Matt Kuhnemann looks as unassuming as you can get from a Test cricket but he’s on track to enjoy a lengthy career after playing a starring role in Australia’s win over Sri Lanka in Galle.
The left-arm spinner bagged 5-63 and 4-86 as the hosts crumbled for just 165 and 247 to lose by a record-breaking innings and 242 runs. The embarrassing margin was Sri Lanka’s heaviest in Test cricket for a team that was in the hunt for the World Test Championship final just a few months ago.
It was also the biggest by Australia on Asian soil, eclipsing the innings and 198-run hiding handed out to Pakistan in the UAE in 2002 under Steve Waugh.
Australia smashed their opponents from the moment Travis Head tonked three boundaries in the opening over of the first Test, thoroughly outplaying them in all three facets of the game.
Sri Lanka have a proud record on home turf but they were made to look second rate by the Australians, with the most notable difference was the amount of bite the touring spinners got from the wicket compared to their local rivals.
Former Australian batter Greg Blewett summed up his digust with the Sri Lankan approach with the bat when skipper Dhananjaya de Silva produced a wild hoick to get himself out for the second time in the match.
“Absolute garbage from your captain, that’s just not good enough,” he said. “Your side’s going down and he’s tried to hit that one the up, inside out, with some balls spinning, some balls not. That’s not a shot thatyour captain to be playing in these circumstances. Totally unnecessary and from your captain, very disappointing.”
Kuhnemann registered his second five-wicket haul in just the sixth innings of his young career and the 28-year-old Queenslander, who successfully switched his Sheffield Shield allegiances to Tasmania this summer.
After taking 6-16 at Indore in the Indian tour a couple of years ago in his second Test, his haul in Galle gives him 16 wickets in four matches at a superb average of 23.83 at an even better strike rate of 38.1.
With Nathan Lyon planning to retire after the 2027 Ashes tour, Kuhnemann has nudged ahead of Todd Murphy as the heir apparent to the legendary offie and with left-arm spinners in vogue at the moment on the world cricket scene.
After rain spared Sri Lanka from the Aussie onslaught on Friday, the day four demolition was a procession.
Kuhnemann kick-started the removal of the final five first-innings wickets when he deceived Kusal Mendis and Murphy held the top-edged catch at square leg.
With not much of a tail to work with, Dinesh Chandimal fell on 72 when he tried to reverse-sweep Lyon but was caught in front on the back pad.
Kuhnemann spun the ball harder than the advancing Prabath Jayasuriya did during his 60 overs to get past his bat for Alex Carey to whip off the bails and then claimed Jeffrey Vandersay in the deep to have the honour of raising the ball to the Aussie contingent in the crowd.
Matt Kuhnemann celebrates after taking the wicket of Jeffrey Vandersay. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
From 5-136, the hosts had added just 29 before going down without a whimper and Steve Smith enforced the follow-on.
When Oshado Fernando (six) was trapped in front by a Starc in-swinger and opening partner Dimuth Karunaratne (duck) allowed a Murphy arm ball to cannon into off stump, the Sri Lankans had lost 7-15 either side of the change of innings.
Chandimal’s second rearguard action ended on 31 when Smith reviewed a bat-pad chance to Head and the same fielder was on and to remove Angelo Mathews on 41, both from Lyon’s off-breaks.
Kamindu Mendis (34) and captain Dhananjaya de Silva (39) did enough to show they could dig in for their nation in their time of desperate need.
But they both played terrible shots – Kamindu mistimed a slog to Starc’s waiting hands at deep midwicket and the skipper also fell to Kuhnemann via a leading edge to Beau Webster at point.
Lyon mopped up the tail along with Kuhnemann to finish with 4-78 as last man out Vandersay bashed seven fours and two sixes before perishing on 53.
Carey stumped his fellow keeper Kusal Mendis in strange circumstances which eventually got the green light from TV umpire Joel Wilson.
The ball wedged between Carey’s gloves and his torso as he stumbled forward to disrupt the bails but he had control of the ball with the batter stranded out of his crease.
We now await word from England over whether the dismissal was in line with the Spirit of Cricket and whether Jonny Bairstow approves of the way in which it occurred.
While the opposition did not put up much of a fight, the Australians gained plenty from their four-day romp in Galle.
Usman Khawaja broke his century drought with a career-best 232 as he brought up the first double ton at Test level, Josh Inglis belted a dream 102 on debut and Smith reached triple figures for the third time this summer.
Best of all was the performance of the three-pronged spin attack to show that unlike 18 years ago when Shane Warne retired, the Aussies will this time around be well placed when Lyon eventually calls it quits.
The Aussies are unlikely to make changes for the second Test when it gets underway next Thursday at the same venue although Webster is perhaps surplus to requirements as a second seamer, who bats at seven, not called on to bowl in either innings.
Young opener Sam Konstas, controversially left out of this match, could be given a recall to see how he fares on subcontinental wickets with Head returning to the middle order.
It would also give him another hit-out before opening up with Khawaja when Australia defend their World Test Championship final against South Africa in June at Lord’s.
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