Who should open in Australia?

Paranavithana

For – Left handed so he will complement Dilshan

Against – These days this isn’t really that bigger a deal. Bowlers adjust better and quicker.  Australia open with two lefties.

For – Could be his breakout series

Against – Could be his last

For – Adds solidity to Dilshans flamboyance

Against – Hardly sticks around long enough to display any sort of solidity

For – Deserves to be persisted with to give him a fair run

Against – Since the England tour in 2011 he has scored 4 half centuries in 5 tours. Not good enough

For – The openers position is a tough place to bat

Against – Sure, if you don’t have the right skill set. And Alistair Cook would say otherwise. Really, how different are these two as players ? Both have similar technique. Both do not score quickly. Both have a similar style and approach to batting. The main differences right now, apart from Cooks form, are that Cook can rotate the strike better and knows exactly where his off stump is. Paranavithana as probably also become complacent given that Sri Lanka have given him a free ride for sometime now. His confidence has whittled away on the back of his poor stretch of runs and walks out with as much assured as poorly made jelly

For – Has some experience which will be useful in Australia

Against – Maybe a fresh mind with no scars is a better option

Karunarathne

For – Paranavithana isn’t any good

Against – Not enough of a reason to be first pick

For – Has been in form with runs in SA for the A team and a goodish 60 on test debut

Against – You can’t really argue against form but that 60 was in a small chase when there was no pressure at all on him

For – He is young and has potential

Against – He is young and a tour of Australia isn’t exactly a place to put someone in the deep end

For – More aggressive than Paranavithana

Against – While this is handy, he is still unproven when it comes to pressure situations being able to build an innings at international level, which will be far more valuable given that Dilshan has enough aggro for two players combined.

For – Has risen to scoring runs against top opposition in his short career

Against – This is a great feature to have. Australia in Australia, when they are hurting after the SA loss could be a different proposition

So there it is. You weren’t seriously expecting us to make a  decision for you, were you?