Australia have named Billy Stanlake as replacement for Mitchell Starc for the second T20I against Sri Lanka, with the latter set to attend his brother’s wedding.
Queensland paceman Stanlake has represented Australia in 17 T20Is so far, picking 25 wickets. He was named in the XI for the second T20I on the morning of the game on Wednesday, 30 October, ahead of Sean Abbott, and is set to make an appearance at The Gabba, his home ground.
“It’s always exciting to have boys from Queensland playing at the Gabba,” Justing Langer, the Australia head coach, told reporters. “Hopefully, there’ll be some good support for him. He’s bowling good pace. I think he’s bowled some good areas as well, more importantly.
“At this level, where he lands them is more important than the pace. That said, with someone who comes as high as he does, he has got that natural pace. That’s why he’s such a great prospect for us.”
Langer has career-best T20I returns of 4/8, against Pakistan in Harare in July 2018. Langer pointed to that spell, and in particular the pace and bounce Stanlake displayed, as an example of his qualities.
“We saw him in Zimbabwe against Pakistan a year or so ago, and he just cleaned them up with the new ball,” said Langer. “He bowled fast, he bowled bouncy.
“The nice thing about the squad we’ve got at the moment is we’ve got options. They’re really adaptable.”
Australia won the first T20I of the three-match series by a record 134 runs. After the second match on Wednesday, the teams will make the trip to Melbourne for the final T20I on Friday.
