Such is the nature of any triangular series that at some stage, the possibility of 'dead' rubbers becomes genuine; the only dead rubber of the ongoing tri-series will be enacted at the massive Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

It is doubtful if Sri Lanka can salvage even a modicum of pride following a miserable one-day campaign even in the event of a comprehensive victory. Mahela Jayawardene's men, with more or less the same personnel that catapulted them to the final of the World Cup last year, have repeatedly under-performed, their sole win out of seven coming under fortuitous circumstances in Canberra.

They will not find Australia in a generous mood. After all, the World Cup winners too haven't been at the top of their game, which is what makes their table-topping 26 points all the more creditable. Friday will offer them one final opportunity to hit top gear in a competitive environment, but minus the pressures of a must-win situation, as they brace up for the first final against India at the SCG on Sunday.

Verbal tirade

Smarting after Matthew Hayden was reprimanded for his verbal tirade against Harbhajan Singh -- when the rest of the cricketing world is smarting that it was only a reprimand -- Australia believe they have a point to prove, and not least to their employers. All summer long, the players have felt let down by what they feel is Cricket Australia's kow-towing posture in front of the Indians on various issues. Friday gives them the chance to channelise their anger and maintain the edge as well as the winning habit ahead of the best of three finals.

"We have certainly taken the approach that our finals campaign starts now," said vice-captain Adam Gilchrist, in his last week of international cricket. "We have got this game to use how we want to use it -- and it is not as a practice game. We have made the decision that if we let lethargy kick in, we might lose the momentum."

Hayden, usually a constant at match-eve optional practice, was conspicuous by his absence at the MCG indoor nets on Thursday morning. It is unlikely that the driving morning kept him in his hotel room; he perhaps needed the time to sort out his mind and make peace with himself, because as Gilchrist pointed out, the moment one starts to play on emotion, one ends up not playing well.

Sri Lanka can't blame emotion for not playing well. They have been listless and lacklustre, their batting totally out of sorts and their strongest suit -- fielding -- woefully below par. Mahela Jayawardene has tried to put on a brave face, rising in stirring defence of his team-mates, but how long can you keep defending a lot that has got itself out than been dismissed by the opposition?

"No team wants to lose four-five games in a tournament," said Jayawardene, outside the team hotel in the afternoon. "Every game we play, we play to win and give everything. Things haven't gone our way, we have one more chance to rectify those things. I am very disappointed with the way things have gone but a win will do us a lot of good."

The Sri Lankans stayed away from cricket practice, instead setting out as a unit for an afternoon of ten-pin bowling. That's not a bad approach, considering all their hard work at nets has yielded little result thus far. Maybe Jayawardene is taking a leaf out of the Anil Kumble book -- that one more or less training session doesn't necessarily make one a better or worse player respectively.

Teams (from):

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Brad Hogg, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Dilruwan Perera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ishara Amerasinghe, Nuwan Kulasekera, Upul Tharanga, Chanaka Welegedara.

Umpires: Tony Hill (New Zealand) and Daryl Harper. Third umpire: Bruce Oxenford. Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).