Langer flags same XI for Canberra Test

Justin Langer admits he spent nights robbed of sleep last week, such was his anxiety at being in charge of the first Australia Test team to lose at the Gabba in more than 30 years.

But when the sun rose at Brisbane’s early summer hour today, he was able to bask in the warmth of the team’s most emphatic win in more than 12 months and enjoy the comfort of knowing even better times lay not-so-far ahead.

For the first time since he stepped into the men’s team coaching role in the shadow of the sandpaper scandal, Langer’s outfit find themselves holding a series lead and the clamour for changes to the starting XI for the next match have quietened to a whisper.

So much so, the coach does not envisage any pressing need to tinker with the line-up for the second Domain Test against Sri Lanka starting on Friday, so clinical was the innings and 40-run win his men achieved inside three days at the Gabba.

That’s despite last night’s decision to add uncapped allrounder Marcus Stoinis to the 14-man squad while auxiliary opener Matthew Renshaw has been released for KFC BBL commitments with Brisbane Heat.

And while Langer was visibly chuffed with the performances put on by a handful of his least experienced combatants against an opponent ranked one rung below the fifth-placed Australia, the most valuable gain from the thumping win was encapsulated in a single word.

"Confidence," Langer told reporters in Brisbane today.

"It’s not even a cliche - you’ve got to build confidence, so winning is really important.

"I kept thinking before the game 'imagine if we get beaten by Sri Lanka at the Gabba?'.

"That’s why I haven’t slept much the past week."

One of the reasons Langer expects to make up some of that sleep deficit in coming days is the surety shown by his trio of young batters, which served as vindication for the selection panel that includes the coach, and which has come in for pointed criticism in recent weeks.

The decision to fast-track debutant batter Kurtis Patterson into the team despite him not being part of the initial group named for the Sri Lanka campaign represented a victory for "common sense" according to Langer.

"I thought Kurtis Patterson looked like a Test batsman," he said.

"He only got 30 (but) he had such a good rhythm going, and then there was a bit of a thought we might declare near the end of the day (on Friday evening) and that probably just messed his rhythm a little bit.

"But he’s a good-looking player."

Langer was also impressed with the evolving maturity shown by newly appointed vice-captain Travis Head who top-scored for Australia with 84, and whose technical acumen against spin bowling has improved exponentially over the past year.

But the coach seemed even more excited about the debut of fast bowler Jhye Richardson, who finished his maiden match with 5-45 from 27 overs, and effervescent batter Marnus Labuchagne, who the coach acknowledges has proved a revelation.

Labuschagne's recall to the Test XI for the final match against India in Sydney earlier this month brought derisive howls from some quarters, given the 24-year-old's modest returns in the Sheffield Shield earlier in the summer.

However, the South Africa-born right-hander was perhaps the most assured of Australia's batters against the pink ball at the Gabba and, when coupled with his peerless fielding and useful leg-spin bowling, his future at international level appears bright.

No lesser judge than former Australia captain, and Langer's close confidante, Ricky Ponting has been impressed by the rookie's footwork and concentration, even if he's yet to post the sort of score expected by a top-four Test batter.

With Langer noting that critics are now able to see the rationale underpinning Labuschagne's bold selection for last year's two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, that followed his successful stint with Australia A in India a few months earlier.

"When he played the Australia A tour, … the reports coming back were just how he was going about it," Langer said.

"More than just the runs, he had good footwork, he plays spin really well.

"I thought, on the Gabba wicket, that he played the spin so well.

"He plays almost like an Indian batsman, he gets back, uses his feet, and uses his hands into gaps, uses the sweep shot well, gets down the wicket.

"It was more what we were seeing in how he was going about it, not necessarily just the runs he was making.

"Sometimes you pick people on how they go about their business and then you back yourself that they’re going to have a good career."

Langer also threw his support behind two of his most experienced players – top-order batter Usman Khawaja and strike bowler Mitchell Starc – who have struggled for form this summer and exerted little impact on the hefty win over Sri Lanka.

Since scoring an heroic 141 from almost nine hours at the wicket to save the opening Test against Pakistan last October, Khawaja has posted 212 runs from 10 innings at an average of 23.56 and a solitary score of 50-plus.

Starc has faced a similar battle since the team was radically re-shaped in the wake of the ball-tampering controversy, with his past seven Tests yielding 19 wickets at 38.11 runs apiece and a strike rate of a wicket every 12 overs.

In Sri Lanka's paltry second innings of 139 yesterday, more than half their runs (including byes and leg byes) came from Starc's occasionally wayward bowling.

But Langer says both players bring vital elements to a Test team that remains a work in progress, and it's for that reason he can't envisage changes to the starting XI for the upcoming second Domain Test, notwithstanding injury or illness.

"There’s a lot of talk about Mitchell Starc, but in a game like this (first Test) when you’ve got guys like Jhye Richardson and Pat Cummins bowling fast outswingers and good bouncers, to have that left-arm option (is important)," Langer said.

"He (Starc) just got his 200th Test wicket remember, so 200 Test wickets, that’s rare company.

"I suppose there’s high expectation on him but he’s a very good player and is really important for our team.

"Same with Usman – he still averages 40 in Test cricket, he's our most experienced player, he’s very calm.

"He brings a lot of calmness and composure and experience to the group, so we’re happy with the way he’s going at the moment.

"I’d be surprised if we changed the eleven (for the Canberra Test).

"It’s always nice to go with the same eleven back-to-back, and without putting any words in the other selectors’ mouths at the moment, it would be nice to keep some continuity."

Domain Test Series v Sri Lanka

Australia: Tim Paine (c/wk), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha

First Test: Australia won by an innings and 40 runs

Second Test: February 1-5, Canberra