murphy's 15.3.
Australia's XI features recognised batters down to the number eight on a pitch that is already showing cracks.
Vettori said the pitch would become tricky for the batters the longer the match played out.
"First-innings runs are going to play a huge role in whoever wins this game," said Vettori after Sri Lanka reached stumps on day one at 9-229.
"The anticipation that the wicket would probably be slightly more extreme than the first Test match, we thought that the number of overs would come down and maybe batting would come to the fore.
"It's an incredibly tough call on Murph (Murphy) because I think whenever he's come into the team, he's done a fantastic job.
"It was just our interpretation of the wicket led us to believe that runs were going to be at a premium."
Western Australia's Cooper Connolly is making his Test debut in Galle. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
Connolly, who is yet to take a first-class wicket in his four Sheffield Shield matches for Western Australia, bowled three overs on day one.
When Australia was struggling for a breakthrough in the third session, Connolly was thrown the ball for only one over.
ABC Sport will be live blogging Australia's second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Vettori said Connolly had already taken big strides with his bowling during Australia's Dubai preparation camp and training sessions in Galle.
"He's in the team as a batsman and therefore it's a blank canvas for his bowling," he said.
"The amount of overs he's bowled in Dubai and now in the 10 or so days we've been in Galle, it's probably the most he's bowled in his career.
"He's going through a learning stage, understanding what it takes to compete on these sorts of wickets."
AAP
