Aussies not distracted by Ashes, say Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka are expecting to face a focused Australia in next month's one-day series, rather than a side preoccupied with regaining the Ashes, skipper Kumar Sangakkara said on Sunday.

The Sri Lankans play Australia in a Twenty20 match before three one-day internationals next month, ahead of the opening Ashes Test at Brisbane's Gabba on November 25.

But despite the Ashes dominating discussions, Sangakkara expects a competitive one-day showdown with the top-ranked Australians."I think they take every single game they play seriously and always play their best in one-day series against us," Sangakkara said after Sri Lanka's one-day tour match against New South Wales was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"It's a good opportunity for us to pit ourselves against the Australians and see where we're at, especially on tracks that are foreign to us." Sangakkara said his team, fourth in the ODI rankings, were looking forward to the challenge.

"Definitely, it's always the toughest thing to play the Aussies, especially in Australia," he said.

"The last one-and-a-half years have been very steady for us, we've been progressing in both forms of the game, hopefully we can execute the things we've prepared and trained for in match days." Sri Lanka's next match is a T20 game against NSW on Wednesday.

SYDNEY, Sunday AFP