Australian skipper Michael Clarke admitted this week it will feel strange walking onto Hobart's Blundstone Arena against Sri Lanka on Friday without veteran campaigner Ricky Ponting beside him.
It may seem even weirder for the Tasmanian cricket public who will be watching the national team play in the Island State without their favourite son for the first time in more than a decade.
But regardless of Ponting's absence, this Commonwealth Bank Series fixture looms as an engaging encounter with the home side and the in-form visitors vying for top spot on the tri-series ladder.
Given a tie and two wins from their previous three outings, the Sri Lankans are firming for a spot in the finals having overtaken a misfiring India after the Brisbane leg of the series.
Mahela Jayawardene's side seems to be growing in confidence with every match and put together a well-rounded display to overcome India on Tuesday night.
There's depth to their batting, but they do rely on the big names at the top of the order to get them off to a good start.
Given the pace and aggression Ben Hilfenhaus and Brett Lee showed with the new ball against India on Sunday night, Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara will need to be on their toes to make sure the middle order isn't exposed early.
The form of all-rounder Angelo Mathews is another potential barometer for the Sri Lankan performance.
In terms of raw talent, Mathews is up there with the best in the game and his late-innings hitting was a big factor in their win on Tuesday.
That said, it was a poor over at the death from Mathews in the Adelaide tie with India that may have cost Sri Lanka two valuable points and his performance was typical of an attack with obvious fragilities.
Lasith Malinga aside, there's no great variety or fear factor in the Sri Lankan bowling ranks and on flatter, faster pitches, good batting sides will expect to score heavily.
Top-order troubles have plagued the Australians throughout the series and given the chance on Friday the home side would love nothing better than to dominate with the bat from the outset.
Dave Warner and Matthew Wade have shown glimpses of what's possible if they both catch fire, but have yet to reel off a match-defining partnership.
The boundaries at Blundstone Arena aren't big enough to contain either player, so crowd catches could be the order of the day if they get going.
With Clarke back at the helm following a hamstring strain - and adding depth to the middle order – there's a returning air of stability about the side, despite the obvious distraction of Ponting being denied a swansong in front of his home crowd.
The impending return of Shane Watson to international ranks will be another talking point in a match that will go some way to defining the latter stages of the tournament.