Australia begin their tour of Sri Lanka with the first of two Test matches, both of which are both played in Galle, with the series opener starting on Wednesday.
Having eased the pressure by all-but securing a place in the World Test Championship Final against South Africa, the Baggy Green have left skipper Pat Cummins at home, with Steve Smith taking on the captaincy.
There are opportunities for a number of fresh faces to stake their claims, especially in the all-rounder department, with Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Nathan McAndrew and Beau Webster all in the squad.
With conditions in Galle expected to favour spinners, Nathan Lyon is backed up by Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann, who has been passed fit despite recently fracturing his thumb.
Sri Lanka have certainly enjoyed plenty of success at the Galle International Stadium, having won 27 of the 46 Test matches that have been played at the venue, lost 13 and seen six games end in draws.
Their most recent outings at the ground came back in September, when the beat New Zealand by 63 runs in the first Test and a whopping innings and 154 runs in the second Test.
Bear in mind that the Black Caps side would go on to secure an amazing 3-0 series whitewash in India less than a month later.
The Islanders have only played one more Test series since trouncing the Kiwis and they were in South Africa, where two heavy defeats were dished out by the Proteas at Durban and Gqeberha.
The tone for that series was set by the Lankans being bowled out for just 42 in their first innings of the first Test and their batters will need to step up to try and fend off Lyon and co.
Opening batter Pathum Nissanka is a doubt for the first Test due to a groin strain, with Lahiru Udara ready to step in and make his Test bow, while all-rounder Sonal Dinusha is also hoping to make his debut.
With the ball, left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya is sure to lead the way, having taken 107 wickets in the 18 Test matches he has played to date, earning 10 five-wicket innings hauls and two 10-wicket match returns.
Jayasuriya took nine wickets in both victories against New Zealand last September and his Test record in Galle is an outstanding 71 wickets from eight matches at an average of 21.78 - including 12 in the match against Australia on his debut in July 2022.
The 33-year-old is 10.00 to be named as Player of the Match in the first Test and 1.83 to take over 5.5 wickets in the match.
Australia will need to find an adequate replacement for Cummins, who has been in outstanding from with both bat and ball in recent times, while their seam attack is further depleted by the absence of the injured Josh Hazlewood.
As mentioned above they handed squad places to Abbott, Connolly, McAndrew and Webster in the all-round department and the spin options of Connolly and the versatile Webster could come into play.
The incredible Lyon will spearhead the Aussie spin attack, with the veteran of 134 Tests hoping to add to the 539 wickets he already has to his name.
Lyon has 35 wickets at 32.02 in eight previous Test outings in Sri Lanka, while his record at Galle is 21 wickets in four matches, with his last two outings at the venue seeing him take nine wickets and then be smacked around for 2-194 in an innings defeat in July 2022.
Both Murphy and Kuhnemann will be hoping to line up alongside Lyon - who is 10.00 to be named as Player of the Match - with neither having played any Test cricket in Sri Lanka.
With the bat, veteran left-handed opener Usman Khawaja is under pressure to perform, having gone 33 Test innings without a century.
He passed 50 just once in 10 knocks in the recent home series against India and needs to rediscover his scoring touch if he is to make sure of remaining in the fold for the next Ashes series, which has been earmarked as a potential farewell to Test cricket.
The Baggy Green have won three of the previous six Tests they have played in Galle, with all of their last five clashes at the venue decided by decisive margins.
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Sri Lanka – 2.40
Draw – 8.00
Australia – 1.90
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.