Australia fret on team balance

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis’ injury has upset the team balance, Australia coach Justin Langer said ahead of his side’s Saturday World Cup group stage match against Sri Lanka at the Oval.

Stoinis missed Wednesday’s victory over Pakistan due to a side strain he suffered against India three days earlier.

Stoinis did some batting in Taunton’s indoor nets on Wednesday, but the seam bowling all-rounder is set to miss a second match.

Australia have a five-day break before their next game against Bangladesh.

“We’ve talked a bit about it, but we’ll just see how he pulls up over the next few days,” Langer said of Stoinis.

“We know that it’s important to have an all-rounder in the side if we can, and if we can’t we’ve got to adapt.”