Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 2011

The Australian cricket team toured Sri Lanka from 6 August to 20 September 2011. The tour consisted of two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Tests played for Warne–Muralitharan Trophy. Four uncapped players had been named in the Australian Test squad; Shaun Marsh, Trent Copeland, James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon. Lyon had only made four first-class appearances and was previously one of the groundstaff at the Adelaide Oval.

During the test series, a five-year old kid going by the name Sharujan Shanmuganathan caught the attention of viewers when his free-flowing, elegant cover drive became a talking point as it was captured by one of the cameramen during the course of the test match. Sharujan was only five-years-old when he received recognition for playing cover drives, and commentator Tony Greig, who was named as one of the commentators for the test match, reportedly spotted him playing at the grass bank of the Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground. Tony Greig eventually nicknamed him "Little Sanga" during the air while doing commentary, and Greig later went on to interview the five-year-old Sharujan, which became an instant hit on television.

1st Test
On the 2nd day of the test, Nathan Lyon took his first wicket in tests with his first ball, his victim was Kumar Sangakkara; he is the 14th international player and 2nd Australian to do so. He finished with figures of 5/34, becoming the 131st player to take five wickets on debut in a Test match. Also, Trent Copeland took his first wicket in tests with his second ball; his victim was Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Australia lead the series 1–0

2nd Test
Ricky Ponting missed this test. Ponting's wife, Rianna, gave birth to the couple's second child, and he returned to Australia to witness the event. As a result, Shaun Marsh made his debut and he scored 141 off 315 balls.

Australia lead the series 1–0

3rd Test
On the first day Shaminda Eranga got his first wicket in tests with his first ball (repeating Nathan Lyon's feat in the 1st test); his victim was Shane Watson. Also on the first day Shaun Marsh achieved an average of 222 before he got out, the highest ever by an Australian. Michael Hussey was Man of the Match for all three test matches and was awarded Man of the Series.

Australia won the series 1-0