Sri Lanka host Australia for a thre-Test match series followed by 5 ODI’s and 2 T20’s.
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Sri Lankan bowler Rangana Herath, left, celebrates the dismissal of Australia’s Usman Khawaja during the second day of the first test cricket match in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, July 27, 2016.
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.
Earlier, Australia had gone on to build up a lead of 86 runs, which could prove crucial in the low-scoring match.
Lakshan Sandakan enjoyed a fruitful debut with the ball as Sri Lanka’s spinners kept Australia at bay on the second day of the first Test in Pallekele.
Both have benefitted from working with Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in the history of Test match cricket who has been hired by the Australians as a consultant for the Sri Lanka tour.
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Adam Voges top scored for Australia with a watchful 47 off 115 balls featuring only three boundaries.
“It’s tacky at the moment, was quite wet yesterday when I looked, and they’ve taken a bit of grass off today, so have another look tomorrow”.
Lyon (3-12) then picked up the wickets of Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Perera and Dilruwan Perera in the space of two overs before Nuwan Pradeep was caught at slip off the bowling of left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe (2-32) to draw the innings to a close.
O’Keefe will step out for just his third Test, having played in a two-pronged spin attack with fellow New South Welshman Lyon against Pakistan in the UAE in 2014 and also in the rain-ruined third Test against the West Indies in Sydney in January.
“He gets himself in a little bit of trouble, as we’ve seen in one-day cricket, when he sort of just noodles them around”.
“I guess we never really got in that kind of position so we never saw that side of Stephen”.
“Winning away from home has often been a challenge for us, especially in sub-continental conditions, but this is something we are looking to change in this upcoming series against Sri Lanka”, concluded Smith, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2015. But they will want to head to India in February for a four-Test series there with as much confidence as possible – not only in match situations, but in the manner they have prepared for this series.
Joe Burns made only three before being bowled by the veteran Rangana Herath, leaving Australia wobbling on seven for two.
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The batters need to have some good plans against him at what he is going to bring at us.
