The dynamic left-hander, averaging 50.06 in 51 Tests, hopes this latest injury experience returns similar results, when the three-Test series opens in the central providence city of Kandy – the country’s second-largest city after Colombo.
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Persistent rain ensured no play was possible in the final session but Australia are firmly in the ascendancy in the first of the three-Test series following an accomplished performance in the field.
The early loss of Perera on the second day of the first Test was another bitter blow for the struggling hosts.
Australia captain Smith had earlier informed that the world’s top-ranked test side, who have won just one out of their last 15 tests in Asia, will go into the match with two slow bowlers in off-spinner Nathan Lyon and left-armer Steve O’Keefe.
Smith, appointed Australia’s Test captain after the Ashes loss in England past year, is yet to lose a Test when leading the side.
Australia has not won in India since the breakthrough tour of 2004, having dropped their past three series there, including a 4-0 mauling on the “homework-gate” trip of 2013. Australia has already named their playing XI for the Test.
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SLC also accused Muralitharan of overseeing a training session at Pallekele without permission, prompting the cricket board to take their grievances up with Cricket Australia.
Muralitharan said he got involved with Australia because he loved cricket and that Sri Lanka’s cricket board had sought help from him only once since his worldwide retirement in 2011.
Sumathipala said Muralitharan had bullied grounds men at the Pallekele Stadium on Saturday into allowing the Australians to practise there when it was theoretically off limits to both teams. And that’s something that Steve, for us, does really well.
For a while, Angelo Mathews (15) and Dinesh Chandimal (15) shared a brisk 25-run stand and looked set to shore up the innings. “We need to try and look for more new players and try and get them ready and fit to take up the challenge in the worldwide level”.
Before training, Smith was presented with the International Cricket Council Test Championship mace and $1 million in prize money after his team finished at the top of the ICC rankings by the April cut-off.
“I think he has always improved, each year he’s played he has improved”, Smith said of O’Keefe.
“We know that Sri Lanka will defend a lot once batters are in, so it’s going to take a lot longer to get your runs, if that makes sense”.
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Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Stephen O’Keefe, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jackson Bird.
