Proponents for the introduction of a two-division structure for Test cricket have been given extra ammunition with the way this two-match series between Sri Lanka and Australia has been pretty much a no contest.
The Aussies are on the verge of completing a 2-0 series whitewash after dominating day three of the second test at Galle with the Sri Lankans clinging to a slender lead which will surely not be enough to prevent Steve Smith’s side from collecting a second straight emphatic victory.
Sri Lanka will resume day four on 8-211, a lead of just 54, after three late wickets, including two pieces of Beau Webster brilliance followed by Matt Kuhnemann’s fourth wicket in the final over the day
There is still the tiniest glimmer of hope for the home side to pull off an unlikely win with Kusal Mendis on 48 not out but we are talking a miracle of Ian Botham’s 1981 Headingley proportions for the Aussies to let this one slip from their grasp.
The fact that the Sri Lankans have been, for the most part, outclassed on their home turf should be cause for concern for the ICC.
The Sri Lankans are not a terrible team by international cricket standards but they have been made to look second rate by an Australian side missing its regular captain.
After being in the hunt for the World Test Championship final right up until the last few months of the two-year cycle, they will finish sixth on the ladder for the nine-team league.
But the simple fact is they are not in the same ballpark of the all-conquering Australians whose next assignment is to knock over South Africa at Lord’s in June to defend the World Test Championship crown they won in 2023 by thrashing India.
Pathum Nissanka is bowled by Matthew Kuhnemann. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
Sri Lanka’s bowlers enjoyed a rare session on top on day three by clattering through the Australian middle and lower order with the Aussies all out for 414 for a lead of 157 after they lost 7-64 after adding 20 from their overnight total of 3-330.
Smith was the first to go when he was deceived by Prabath Jayasuriya with an exceptional left-arm orthodox delivery which kissed the edge of his bat on its way through to Kusal Mendis’ gloves.
It’s hard to beat Smith’s outside edge at the best of times let alone when he has 131 against his name.
But after claiming his scalp, Jayasuriya bowled Josh Inglis for a second-ball duck when the first Test centurion went back when he should have gone forward.
Alex Carey went on to become the first Australian wicketkeeper to make 150 in Asia before he was bowled by Jayasuriya attempting one sweep shot too many.
Debutant Cooper Connolly was a bundle of nerves in his first Test innings.
He got off the mark with a top-edged sweep to the boundary which just evaded the deep square leg fielder but he was not able to add any more runs to his tally, falling to a wild swipe as he advanced down the wicket which went no further than Ramesh Mendis at point.
Connolly was ineffective again with the ball with Smith seeming to not trust him much, giving him two overs in the second innings after just three in the first dig.
He has definitely been picked with an eye on the future but his bowling is not at a standard that threatens at first-class level as yet, let alone in the Test arena, so the decision to pick him ahead of Todd Murphy remains baffling with Lyon and Kuhnemann again having to shoulder well over half off the Australian attack’s workload.
Webster looked assured on his way to making 31 before he was bowled through the gate by Ramesh and the tail did not wag as Jayasuriya collected a five-wicket haul albeit after conceding 151 runs from his 38 overs.
Sri Lanka had a huge fight just to make Australia bat again and their chances of staging what would be a remarkable comeback for victory copped a triple blow quickly as the top order collapsed for the fourth straight innings.
Pathum Nissanka was on his way for eight when Matt Kuhnemann slid a quick ball through to crash his castle, not the fort at Galle, which has been mentioned once or twice on commentary … ICYMI.
Dimuth Karunaratne’s final Test innings ended on 14 when he edged Kuhnemann to Carey and he burned a review on his way out.
Howling Joel Wilson had added to his lowlights reel when he adjudged Webster LBW in the Australian innings to a ball which was clearly missing leg stump.
But he got this one right.
Hurrah.
The fact that fans, players and potentially even Wilson himself are surprised when he gets a video referral correct underlines why the ICC need to remove him from the elite international panel quicker than you can say “Joel, I’m gonna have to get you to reverse your decision”.
When Sri Lanka’s only in-form batter, Dinesh Chandimal, was caught at mid-off by Webster off Nathan Lyon (3-80) for 12, the hosts were in dire straits at 3-39.
“That was a really poor shot,” said former Australian opener Phil Jaques on ABC Radio commentary.
Angelo Mathews decided to hit his way out of trouble with some cavalier shots from the veteran.
His promising 42-run resistance with Kamindu Mendis ended when his partner also holed out to mid-off, mistiming Lyon to Usman Khawaja.
From there the only question was whether the Sri Lankans would make Australia bat again as they headed to the tea break still trailing by 59 runs with only six wickets in hand.
Smith snared what former teammate Simon Katich described as “an absolute screamer” at slip to give Kuhnemann his third wicket and 15th for the series.
Opposing captain Dhananjaya de Silva’s disastrous series lurched even lower when he nicked a quicker one from the Queensland-born Tasmanian leftie on 23 and Smith dived forward with one hand just above the turf to claim his 198th catch for Australia.
Mathews threw his wicket away on 76 with a slog sweep which was snaffled by Webster diving swiftly to his left in the deep off Lyon.
Smith then introduced Webster’s off-spinners to Test cricket and he struck in his first over with a bat-pad catch to Travis Head for Ramesh to be on his way for a duck and nearly got two in two balls but a diving return catch chance just evaded his long levers.
Kuhnemann removed Prabath Jayasuriva when Smith pouched his 199th career catch and it would be fitting if the stand-in skipper notched his double-century on Sunday when the Aussies wrap up the second innings and all but certainly, a successful mission to Sri Lanka.
>Cricket News
%20(3).jpeg)
0 Comments