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Injured Mathews out of first England Test, future as bowler doubtful

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Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka allrounder, has been ruled out of the first Test against England with a calf injury that has quickened speculation that his ability to bowl at international level is now open to serious doubt.The assertion by Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chief selector, that Mathews faces a potential future as a specialist batsman will come as a shock to a side that has only a couple of days to regroup ahead of the Galle Test after rushing back home from the Asia Cup in Bangladesh.Mathews failed a fitness test on his injured calf on Friday morning. The injury kept him out of the Asia Cup and the finals of the Commonwealth Bank tri-series. Chamara Silva, a middle-order batsman, who made a magnificent century against England for the Sri Lanka Development XI earlier this week, replaces Mathews in the squad. Thilan Samaraweera takes over Mathews’ role of vice-captain to Mahela Jayawardene.”I don’t think we can use Mathews as an allrounder in the future,” de Mel said. “Mathews has some problem with his legs and it is very unlikely he will bowl much. We have to look at him purely as a batsman.”Silva, who took 163 from 180 balls off the tourists’ attack on a bountiful batting surface at the SSC, only for England to win by four wickets in a last-day run chase, has been in prolific form during the home first-class season, being the only batsman to top 1000 runs. He played the last of his 11 Tests for Sri Lanka in April 2008 against West Indies in Port of Spain, and has since been in and out of the one-day side.De Mel also stated that Tharanga Paranavitana and Lahiru Thirimanne will contest the right to partner Tillakaratne Dilshan at the top of the order. A fast bowler’s spot is also likely to be similarly contested with either Suranga Lakmal or Dhammika Prasad expected to partner Chanaka Welegedara.”The team management will have to take a call on who should bat at no. 7,” De Mel said. “It is between regular wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal, who has not kept wickets for some time.”

Zondo hundred in vain for Impi

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Khayelihle Zondo’s unbeaten century ended up in a losing cause as Impi fell short by 40 runs in a high-scoring contest against Cape Cobras in Paarl. Chasing 212, Hondo led a single-handed effort because the rest of the batsmen failed to give him support. Cobras were led by half-centuries by Stiaan van Zyl and Dane Vilas. The pair was involved in a stand of 67 in just 5.5 overs. The experienced Mark Boucher and Vernon Philander then added 53 for the fifth wicket in just five overs to take the score past 200. Philander finished with an 18-ball 55. Impi failed to put on substantial partnerships to threaten Cobras. Zondo ended up carrying his bat and in the process scored his first T20 century.Dolphins prevailed by eight runs in another high-scoring encounter, in Bloemfontein, against Knights. Cody Chetty’s blazing 82 off 49 balls, and David Miller’s 40, off 25, helped Dolphins reach a competitive 184. Chetty smashed four sixes in his knock and added 76 in seven overs with Miller for the fifth wicket. Knights began steadily, with the pair of Rilee Rossouw and Obus Pienaar adding 71 for the second wicket. At 104 for 3, Knights needed to rebuild but they failed to put on a substantial partnership to overhaul the target. Ryan Bailey finished with an unbeaten 50.An unbeaten 56 by Jonathan Vandiar helped Lions coast to an eight-wicket win over Warriors in Port Elizabeth. Warriors scored only 134, thanks to a combined bowling effort by Lions, led by Chris Morris, who took 2 for 19. JJ Smuts was the top scorer with 42. Lions opener Vandiar hit five fours in his knock, off 53 balls, to steer his team home. Neil McKenzie joined him in a stand of 62 for the third wicket to seal the game.

Wright expects more from young middle order

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For a team that is regarded as shrewd and crafty, it seems unusual that New Zealand would construct their strategies on nothing more than basics. But, with one foot in the midst of a transition of sorts, it’s the fundamentals of the game that New Zealand are focusing on – specifically the very building blocks of batting.Their ODI against Zimbabwe in Dunedin began with two batsmen back in the changeroom with only four runs on the board. Injured captain Ross Taylor said that points to the first thing they want to work on. “Two new balls are something we need to get used to and we lost two early wickets,” Taylor said. “But we still posted a good total of around 250 on what looked like a greenish wicket with a lot of bounce.”New Zealand’s eventual score could have been much more, as they reached the 43rd over with four wickets in hand. Instead of pushing on, they splintered at the end and lost four wickets for 25 runs. The lower-order acceleration is the other aspect of their batting New Zealand want to improve.”We want to get to 46 overs with four wickets in hand and then go from there. We had a lot of starts but we want players to go on,” John Wright, New Zealand’s coach said. “Where we get hurt in one-day cricket particularly is if we don’t bat deep and if we don’t use up our overs.” New Zealand were bowled out nine balls short of a complete innings in the first match.A relatively inexperienced middle order may be the cause. Dean Brownlie, Kane Williamson and Tom Latham, who played in place of Taylor, make up the current No. 4 to 6 in the line-up and Wright hopes that time in the middle will allow the trio to consolidate their domestic showings and create depth in New Zealand’s squad.”We’ve had some players perform really well in the one-day domestic competitions, without being rewarded with selection and the opportunity, previously,” he said. “Hopefully we’re gathering a little bit more competition within our team and that’s always healthy.”New Zealand are being careful not to rate their wins against Zimbabwe, who are playing their first tour away from home since making their Test comeback last August, too highly. Instead they want to use the matches as an opportunity to experiment ahead of more challenging contests, such as the imminent one against South Africa. “We need to play well against Zimbabwe,” Wright said. “We value our wins very highly. Then, if we can get some form going, we’ve got to try and knock off South Africa.”By the time South Africa reach New Zealand, Taylor hopes the new-look ODI squad will have taken on a more settled look, particularly in the batting department. “When you come in with a lot of youngsters, they are trying to find their way,” he said. “On the whole it [the ODI in Dunedin] was a pass mark but we’ll want to play a lot better.”Taylor was ruled out of the series after sustaining a calf injury in the one-off Test. He was forced to retire hurt on 122 in New Zealand’s only innings and was on crutches in the immediate aftermath. He is now walking unassisted and said the “physio and trainer are happy with the progress I have made so far.”The New Zealand captain is on track to take the field for the series against South Africa and will travel with the team, bar the ODI in Napier, to keep an eye on proceedings. “It’s always frustrating when you get an injury but it’s a nice opportunity for someone else,” Taylor said.

Rituraj stars as Rajasthan make final again

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ScorecardRituraj Singh ended up with a 12-wicket match haul as Haryana sank•Kamal Sharma

Rajasthan have entered the Ranji Trophy final for the second year straight, following a 64-run win over Haryana at the Bansi Lal stadium in Lahli outside Rohtak. A dramatic semi-final with many twists and turns ended just an hour after lunch on the third day with Puneet Yadav taking a catch at deep point to dismiss Mohit Sharma off Rituraj Singh, to end the rapid but brief tenth-wicket partnership.Rituraj Singh, in only his third first-class game, was the highest wicket-taker for Rajasthan in the innings 5 for 37; his match tally stood at 12 for 82.A clutter of five wickets in the first session had as good as sealed it for Rajasthan, with Sachin Rana’s dismissal just before lunch marking the moment in the game (the scoreboard read 88 for 7 then) when the defending champions knew they had done enough to enter the final.The day had begun with optimism from Haryana – the sun was at its brightest and the pitch at its most benevolent over the course of the game. Yet Rajasthan’s bowlers ensured that they held the first session in their fist.Rituraj, an MRF camper from Jaipur who can bowl accurate medium pace and swings the ball, is playing in only the third match of his debut season. After 7 for 45 in the first innings, he first sent back nightwatchman Harshal Patel, one of four Rajashtan wickets to fall from nicks to the keeper and the slip cordon in the innings.The new batsman, Prateek Pawar, was kept on a leash, given little room or length to score, cramped particularly by Rituraj. Pawar’s inability to get off the strike helped Rajasthan get quickly on top in their contest against the batsman this morning. Pawar scored only one run off the 11 balls he faced off Rituraj, the low skiddy bounce and Rituraj’s accuracy leading to his leg before dismissal.It was Sachin Rana who was the most positive of Haryana’s batsmen in the second innings, pushing the scoreboard move along, hustling singles when he could and looking to set up the earliest foundations of a partnership that could give Haryana any kind of chance. With opener Nitin Saini looking assured, the strike began to be turned over. It brought about a change of ends for Pankaj Singh, and Rana then struck his first boundary through point and followed it up with a quick two off the next ball in the same direction.At that point, Haryana had crossed 50, the target shrank a little and a single later the strike had turned over to Saini. He drove at one from Pankaj that was leaving him slightly and nicked it to first slip. Hrishikesh Kanitkar had to bend low to take the catch, but held on. The umpires checked with each other whether the catch had carried, and the disgruntled Saini took his time to leave the crease.The new man in, Priyank Tehlan, had to answer questions being put to him by medium pacer Sumit Mathur. Mathur is a deceptive competitor. Early in his spell, struck for a boundary by Saini, he got the next ball to hit the batsman on the box. He was an ideal replacement for Pankaj’s first spell from the pavilion end. Mathur first cut Tehlan, brother of Delhi’s Mayank, in half with one delivery and then struck him low on the pads more than once.After 18 balls of tussle, Mathur got one to come back in off the track past Tehlan’s defence and bowled him. It brought captain Amit Mishra to the crease, and his presence represented Haryana’s last hope in the game. Rana was still batting on 19 and Mishra came with the calmness of experience.Less than 15 minutes before lunch came the dismissal that was to spell Haryana’s end. Rana struck a crisp drive through extra cover off Pankaj Singh and two balls later was struck on the pads as he tried to work him across the line to the onside.Three wickets were needed after lunch, and the interval, like on the previous two days, brought a wicket just after resumption. Jayant Yadav got stuck into one wide from Rituraj, the ball flying through the air. It met the outstretched right hand of the points fielder, Puneet Yadav, and Rajasthan needed only two more. Rituraj walked over to his fielding position oin the boundary line and grinning at his coach said, “bad ball.” Bad ball, excellent catch, the ticket to the final sealed. Mishra departed four overs later, after his looping mistimed upper cut off Pankaj Singh was caught by Robin Bist at point.Haryana’s last three batsmen were caught at point, the lower orders trying to carve their way out of an awful predicament. Unyielding Rajasthan would have none of it.

ZTBL strike after making 337

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ScorecardZarai Taraqiati Bank Limited’s (ZTBL) lower-order batsmen added useful runs after which their fast bowlers struck regularly to give their team the edge against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the end of a largely sedate second day at the National Stadium in Karachi.ZTBL resumed their first innings on 287 for 6 and Haris Sohail, who was 97 overnight, completed his century. He went on to make only 112, though, and was the first wicket to fall on the second morning. ZTBL were 304 for 7. Zulqarnain Haider added only five runs to his overnight score of 31 and by the time he was dismissed, bowled by Ali Imran, he had faced 188 balls in 263 minutes. Anwar Ali returned to mop up the last two wickets, finishing with 4 for 55 as ZTBL were dismissed for 337.Rehan Riaz then gave ZTBL a great start with the ball by dismissing Agha Sabir for a duck. Sohail Tanvir struck the next blow, accounting for the captain Kamran Sajid, leaving PIA on 33 for 2. The next two wickets were taken by Rao Iftikhar, who dismissed Sheharyar Ghani and Faisal Iqbal. PIA were in trouble at 76 for 4 and were steadied a little by Fahad Iqbal, who ended the day on 49.

Injured Pollard ruled out of Big Bash League

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Kieron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, has been ruled out of the inaugural edition of the Big Bash League due to a hamstring injury. Pollard, who was part of the Adelaide Strikers team, injured his right hamstring while fielding on Thursday and scans revealed a grade two strain. Alfonso Thomas is likely to take his place in the playing XI.”Our plan was always to rotate the international players, and now with our additional signing, it means Alfonso Thomas is able to slot straight into the team,” Darren Berry, the Strikers coach, said. “We are obviously disappointed to lose Polly and his firepower in our middle order, but we won last year’s T20 competition (South Australia) and have proven we can win without him.”Pollard struck form with the bat recently, scoring his maiden international century, an innings that included 10 sixes, against India in Chennai. The South Africa offspinner Johan Botha is also part of the Strikers squad. “The arrival of Johan Botha from South Africa is great news for us, and we regard him as one of the finest T20 players in the world,” Berry said. “The two international players [Botha and Thomas] we have already in the squad, along with the rest of our local stars who formed a large part of the winning team last year, will hold us in good stead.”The Strikers play their first game on December 18 against Melbourne Renegades.

Australia are better prepared – Smith

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Graeme Smith, the South Africa Test captain, has admitted his team are not as prepared as they would like to be for the upcoming series against Australia. The team had a seven-month layoff from international cricket over the summer, five senior members of the squad have not played a first-class game this season and South Africa appeared undercooked in the Twenty20 and ODI series.”Australia are better prepared than us, that’s the reality; there’s no point hiding behind that,” Smith said ahead of the first Test in Cape Town. “We’ve got to find a way to make sure we are ready to compete come day one. We’ve got to come out and play good cricket for five days. We’ve done as much as possible in our group to make sure we are ready and that’s all we can control.”Smith, vice-captain AB de Villiers, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, allrounder Jacques Kallis and pace spearhead Dale Steyn have not featured in the four rounds of SuperSport Series matches that have taken place.During the limited-over matches, Smith, who spent the winter recovering from a knee injury, looked awkward and scored just one half-century in his five innings. de Villiers broke his hand during training with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Champions League T20 and has since played just one domestic one-day game, in which he faced 21 balls and scored 12. Boucher called in Ray Jennings, the ex-South Africa keeper and coach, to assist him with fine-tuning his skills during the one-day series while Steyn has looked off the pace. Only Kallis appears to have been unruffled by the break.”Going into a series against Australia, we would love to have had as much first-class cricket as possible,” Smith said. He dismissed the notion that he should have sat out the one-day series and played first-class cricket instead. “I wasn’t consulted. It was a decision that was out of my hands but I always want to play for South Africa if you give me the choice.”Smith’s patchy form in the limited-over formats fuelled criticism that he was regressing into old technical problems, especially when he was dismissed by left-arm seamer Doug Bollinger twice in five innings. However, his Test record has remained unblemished and he averaged 53.94 in 11 Tests last year. He said his 57 in the second ODI in Port Elizabeth was the start of his return to his best.”I felt that I was strong at the crease, my feet started moving well and I timed the ball well. It was about getting back to what my strengths are. Last year I had started to fall away from that a little bit.”Mitchell Johnson, the Australia fast bowler, caused Smith two hand injuries the last time Australia toured South Africa and Smith managed a wry smile when his old nemesis was mentioned. “I’ll need to find a way to hit the ball back at him to fully get back. But, that’s the nature of opening the batting: you take your blows and you move on.”After numerous hand injuries, Smith has a plan to avoid another one. “I’ve changed back to the old style glove that I used for the large part of my career and moved away from the glove that I used for the period where I had my issues. The physio has helped me build a little protection in that area. I’ve had good time to regroup from that. Maybe I came back from that [broken hand] a little too soon. Now, it’s had time to regroup and get strong around the bones.”An injury-free and strong top three is what Smith says will be a “crucial factor” in beating Australia. With Hashim Amla steady at No. 3, the focus will be on the top two, where Smith will open the batting with one of the nine different partners he has had in his career.Jacques Rudolph’s prolific run-scoring since returning to South Africa, after three years as a Kolpak player with Yorkshire, has made him impossible to ignore and his return to the top-flight is being eagerly anticipated. “I’ve known Jacques for a long time, I played SA Schools against and with him and age-group cricket,” Smith said. “He has gone away and really forged a top-class career for himself and earned his spot back in the side.”Like many, Smith expects the key battle in the series to be between quality batsmen and aggressive quicks and said Australia’s strength remains their “good seam attack,” which won them the tour match against South Africa A last week. “The spinner has always been the question mark for them and still is,” Smith said. “They would like him to do well on this tour.”

Watson helps Australia win T20 opener

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShane Watson played an important part in Australia’s victory•AFP

A powerful half-century from Shane Watson helped Australia make an encouraging start to their tour of South Africa as they won the opening Twenty20 in Cape Town by five wickets. The teenage debutant Patrick Cummins collected three wickets as South Africa reached 146 for 7, led by a solid innings from JP Duminy, and the target wasn’t enough to prevent Australia from turning around their recent poor T20 form.Although Australia’s chase was on track for most of the innings, a couple of good late overs from Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe gave South Africa a sniff in the dying stages. Australia needed six from the final over, bowler by Rusty Theron, and a single from Matthew Wade was followed by a square-driven boundary and a single from Steven Smith to get Australia home with three balls to spare, their second win from their past nine T20s.It was also their second win under the captaincy of Cameron White, who took over from Michael Clarke in January. White made a valuable contribution of 28 from 22 deliveries to keep Australia’s chase ticking along, and David Hussey’s 25 was also important, until he skied a slower ball from Tsotsobe in the second last over.Earlier in the over, Hussey had slammed Tsotsobe straight back over his head for an enormous six that all but ensured Australia’s victory. Two balls prior he had been dropped by Johan Botha at backward point, one of two spilled chances by Botha, who also gave White a reprieve at cover.Theron wasn’t the only South African who could be called rusty, which perhaps was understandable given they had not played an international match since they exited the World Cup in March. The most important of three missed chances in the field came in the second over when Graeme Smith put down Watson at slip off the bowling of Morne Morkel.Watson was on 2 at the time and he certainly made the South Africans pay. He used his muscle to pull Tsotsobe for six but he also played some classical strokes, including a perfect straight drive for four off Theron, who went for 42 from his three and a half overs. Watson brought up his half-century from his 34th delivery and although he fell soon after, from a leading edge caught at cover off Morkel for 52, he had done enough to set Australia on the path to victory.The chase had started poorly for Australia when David Warner, fresh from a pair of centuries in his final two Champions League innings, was run out without scoring in the first over. Warner mistimed a pull and took off for a single but was caught short at the bowler’s end by a wonderful direct hit form Morkel at backward square leg.Watson and Shaun Marsh (25) then combined for an 82-run stand that more than steadied the Australians, who had worked hard in the field to ensure a gettable target. Only twice before had Australia chased down bigger totals to win T20 internationals, and the target could have been greater but for a triple-wicket over in the 19th of the innings from Cummins.At 18, Cummins became Australia’s second-youngest debutant of all time in any format, but he showed plenty of poise to finish with 3 for 25 from his four overs. He collected the important wicket of Duminy, who on 67 failed to negotiate the slower ball from Cummins and skied a catch to Watson at cover.Cummins was soon on a hat-trick when he had David Miller (20) caught at long-off trying to clear the rope, and while the hat-trick ball was clipped for four through square leg by Botha, Cummins struck again later in the over. Again it was the slower ball that worked for Cummins, who had Botha caught at cover, and when Watson bowled Robin Peterson in the final over, Australia’s bowlers had done well to keep the target from ballooning.Earlier, Duminy had spent some time getting himself in, and was soon striking the ball cleanly and finding the middle of the bat. He welcomed the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe with a six over long-on first ball, and took to the offerings of another of Australia’s debutants, James Pattinson, who ended up with 1 for 32.Pattinson’s final over leaked 19 runs as Duminy crunched him for a four through midwicket and then launched a pair of sixes over midwicket and deep cover. Duminy had support from two of the newer members of South Africa’s batting order, in a 58-run partnership with Colin Ingram that was followed by a 65-run stand with Miller.Miller had come to the crease after the departure of Ingram for 33 off 28 deliveries, when he was deceived by the slower ball from Pattinson and lofted the ball to Cummins at deep cover. Ingram had scored at a decent rate, driving square through point when given width and clipping through leg when the bowlers overcorrected.He lifted David Hussey over long-on for six, just clearing the rope when Warner jumped and got a hand to the ball but failed to cling on to what would have been a brilliant catch. Warner had already done something wonderful in the field, with an excellent throw from the deep having caught the stand-in captain Hashim Amla short for 4.Amla was coming back for a third run but couldn’t beat the accurate throw from Warner, who had run back at deep midwicket to save the boundary. Another of Australia’s four debutants, the wicketkeeper Wade, collected Warner’s return and whipped the bails off quickly to leave South Africa in trouble at 10 for 2 in the third over.Their problems had started in the first over when Smith looked rusty in South Africa’s first international match since the World Cup in March. No runs came off the bat in the first over, which ended with Smith dragging the ball on from well outside off to hand Doug Bollinger, remarkably playing his first T20 international, his first wicket in the format.Australia were on top, and South Africa never quite recovered from the early losses.

I struggled with vision – Gambhir

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Concussed India opener Gautam Gambhir is still suffering from the after-effects of the fall he took during The Oval Test, and has been advised complete rest for ten days along with medication that should help him recover faster.Gambhir vomited even during the flight back to India, and has been told by the specialist that he shouldn’t have stayed back for so long. “The doctors said if you are still dizzy and puking, these are clear symptoms of concussion,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.During what was a wretched tour of England for him, a full-blooded sweep from Matt Prior hit him on the left elbow when he was fielding at forward short leg during the first Test. He couldn’t open the second innings of that Test, and batted at No. 4 on the fifth day. There he batted for 70 minutes in India’s unsuccessful attempt to draw the Lord’s Test.The scans didn’t show any break, but the intense pain ruled him out of the second Test. In the final Test of the series, even before he got a chance to bat, he fell awkwardly on his head while trying to catch a skier. That left him concussed. He came out to bat twice despite dizziness and blurry vision, but lower down the order. However, it was clear he was having trouble sighting the ball, and could barely exert himself when running between the wickets. He batted for close to two hours over the two innings. He described his condition thus: “If I looked down, I felt like puking. If I tried to focus on one object, that made me feel dizzy. The vision remained blurry.”Since Gambhir’s comeback to the Test side during the tour of Sri Lanka in 2008, this was the first time he ended a series longer than two matches with an average of less than 40.00. “You can’t even get down to thinking of the performance when you have batted through injury three out of the six innings,” Gambhir said.Gambhir is no stranger to batting through injury or pain, though. Earlier this year, he had already been ruled out of the ODI-leg of the South Africa tour with an injured hand when he batted for four-and-a-half hours to help India save the Cape Town Test and draw the series. He scored a match-winning century in the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy final with a broken hand. At the same venue, the Wankhede Stadium, Gambhir played half his World Cup final innings with back pain.This time, though, the pain and injury barrier proved too significant to ignore without running the risk of letting the team down. “If your vision is blurry, if you can’t focus on one object, if you can’t judge the pace of the ball or its trajectory, not only are you putting yourself at risk, you are also letting your team and your country down,” Gambhir said. “During the [Oval] Test I did what I had to do. There was no choice but to bat, but after that, even when taking throwdowns, I struggled with the vision.” Gambhir stayed with the team for a while, hoping he would recover in time for the limited-overs leg of the tour, but the symptoms remained, eventually ending his tour.If it was the classic accompaniments of concussion that kept him out of the ODIs, the pain in his injured elbow kept Gambhir out of Trent Bridge. “Look, you are not just blocking, which is what was required at Lord’s,” he said. “This was a new Test. It was not just about time, you had to score runs, you had to field, you had to last five days.”The pain in the elbow was massive. It might be easy for an outsider to say that it is not broken and he can play, but the pain was too much. I experienced it during the nets and the throwdowns before the match. And an elbow injury is different from a hand injury, which was the case in Cape Town. You can bat with a swollen hand, but it is very difficult to bat with a painful elbow.”Now, Gambhir said all he could do was rest for ten days and take the prescribed medicines.

Marsh and Hussey power Australia

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShaun Marsh showed impressive concentration in his first Test innings•Associated Press

Shaun Marsh grew up dreaming of wearing a baggy green just like his father Geoff, and realised that ambition on Thursday. By Friday night he was able to go to bed dreaming of a long future in Test cricket and a potential century on debut, after he and Michael Hussey drove Australia into a powerful position at stumps on the second day in Pallekele.Marsh was unbeaten on 87 and Hussey was on 76 when bad light stopped play shortly after tea, and although both men were within sight of triple figures, the most important figure was the 90-run lead they had built for their team. With seven wickets in hand and three days still to play, it would take something miraculous for the Sri Lankans to get out of this hole.At least they know they have what it takes to trouble Australia; three top-order wickets before lunch proved that. But once Hussey and Marsh came together, two calm left-handers at opposite ends of their careers, all the momentum was sucked away from Sri Lanka.When Australia were 116 for 3 following the loss of Michael Clarke, a first-innings lead was still up for grabs. At the close of play, Australia were 264 for 3, and the only question was how many Sri Lanka would have to make to force the visitors to bat a second time.As the partnership grew, things became so desperate for Tillakaratne Dilshan that he even turned to Kumar Sangakkara, desperately hoping his arm would prove as golden as Hussey’s had for Australia on the first day. But Sangakkara’s sub-100kph seamers made Hussey the bowler look like Brett Lee, and the Australians had no problem seeing him off.Sangakkara even took the new ball during his second over, an extraordinary move for a man whose only first-class victim was Elton Chigumbura in a match against Zimbabwe A seven years ago. It was a sign of how helpless Marsh and Hussey had made the Sri Lankans feel.That’s to be expected of Hussey, but the composure shown by Marsh was remarkable. If he reaches his hundred, he’ll be the first Australian to score a century on debut since another patient Western Australian left-hander, Marcus North, who achieved the feat in South Africa in 2009.

Smart stats

  • Michael Hussey’s 76 is his second half-century of the series following the 95 in Galle. He has now scored 921 runs in the subcontinent at an average of 57.56 with two centuries and five half-centuries.

  • Shaun Marsh became the third Australia batsman after Ricky Ponting and Stuart Law to make a fifty-plus score on Test debut against Sri Lanka.

  • The 148-run stand between Hussey and Marsh is the second-highest fourth-wicket stand for Australia against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. The highest stand is 206 between Darren Lehmann and Damien Martyn in Galle in 2004.

  • This is only the eighth time that Sri Lanka have conceded a lead at the end of the second innings in home Tests since 2000 (matches when Sri Lanka have batted first). They have won two and lost four on the seven previous occasions.

  • Since 2000, Australia have gained the lead at the end of the second innings (batting second) in 39 matches, including this one. They have won 33 and lost just two on the previous 38 occasions. All three draws, have, however come in matches played since January 2008.

But North was shielded down at No.6; Marsh was sent in at No.3, and saw wickets tumble around him early in his innings. Initially, he found his runs largely through singles, taking no risks, and even when the boundaries began to flow they were usually dispatched safely along the ground.He brought up his half-century with a classy off-drive for four off the legspin of Seekkuge Prasanna, using his feet to reach the pitch of the ball and directing it wide of mid-off. He put away three boundaries in that over, but all were safe strokes.Meanwhile, Hussey was punching through gaps, cutting late and finding runs with his usual ease. His only lean patch came when he spent 39 balls working his way through the 40s, before his half-century came up with a vicious pull for four off Suraj Randiv.Hussey had survived a tight run-out chance on 39 when he dived full-stretch to make his ground after sprinting through for a quick single to mid-off. It was another incredible display of athleticism for a 36-year-old, but was hardly surprising after his flying catch at gully on the first day.The direct hit from Lakmal would have found most batsmen around the world short of their ground, and it just added to the frustration for Sri Lanka after their first session had gone so well. The day started with a wicket before Australia had scored a run, as Shane Watson shouldered arms to Lakmal and lost his off stump.It was a terribly poor piece of judgment: the ball was too full and too straight, and Watson should have learnt from the previous delivery, which had narrowly missed off stump when he also chose to leave it alone. By contrast, Clarke probably should have stayed away from the ball that got him for 13; he followed the angle from the left-armer Chanaka Welegedara and loosely edged to slip.The other wicket to fall in that brief period of Sri Lankan dominance was Phillip Hughes, who worked hard for his 36 before he was caught at short-leg, having inside-edged onto his pad against the offspin of Randiv. It wasn’t a failure of an innings for Hughes, but nor was it a triumph like Marsh’s effort.At stumps, Usman Khawaja was padded up ready to come in next, which created an interesting subplot for Australian fans: when Ricky Ponting returns for the third Test, Marsh, Hughes and Khawaja will be battling for two spots.By then, the series could be decided. And Marsh might have been the man to decide it.