Matt Short eager to lead Australia

Top order batsman Matt Short will have a role in Australia's leadership group during the Twenty20 series against Pakistan and has put his hand up to stand in as captain with Mitchell Marsh away on paternity leave.

Short has fewer than 20 white-ball internationals to his name but the 28-year-old Victorian led the Adelaide Strikers with aplomb in the last Big Bash League (BBL) tournament when promoted to captain the T20 side.

With none of Australia's test regulars in the T20 squad against Pakistan, Short is seen among the contenders for the captaincy along with Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa and Josh Inglis.

Short told reporters on Friday he was definitely interested in the role.

"I’ve done it for a little bit now with the Adelaide Strikers and really enjoyed being involved in making some of the calls," he said.

"The communication (from selectors) at the moment is ... they still haven’t made up their mind, but if it was me they wanted, I’d definitely put my hand up for it."

It would be a rapid elevation for Short, who missed out on a spot in Australia's squad for the T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies, and played his first T20I in seven months in September.

However, David Warner's retirement has opened the door for Short to stake his claim at the top of the order after topping the BBL's batting list with 541 runs from 11 matches, earning him a second successive Player of the Tournament award.

Short is seen in a two-horse race with Warner apprentice Jake Fraser-McGurk to open for Australia's white-ball teams with Travis Head.

Fraser-McGurk lit up the Indian Premier League with a sensational tournament for the Delhi Capitals and the 22-year-old scored his maiden international fifty in the T20 series against England in September.

Short and Fraser-McGurk will have an unofficial "bat-off" when they open for Australia in the first of three One-Day

ternationals against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.

The T20 series starts in Brisbane on Nov. 14.

Short will face Pakistan bowlers prepared by his former Strikers coach Jason Gillespie and he said the 71-test quick was "probably a big reason" for where he found himself today.

"He's seen plenty of me batting in the nets and in games and I'm sure he's going to hand that onto some of their bowlers," he added. "We'll see how we go."

Sri Lanka to host Australia at Galle for two-Test series

Sri Lanka's Galle International Stadium will stage the two-Test series against Australia in late January-early February next year, the country's cricket board said on Friday.

The first Test will begin on Jan. 29 and the second will commence on Feb. 6. The teams will also meet in a One-Day International on Feb. 13 at an as yet unnamed venue.

The tests are part of the International Cricket Council's World Test Championship cycle for 2023-25. Australia are second in the standings behind India, with Sri Lanka in third place.

Australia last toured Sri Lanka in an all-format series in 2022, with the hosts winning the ODI series and the visitors taking victory in the Twenty20 international series, while both teams won one Test match each.

Australia tour of Sri Lanka:

Jan. 29-Feb. 2: First Test - Galle

Feb. 6-10: Second Test - Galle

Feb. 13: ODI - Venue TBC