Marcin Floryan, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
After the 1st test of this 2 match series, there was hope that Australia had revitalised it’s approach and ability to battle subcontinent conditions, and the inevitably skilful teams that come along with them. That hope was clearly a little premature as Australia returned to form and crumbled like an overcooked meringue in the salivating mouth of an excellent Sri Lankan outfit. Rather than going through a play by play (it hurts too much anyway) let’s just cover a few things of interest.
Firstly, what about the debut of Probath Jayasuriya? 12 wickets for a player who was only subbed in due to other Covid affected member of the squad. The Sri Lankan’s seem to have an embarrassment of riches in their squad. What do they do when everyone’s fit to play? Regardless I’m looking forward to seeing more of Jayasuriya. Also an extra point to him for good hair and a great beard.
What can one say about the double hundred of Dinesh Chandimal? Such a beautiful and measured innings that underpinned Sri Lanka’s win. Hurtful fact, he scored 55 more runs than the whole Australian team could in their 2nd innings and didn’t lose his wicket, unlike the whole of the Australian team (ok 10 technically). The truth hurts.
It seems unfair to single out Travis Head when so many of the other Australian batsmen crapped their pants when they were most needed (the players, not the pants), however I will. The dude is a monster on Australian style wickets and in my book, a lock to play in those tests, but he just doesn’t have the technique at the moment for those crazy, spinning subcontinent wickets. Maybe he needs some time in the IPL? Wrong format I know but it’s something. And speaking of IPL, this brings me to Glenn Maxwell, who I feel should have played this game. I’m all for different batting line ups for different conditions. I can’t see this as radical when it’s always a consideration when choosing the bowling line up.
What about Cummin’s captaincy? It’ll be called into question as per usual when a loss occurs. In hindsight the Aussies should have been more attacking when trying to remove the Sri Lankan tail (that sounds painful out of context), however you would have expected them to fold cheaply in all fairness. He was also captaining a number of subcontinent debutants, who were desperately trying to get up to speed with the challenges that come with the task. Tricky business! Always good to have some sobering matches and the resultant flame that gets placed directly under your ass.
The test landscape is looking very competitive at the moment. Interested to see Australia butt heads with England and India in particular. Onwards!
