Australian coach Mickey Arthur is confident his bowlers can produce eight more wicket-taking deliveries to defeat Sri Lanka on Tuesday in the first Test in Hobart.
But the home side have been hit hard by injuries to skipper and star batsman Michael Clarke (hamstring) and pace bowler Ben Hilfenhaus (side strain).
Hilfenhaus has been ruled out of the rest of the match and will also miss the second Test in Melbourne starting on Boxing Day, while Clarke was having scans late on Monday night but is expected to field on Tuesday.
However, Clarke is also in doubt for the Melbourne Test.
Sri Lanka will resume on Tuesday’s final day of play on 2-65 requiring a further 328 runs to win.
Sri Lanka’s two all-time leading runscorers Kumar Sangakkara (18) and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (five) are at the crease.
Arthur says Clarke will receive treatment during breaks in play on Tuesday.
“You would have to cut Michael’s leg off for him not to be out there,” Arthur said.
“He certainly wants to marshal the troops and he wants to be there if hopefully sometime we can clinch a win.”
Australia can ill afford another breakdown among their pace bowlers Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc and allrounder Shane Watson on Tuesday.
Watson was rested from the second Test against South Africa in Adelaide last month with a calf problem as Australia narrowly failed to bowl out the Proteas and clinch victory on the final day’s play.
In that Adelaide match, Australia were hampered by an injury to James Pattinson, which left Siddle to bowl himself to the point of exhaustion as he strained to get another breakthrough.
Siddle was then rested from the third Test in Perth which finished earlier this month because of a hamstring niggle, and the big-hearted quick looms as a key weapon for Australia on Tuesday.
Left-armer Starc, who claimed the wicket of opener Dimuth Karunaratne (30) with a beautiful yorker late on day four, is another key player along with spinner Nathan Lyon.
“Mitch was outstanding today. He has the ability to get it really full and swing it,” Arthur said.
Arthur said he had his fingers crossed that Starc, Watson and Siddle could exploit the variable bounce in the Hobart pitch.
“Adelaide knocked him around,” Arthur said of Siddle.
“We’ll see the benefits hopefully tomorrow of ‘Sids’ not playing in Perth, if we can bowl Sri Lanka out and get the win.
“Sidds couldn’t have played in Perth. It just was physically impossible.
“I feel we are in a better shape in terms of our attack simply because we have ‘Watto’.
“We only had two quicks and Nathan Lyon in Adelaide, so the similarities I guess are there but (I’ve) full confidence that we have the attack that has an ability to get eight wickets.”
