Mathews suggests cautious approach against Starc

With Mitchell Starc now extending his impressive form from the Tests into the ODIs, Sri Lanka have settled on a batting plan: see Starc out safely.

Starc was already miserly during the first ODI. He did not concede a boundary in his 10 overs, which cost only 32. But he was also penetrative, taking three wickets. Each of those dismissals, however, was the result of an expansive drive gone awry. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said his team would seek to shelve the ambitious strokes against Starc, even if the pitch for the second ODI is better for batting than the previous surface.

“We have a clear plan for him – to refrain from attacking him, so that we don’t give him wickets,” Mathews said. “If we can score 40 or 50 runs off him, we feel that we can catch up against the other bowlers. Because he’s bowling well, we should give him that respect. But at the same time we also have to put his loose balls away.”

Starc became the fastest bowler to 100 ODI …

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