Jayasuriya bags five-for as bowlers toil

By Madushka Balasuriya 

Day 2 of the three-day practice match at the P. Sara Oval between Australia and Sri Lankan XI saw the visitors attempt steadfastly to disprove the long-held theory that a team needed their batsman to convert good starts into big hundreds in order to post imposing totals.

At the end of the day’s play Australia were 431/9 with only three of their batsmen having notched up half century scores, one of them being Steve O’Keefe, the left-arm spinner who picked up five first innings wickets.

Australia began the day on 127/1 in their 1st innings, trailing the home side by 102 runs, with Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja at the crease. Burns’ opening partner Shaun Marsh had fallen just short of a half century the previous evening and, be it by design - all of the Australian top order ended up spending time at the crease - or complacency, the rest of his teammates seemed to follow suit in not occupying the crease for too long a period.

The first to repeat the trick was Burns, who found his stumps rattled by the hardworking Vimukthi Perera, for 72. Khawaja (31) joined him in the pavilion shortly afterwards. 

Captain Steve Smith and Adam Voges then put on 88 for the fourth wicket, but Smith too fell foul to the complacency bug, getting himself trapped in front of the stumps by Chaturanga de Silva for 57. Voges (43) joined his captain the very next over as part-time spinner Shehan Jayasuriya found a way through to the stumps.

Mitchell Marsh then came and went after a brisk 38-ball 25, inclusive of four boundaries. Peter Nevill (25) fell for the same score, having put on 51 for the 7th wicket with O’Keefe. 

O’Keefe then kept Mitchell Starc company for another half century stand, as the lanky fast bowler picked up the scoring rate with a 48-ball 43, smashing the ball to the boundary six times in total, three of which were for maximums. 

Jayasuriya eventually dismissed him with a return catch, and the right arm off-spinner capped off a productive day with his fifth scalp of the innings when he rattled Nathan Lyon’s stumps. 

Lyon, who was the only Australian bowler not to pick up a wicket, also had the distinction of being the only batsman not to reach double digits. That though will be of little to no consolation for the home side and the selectors ahead of the first Test next week, as the bowlers found it difficult to trouble the Australian batsman consistently.  At stumps Australia were 202 runs ahead of Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 229, with O’Keefe not out on 62 and Jackson Bird with him on 9. Jayasuriya finished the second day with five for 109 off 29 overs.