After a day of swinging momentum, Sri Lanka has reached stumps in Galle on the first night of the Second Test of the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy still batting but having conceded the ascendancy to Australia after winning the toss.
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After taking only one wicket in the first session, Australia wrested the momentum its way in the second session courtesy of some sharp spin bowling from Nathan Lyon and Travis Head.
Sri Lanka was able to fight back in the final session before losing late wickets when the second new ball was introduced, with Lyon and Mitchell Starc the pick of the Australian bowlers.
At stumps, Sri Lanka were 9-229 on a turning pitch, with Kusal Mendis unbeaten on 59 and Lahiru Kumara yet to score.
Lyon pounces with early wicket | 00:33
SMITH SETS ANOTHER AUSSIE RECORD
When it comes to milestone moments, Steve Smith is enjoying a series he will remember forever in what has proven a resurgent summer for the Australian champion.
Smith, who passed 10,000 Test runs when scoring a century in Australia’s dominant win in Galle last week, overtook Ricky Ponting as the nation’s most successful fielder when taking his 197th catch — wicketkeepers are excepted — late in the final session on Thursday.
The 35-year-old was able to break the record when moving to his left to take a good catch to dismiss Prabath Jayasuriya off the bowling of Mitchell Starc, which led to the fast bowler being on a hattrick.
Earlier this summer, Australian great Adam Gilchrist told Fox Cricket podcast The Follow On that Smith had the softest hands, which along with his sharp eyes and reflexes had helped him to become one of the world’s great slips fieldsmen.
“He just has very soft hands and is very relaxed, but it is mainly the body position and the body height,” Gilchrist said.
“You look at replays and Steve Smith’s hands are down really, really low and he is just in a really good position and he has just got outstanding reflexes.
“But I just love the way the ball sounds going into his hand. If you do watch the warm-up, or do see them practice, it is just a deep, soft sound. He is naturally gifted, but don’t underestimate how much they work at it.”
LYON CLOSES ON ANOTHER MONSTER MILESTONE
After a relatively lean summer as he wrestled a hip complaint during a Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series played on pitches that proved a paradise for fast bowlers, Nathan Lyon has bounced back with a vengeance in Sri Lanka.
On a day where legendary Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralidaran said that Lyon was probably the only bowler capable of reeling in his milestone of 800 Test wickets, the Australian ripped through the hosts top-order and is on the verge of ticking off another big mark.
The 37-year-old, who bowled openers Pathum Nissanka (11) and former captain Dimuth Karunaratne in his 100th and final Test for 36, also snared the wicket of star No.4 Angelo Matthews (1) for the ninth time in Test matches.
That burst took the New South Welshman to 549 Test wickets, with the 550th almost certain to fall in Galle in this Test.
After taking just nine wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with Lyon barely bowling in Adelaide, Lyon already has ten for the series being held in Sri Lanka.
THE WILDCARD FROM THE WEST
With a broad smile on Thursday in Galle, Western Australian whiz kid Cooper Connolly became the 471st player to be selected to wear the Baggy Green cap for his nation.
The left-handed all-rounder was presented with his cap by another Sandgroper and left-hander in Simon Katich, who woke with excitement at 3am in Sri Lanka given the honour he was about to bestow on Connolly.
Although the part-time off-spinner had not taken a wicket in four First Class games preceding his Test debut, the Australians clearly have faith in his ability to deliver, with Katich saying he was impressed with the youngster when chatting to him a few weeks ago.
At the tailend of the first session, Connolly was introduced into the attack by stand-in skipper Steve Smith and bowled two tidy overs in a nice start to his Test career. He finished with -12 from three overs, which included a maiden.
Fox Cricket last week chatted to young Australian stars Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield, who took viewers into the thick of the action during the historic Ashes Test at the MCG.
A slightly more conservative approach was taken in Sri Lanka, with Connolly not conducting his first interview as a Test player until … the lunch break, where he said he was loving the opportunity to shine.
Steve Smith had hinted that the 21-year-old would debut leading into the Test when praising his skills, stating his lack of experience bowling in Australia did not concern him.
Smith won’t rule out Connolly debut | 02:21
It is worth noting that Connolly has played his Sheffield Shield cricket at the WACA, which is scarcely a spinner’s paradise, with the other match against India A in Mackay in November.
But he was ultimately preferred to veteran Glenn Maxwell, a specialist in subcontinental conditions, with his trip to Sri Lanka giving selectors a chance to assess his temperament.
“I think he’s only bowled (96 balls) back in Australia, but it’s entirely different, the way you bowl. I think the way he does bowl, and the way the ball comes out, suits him quite nicely,” Smith said.
“He was pretty consistent when he was bowling in Dubai and in the nets here. That’s kind of all you’ve got to do in these conditions, just try and bowl as many good balls in a good area and let the conditions take over.”
In a chat with the host broadcaster after Katich presented Connolly with his cap, his parents Shane and Donna expressed their delight, saying their son had earned the honour.
“We have always been hard on him, so we probably expected more than most from him,” Shane Connolly said.
“People would tell us he was going to be OK, but we didn’t believe the rumours, so we just kept pushing him. We are probably his harshest critics and he understands that.”
Connolly handed Baggy Green for debut | 00:33
THE ERA OF THE DEBUTANTS
There was a greater focus than usual on the Australia A matches against India A at the start of the summer as selectors sought to identify who the nation’s next opening batter would be.
Nathan McSweeney won the initial “bat off” to replace David Warner in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, only to be replaced by Sam Konstas for the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests.
But overshadowed by the intrigue surrounding the battle to partner Usman Khawaja was the broader picture, which coach Andrew McDonald and selection chair George Bailey stressed.
While Australia will always focus on the Test ahead, it did not mean that they were not canvassing further afield and the Australia A series presented an opportunity to experiment in the hope of unearthing future red ball cricketers for the country.
So it has proven, with Connolly the fourth Australian debutant in as many Tests, and fifth in the past seven Tests dating back to McSweeney’s selection for the Perth Test in November.
McSweeney, Konstas, Beau Webster and Connolly all demonstrated their skills in the Australia A series before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and have earned an opportunity.
Josh Inglis, who debuted with a century in Galle last week, had been earmarked as the next man in when selected in the squad for the Perth Test after impressing in white-ball cricket for Australia.
It is an indication this is a team in transition but the beauty of the past four months is that, the opening position as an aside, it has been a deliberate process.
Webster earned his chance with Cameron Green injured and when Mitch Marsh lost form, but immediately looked the part with a brilliant performance at the SCG.
Inglis delivered as anticipated with a stylish knock against Sri Lanka and shapes as a solid mid-to-lower order prospect and, clearly, a wicket keeping reserve to Alex Carey, though the latter is enjoying a superb series with the gloves.
Now Connolly has a chance to shine in Sri Lanka, with the second Test of the series being the first time for the summer the balance has featured three newcomers, as opposed to two in Sydney and last week, or fresh faces through the first four Tests against India.
The next major goal is the World Test Championship Final against South Africa at Lord’s in June and it is possible only one of the newcomers will earn a spot given Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green are likely to return.
But with a view to the future, the Aussies are blooding talent while continuing to thrive in Tests, as former Australian cricketer Greg Blewett noted on the Seven network.
“(There is) some good talent coming in and getting an opportunity and they are all doing well, which is a good sign,” he said.
MURPHY’S LAW
Todd Murphy’s omission for the second Test against Sri Lanka has left his immediate future in the national red-ball side under a cloud.
However, he hasn’t necessarily lost his mantle as Nathan Lyon’s heir apparent.
The Victorian spinner, who took a seven-wicket haul on Test debut against India in 2023, contributed one solitary scalp during last week’s series opener in Galle, the dismissal of Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne in the second innings.
Despite being considered the country’s second-best red-ball spinner, Murphy was dropped for the second Test to make room for debutant Connolly, who spins the ball away from right-handed batters.
It means that, barring injury, Murphy may not play another Test match until the 2027 Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of India.
Left-armed finger spinners are a proven weapon in the subcontinent, with Matthew Kuhnemann’s nine-wicket haul in Galle enough evidence for national selectors to hand Connolly his maiden baggy green.
While Kuhnemann’s skills suits subcontinent decks, Murphy remains the preferred understudy for Lyon outside of Asia.
If the 37-year-old sustained an injury during next summer’s Ashes series on home soil, Murphy would presumably be named as Australia’s strike spinner in his absence.
The spectacled tweaker is Lyon’s like-for-like replacement, but national selectors have decided there’s no room for two off-spinners in the starting XI on this occasion.
However, until Lyon decides to hang up the boots, which at this stage appears to be in 2027, Murphy looks destined to bide his time in the Sheffield Shield.
“I’m only 24 so I hope there’s still a lot to come and I continue to get better over the next few years,” Murphy told CODE Sports last week.
“Whenever (Lyon) eventually does finish up someone’s got to take it. And I think there’s going to be some really good options there.”
Former Test spinner Bryce McGain said his fellow Victorian was a “victim of circumstances” and is confident he remains at the forefront of contenders following Lyon.
“There’s lots more development for Todd Murphy as well,” he said on SEN.
“There’s development that can be done back at home. He’ll play some Shield cricket now. And (he will) learn from his first opportunity here. He will learn from the week in Dubai with all the play bowling to all the best batters.
“He’s part of the first choice team, but I think given the wicket, they just wanted extra batting (because) the game can accelerate so quickly, and they just wanted support batting to make sure they’ve got enough (depth). I’m sure they will pick him for the right scenario.”
THE RECORDS KEEP TUMBLING
It was a watershed summer for Australian cricket on the field and the deeds of the nation’s champion cricketers in both genders have been well-received outside the boundary rope.
Aside from the landmark crowds which attended the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with the Boxing Day Test and also the pink ball Test against England prime examples, the records keep tumbling when it comes to broadcast audiences. Never has cricket been more popular.
According to figures compiled by Cricket Australia, the Border-Gavaskar Test set a new mark when it came to series watched on Fox Cricket and also by viewers in India.
The 16-nil clean sweep of England by Australia in the women’s Ashes also drew the eyeballs, with viewing numbers on Fox Cricket and also free-to-air smashing all previous records.
Steve Crawley, the managing director of Fox Sports, headed a coverage which saw several innovative products introduced to enhance the experience for viewers watching at home.
He said the quality of the cricket played by both the men’s and women’s cricketers was compelling.
“It was a brilliant summer of cricket, reminiscent of some of the all-time classics,” he said.
“From massive Test debuts, exciting BBL centuries and pure bowling brilliance, the cricketers delivered, and this returned in record audiences for the Fox Cricket team.
“Congratulations to Cricket Australia and all the men’s and women’s players on a great summer season.”
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