Taylor wants to reverse NZ's lean patch

Pallekele: It's time New Zealand reversed its bad run in one-day internationals, captain Ross Taylor said as they prepare to take on Sri Lanka in the opener of a five-match series on Thursday.

The Kiwis lost four of five matches of their last series against West Indies in July, and before that were swept at home by South Africa 3-0 at the start of the year.

"We are not looking too far ahead, tomorrow's game is an important one," Taylor said on Wednesday.

$1st ODI: Taylor wants to reverse NZ\'s lean patch$

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and fast bowler Lasith Malinga return after being rested for the Twenty20.

Their confidence wasn't boosted by the opening tour match on Tuesday, when New Zealand slumped to 74 for 7 in 14 overs before the one-off Twenty20 was washed out.

The pitch at Pallekele International Stadium has been covered for several days because of rain, and it is expected to retain moisture and assist seam bowlers with sharp movement, as exploited by Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and fast bowler Lasith Malinga return after being rested for the Twenty20. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has also been called up while offspinner Sachithra Senanayake and batsman Dilshan Munaweera, who were part of the Twenty20 squad, have been excluded.

Sri Lanka has also included 19-year-old offspinner Tharindu Kaushal. Spinner Akila Dananjaya, who made his international debut without any first-class experience in the World Twenty20, is likely to make his ODI debut on Thursday.

New Zealand has retained the same squad as the Twenty20.

Probable XIs:

Sri Lanka: 1 Mahela Jayawardene (captain), 2 Angelo Mathews, 3 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 4 Upul Tharanga, 5 Kumar Sangakkara, 6 Dinesh Chandimal, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lasith Malinga

New Zealand: 1 Rob Nicol, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Franklin, 6 BJ Watling, 7 Andrew Ellis, 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ronnie Hira, 11 Kyle Mills

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