Australia's skipper Aaron Finch battling to be fit for Sri Lanka T20

Limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is battling to be fit for Australia's opening Twenty20 against Sri Lanka after picking up a side strain. The top-order batsman is sitting out Victoria's ongoing Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia in a bid to be ready for the first of three games against the Sri Lankans in Adelaide on Sunday. "It started out as a little back niggle and it's just a little tear in my side. So hopefully not too long. It's been a week since I did it," Finch told Perth radio 6PR at the weekend.

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He said he hoped to play a one-day game for his state on Wednesday but "if I can still feel it and it's a little niggle there, I think the medical staff will probably take the conservative route". If fit, Finch is expected to open the Australian innings with David Warner, before Steve Smith comes in at first drop. After Adelaide, Australia faces the Lasith Malinga-led Sri Lankans in Brisbane and Melbourne before Pakistan arrives for T20s in Sydney, Canberra, and Perth.

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Mike Hussey joins Aussie side as mentor

Former middle-order batsman Mike Hussey has been drafted in by Australian coach Justin Langer to help mentor the side during their upcoming Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He is the latest great to be brought into the fold after Ricky Ponting joined the backroom staff at the one-day World Cup this year and Steve Waugh helped out during the Ashes series in England. Australia play back-to-back three-game T20 series against Sri Lanka and then Pakistan starting next Sunday in Adelaide to kick off their summer season.

"I'm very excited actually. I'm really looking forward to getting back in around the Aussie team," Hussey, who is nicknamed "Mr Cricket", told the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Sunday. "They are going to be trying to get strategies in place, develop a style of play and what players they want and I love all that stuff -- planning for a big event. "They have floated the possibility of being involved closer to the T20 World Cup (in Australia next year) as well but it's all pretty loose at the moment." 

Langer has also made former Test speedster Ryan Harris bowling coach for the series. He told the newspaper the presence of Ponting, Waugh and now Hussey was enormous for his team. "I can't tell you how influential these guys can be on the group," said Langer. "It's nice to have different voices and different eyes and see guys of that caliber giving us feedback on what they see." 

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