Captain Mahela Jaywardene has anticipated more success of Sri Lanka's seamers ahead of Wednesday's fifth and final ODI against Australia at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

The Sri Lankans sport a two-one series lead after eight- and four-wicket triumphs in Adelaide and Brisbane respectively and a washout in Sydney. The collective performance of right-armers Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews has been key, with the trio sharing 23 wickets in four matches.

"Given the way we have played and how we've controlled things, the boys will be pretty happy and I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to close this series in Hobart," said Jayawardene.

"The quality of the bowling has been pretty good. A lot of the batsmen in world cricket will struggle with the way our guys have delivered. With the two new balls, that's always going to happen going forward.

"That's something we've spoken about as well - how we're going to navigate the new rules. All over the world, you're trying to get wickets up front and it's vital that you bat well in the top four."

Kulasekara has led the charge superbly, clinching 10 scalps at the miserly average of 12.90, including career-best figures of five for 22 at the 'Gabba - and a complementary three-wicket burst at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"Nuwan had the control in the Test match, but not the success," Jayawardene said. "He had a two-week layoff with injury, but he's come back into the one-dayers very strongly with the white ball," added Jayawardene.

"He has got a lot of confidence with what he's doing with it. Both he and Lasith have a very good partnership for us, and I'm looking forward to how he's going to go about it in Hobart as well."

Meanwhile, Twenty20 skipper George Bailey is likely to lead Australia in Hobart after ODI captain Michael Clarke sprained his ankle during practice on Tuesday.

Unless the selectors call up another batsman as cover, Clarke's absence would bring spinning all-rounder Glenn Maxwell back into the side alongside seaming all-rounder Moises Henriques.