Mathews helps Sri Lanka build lead

It took until the third-last day of the series, but Sri Lanka finally delivered all the way through their batting order as Angelo Mathews, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene made half-centuries to grind Australia down at the SSC. Throw in a handy 47 from Prasanna Jayawardene and the 79 that Kumar Sangakkara completed on the third morning, and it made for a long, hot day in the field for Australia.

But as the Australia bowlers walked off the field at stumps, ready to collapse into ice baths, they knew that their hard work had been worth it. Led by the indefatigable Peter Siddle and Trent Copeland, Australia prised out four wickets throughout the day on a pitch offering little to no assistance, and at least kept their side in the hunt for a draw, which would be enough for Australia to take the series.

By the close of play Sri Lanka had extended their lead to 112 runs, with Mathews looking solid, unbeaten on 85, and Shaminda Eranga, the first of the tailenders, on 5. With two days to play, Sri Lanka needed to work out their best route to victory; a quick and significant increase in their lead on the fourth morning could be crucial to that goal. Much will depend on how well Australia bat on a friendly surface.

Australia could have had Eranga late in the afternoon, when he edged behind off Copeland and was dropped by Brad Haddin standing up to the stumps. It was a strange move by Haddin to the new batsman, who as a debutant, in the side as a bowler, was hardly likely to charge down the crease to a seamer like Copeland.

But it was Mathews Australia really wanted to remove. He has been one of the standouts for Sri Lanka in a series that up to now was notable for their below-par batting. Mathews is Sri Lanka's leading run scorer in the series, an outstanding achievement considering he batted at No.7 in the first two Tests, and it was no surprise that he was promoted to No.6 for this game.

He played sensibly, reaching his half-century from his 119th delivery with an on-drive to the boundary off Peter Siddle, and he generally picked the bad balls to put away. In the first two Tests, an occasional loss of patience had been his one weakness, but there were no such lapses in this innings, as he kept on task until the final ball of the day. By the close, a maiden century was within sight.

Mathews had had ample support throughout the day, first from Dilshan and then from Prasanna Jayawardene. His stand with Prasanna was worth 81, as Prasanna put aside his poor batting record against Australia. He pulled two powerful sixes off Nathan Lyon, who struggled for impact, but fell when he drove Copeland on the up to Michael Clarke at short midwicket.

The Sri Lanka batsmen found Copeland difficult to get away, even if he didn't pile up the wickets. He sent down 18 overs during the day, five of which were maidens, and picked up 2 for 36. He had collected the key wicket of Dilshan, who seemed set for a century when he was caught behind for 83 by Haddin, again standing up to the stumps.

It wasn't a pretty take, as Dilshan tried to guide the ball to third man but glided it straight on to Haddin's right leg, before the ball bobbed up and into the wicketkeeper's midriff, where he clung on with his gloves. It ended a 121-run partnership between Dilshan and Mathews, a fifth-wicket record for Sri Lanka against Australia, beating a 19-year-old record set by Arjuna Ranatunga and Hashan Tillakaratne.

Dilshan had looked far more comfortable down at No.5 than he had while opening in the first two Tests. He went for his shots early and was still keen to use the pace of the second new ball, his driving an especially strong feature of his game, and he brought up his half-century from his 70th delivery, with a punch through point for four off the offspin of Lyon.

He arrived at the crease after Australia picked up the key wickets of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene before lunch, although both men looked in fine touch for the first hour of the day. Just after Jayawardene brought up his half-century with an upper-cut for four off Shane Watson, he perished for 51 when he drove at Watson and edged behind when the ball move just a fraction away from him.

It was a wicket against the run of play, Australia having had few encouraging moments in the 101-run partnership. The news was even better for the visitors when Siddle struck in the first over with the new ball, when he found some extra bounce and nipped the ball just far enough off the seam away from the left-hander Sangakkara to entice an edge.

The reward for Siddle was well earned. In difficult conditions, he bustled in over after over, and like Copeland kept the runs tight. Mitchell Johnson was much less impressive, finding no swing, no uncomfortable bounce, and thus posing no threat to the batsmen.

Still, Australia did enough to give themselves the hope of a draw, if their batsmen are up to the task. Sri Lanka have laid the groundwork; now they must go hard with bat and ball on the fourth day to give themselves the best possible chance of victory. Their series depends on it.

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Two-Test series unsatisfactory - Sangakkara

On the eve of his 100th Test, Kumar Sangakkara has called on the ICC to do away with two-Test series, describing such scheduling as "unsatisfying". The third Test against Australia at Colombo will offer Sangakkara and his team the chance to pull back a 1-0 deficit, but they have not always been so fortunate.

As a stylish batsman, successful captain and articulate statesman for Sri Lankan cricket, Sangakkara said he had taken part in too many series where the narrative felt unduly clipped due to the lack of a third Test.

One of his imponderables is the 2007 series in Australia, where the under-prepared visitors lost in Brisbane but then, through Sangakkara's own majestic 192 in the second Test, pushed the hosts far further. The prospect of a third match might have made a significant change to the script.

"It is unsatisfactory to play so many two-Test series," Sangakkara told ESPNcricinfo. "As a country, to be measured up as a Test country, you need to keep playing three to five Test match series as much as you can.

"I don't think five Test series are attractive anymore to TV networks, but I think Test series should be a minimum of three matches. I hope the ICC can stipulate that, I don't know if they can."

Among forthcoming series, Australia's visit to South Africa has been cut to two Tests to accommodate the Twenty20 Champions League, a move that has already been heavily criticised for marginalising Test cricket.

"Test cricket is still, to my mind, the most important form of the game out there," Sangakkara said. "There's nothing like it, there's nothing that comes close to it. This is the only arena where you can really make your mark as a cricketer. If you are successful at Test cricket, that is all that matters I think."

Sri Lanka's success since Sangakkara's debut in 2000 has been charted largely under overseas coaches, including Tom Moody and Trevor Bayliss. However Sangakkara is fervent in his desire for a home-grown mentor to take the role full-time, and cited the former opening batsman Chandika Hathurusingha as an ideal candidate.

"I think we have a great opportunity to have a completely Sri Lankan coaching unit. That will be amazing if we can do it," Sangakkara said. "And we've had candidates the calibre of Chandika Hathurusingha, who is now the assistant coach for New South Wales. He has been a great loss to us.

"He made an amazing contribution to our cricket, and he is an extremely capable coach. Rumesh Ratnayake has also been exemplary, unfortunately he has come at a time when we've had quite a bad series, but these two people have shown we have the quality in Sri Lanka to have a completely local coaching unit which we can be proud of, and second to none in the world.

"At the same time if the administration and the captain also think a foreign coach is the way to go, that is also no problem, because there are many excellent coaches around the world … There is Graham Ford, Geoff Marsh and a lot of other coaches in the running for this job, they're fantastic people, they've got great records and have proven themselves all over the world.

"Any one of them would be a great addition to our cricket, but on a personal level, and it's not a sentimental thing, I think we have the quality in Sri Lanka as well, unfortunately not in Sri Lanka now. One of them is outside coaching NSW, but we have the Sri Lankans capable of also being national coaches and doing a great job."

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Hughes hundred hurts Sri Lanka's hopes

Phillip Hughes scored his first Test century in two-and- a-half years to give Australia every chance of playing out a series-winning draw at the SSC. But at the end of a day that began with a Sri Lankan crawl as Angelo Mathews ate up valuable time in reaching his maiden Test hundred, Rangana Herath had troubled Australia's top order enough to give Sri Lanka some hope of victory.

Sri Lanka must win the match to level the series, and their fate hinges on whether they can run through Australia's middle order early on the final day. At stumps on the fourth afternoon, Australia were 52 runs in front, with seven wickets in hand, and they had a well-set Hughes still at the crease on 122 alongside the captain Michael Clarke on 8.

If time does beat Sri Lanka, they will regret their slow march on the fourth morning, when they added 45 runs to their overnight total but took more than an hour and a half to do so. By tea, Australia had all but knocked off the 157-run first-innings deficit and they were in no hurry during the final session, happy to bat as much time out of the match as possible.

Not that Hughes had been slow. He brought up his century from his 141st delivery with a push through the off side for two, and his celebration was noticeably muted: there was a small fist pump and raise of the bat but none of the helmet-kissing that has marked Australian milestones in recent years. He knew that the selectors had shown great faith in him by dropping Simon Katich.

Hughes hadn't passed fifty in any of his past ten Test innings, and not since his twin hundreds in Durban in March 2009 had he reached triple figures for his country. He took 22 balls to get through the nineties, which included a nervous moment on 99 when he survived an lbw review after getting in a tangle trying to dab behind gully; the ball had hit the flap of his pad before bat, but outside the line.

Earlier, Hughes had been in fine form, and his driving through cover whenever the seamers overpitched was especially strong. He also cleared the midwicket boundary with a slog off Herath and brought up his fifty with another slog-sweep, this time off Tillakaratne Dilshan, from his 67th delivery. Importantly, he had support all the way.

His partnerships with Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh and Ricky Ponting were all worth sixty-something. Herath worked hard to remove all three batsmen, the dismissal of Ponting for 28 late in the day a key blow when the ball turned sharply and kissed the batsman's gloves on the way through to Mahela Jayawardene at slip.

Herath had earned the wicket of Watson (21) with a delivery that went straight on, and despite a huge stride forward, Watson was lbw on review after being given not out by the on-field umpire. That review worked for Sri Lanka; another one would have worked against them, if only Marsh had thought to request one when he was out for 18.

It was a strange dismissal, as Marsh was given out caught at bat-pad, but replays showed Herath's delivery had turned so much that it missed the bat and gloves by a significant margin. However, perhaps forgetting the DRS was available or maybe just convinced he had made contact, Marsh failed to ask for the review that would have saved him.

But that was hardly the most baffling part of the day's play. The real mystery was why Sri Lanka batted so slowly during the morning, when what they really needed was quick runs to give themselves adequate time to bowl Australia out and then complete a chase if necessary. Instead, the focus seemed to be solely on Mathews making his hundred, no matter how long it took.

He did get there, and remained unbeaten on 105 after he lost three of his final four partners while en-route to triple figures. Australia were happy to consume valuable minutes by setting the field back, knowing Mathews would not take singles early in an over to expose the No.11 Suranga Lakmal, and the path to his century was long and drawn out.

Eventually, he got there from his 256th delivery with a drive through cover for four off Peter Siddle, and it was a relief for a man who had twice been out in the nineties. The final wicket fell when Lakmal was bowled by Mitchell Johnson for 13, after Siddle picked up the early breakthroughs.

Siddle started the day by bowling Shaminda Eranga for 12 with a fullish ball that caught the inside edge and cannoned on to the leg stump, and he followed up by trapping Herath lbw for 3. Herath had the decision reviewed but to no avail, and a few overs later Chanaka Welegedara was run out in a major mix-up with Mathews.

Welegedara pushed to mid-on and took off for a single but ended up at the bowler's end alongside his partner Mathews, and the ball was relayed to Brad Haddin who whipped the bails off at the other end. It typified a morning when Sri Lanka were simply not on the ball.

But by the end of the day, Herath's strikes had at least given them some chance of victory. If they start the fifth morning as they did the fourth, that hope will quickly disappear.

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Sri Lankan's Picked up Aussies Earlier 

Shaun Marsh justified Australia's decision to keep him at No.3 by making a wonderful 81, but Sri Lanka finished the first day with a slight edge in a match they must win to draw the series. A day that began with changes galore for both sides and an unexpected decision from Tillakaratne Dilshan to send Australia in on a good batting surface finished with the visitors at 235 for 5, with Michael Hussey the key.

The Sri Lankans would have liked more than five wickets after Dilshan's decision at the toss, when he expected seam movement after rain in the lead-up to the match, but they were still in a reasonable position with only Australia's bowlers still to bat. Hussey, demoted to No.6 to accommodate Marsh and Ricky Ponting up the order, was on 63 when bad light forced an early close and he had Brad Haddin for company on 21.

It was one of the most evenly-contested days of the series. The Sri Lankans picked up Australia's openers within the first ten overs, the seamer Shaminda Eranga getting a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket, before Ponting, Marsh and Hussey provided some fight for Australia. The major concern for Australia was the continued poor form of the captain Michael Clarke and the opener Phillip Hughes, who made a second-ball duck.

But the 70-run partnership between Marsh and Hussey, the centurions from last week's Pallekele Test, steered Australia in the right direction, both men showing the sort of composure some of their colleagues had lacked. Hussey continued to look impenetrable, covering the spin against Rangana Herath and driving the fast men along the ground, and he passed fifty for the eighth time in his past 13 Test innings.

Marsh was especially was impressive in his attitude, defending the good balls, leaving those he could, and choosing the right ones to put away. He brought up his half-century from his 125th delivery with a pull for four off Suranga Lakmal, and it was typical of his innings: a bad ball, and no risk in the stroke.

He played some wonderful straight drives and square cuts, and in doing so recorded the highest aggregate ever by an Australia Test player in his first two Test innings, passing the 208 made by Kepler Wessels back in 1982. Marsh looked set to become the first Australian to make a century in each of his first two Test innings when he played inside the spin of Herath and was bowled.

It was an uncharacteristic lapse, but on a humid day when he'd been at the crease for four and a half hours, it was understandable. There could be no such excuse for Clarke, who on 6 flashed at a wide ball - not for the first time in this series - and was caught behind off Eranga. Clarke had moved down to No.5 in the top-order shimmy that allowed Marsh to stay at first drop.

Ponting came in at No.4 for the first time in his Test career, apart from when nightwatchmen had been used, and he looked in fine form with a pair of cover-driven boundaries off Chanaka Welegedara. However, on 48, he too lost patience and drove at a fullish outswinger from Lakmal, sending a regulation edge through to Prasanna Jayawardene.

Sri Lanka had used up both of their reviews on Ponting, but they had no such trouble getting rid of Hughes and Shane Watson. Hughes fell in the second over when Lakmal angled the ball across the left-hander and straightened it just a fraction off the seam. The ball caught the inside edge of the bat as Hughes defended away from his body, and the stumps were rattled by a ball he could have left alone.

It was a disappointing effort from Hughes, who is viewed by the selectors as the long-term opening partner for Shane Watson but has not reached fifty in any of his past ten Test innings. Watson is also experiencing an uncharacteristic lean patch, and that continued when on 8, he drove hard at a full and wide delivery from Eranga and was snapped up at backward point.

It was a joyous moment for Eranga, who became the second Sri Lankan to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket, after Chamila Gamage in 2002, and the second man to achieve the feat in this series after Australia's Nathan Lyon. The inclusion of Eranga was one of a raft of changes to Sri Lanka's line-up for this Test.

Herath was included after missing the Pallekele Test due to a finger injury, and the Sri Lankans went for a more seam-heavy attack by dropping the spinners Suraj Randiv and Seekkuge Prasanna. They also axed the veteran batsman Thilan Samaraweera and brought in Lahiru Thirimanne, who will open, while Dilshan will move down to No.5.

Dilshan was full of surprises at the toss. It was the 12th occasion a captain had sent the opposition in at the SSC, but only twice has that decision led to a victory: both times against Bangladesh. Whether that becomes three times from 12 occasions will depend partly on how long it takes Sri Lanka to finish Australia off on the second day.

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Sangakkara named ODI Cricketer of the Year

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has been named the ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2011 during the ICC Awards ceremony in London. Sangakkara also won the ICC People's Choice Award, capping a memorable evening for him.

"It's a great honour first of all to have been nominated for this award [ODI Cricketer] and a great honour to have actually won it," said Sangakkara, who was not in London because of the ongoing home series against Australia.

"I would like to thank the rest of my team-mates, they have done a great job over the years in one-day cricket and I am privileged to be part of this and [to have] led these guys for just over two years. I thank you again, I feel very very proud."

Sangakkara played 25 ODIs in the period under consideration - August 11, 2010 to August 3, 2011 - and scored 1049 runs at an average of 55.21 including a century and seven half-centuries. He also had 26 catches and 10 stumpings as wicketkeeper and led Sri Lanka to the final of the 2011 World Cup.

Sangakkara won the ODI award ahead of Australia's Shane Watson, India's Gautam Gambhir and South Africa's Hashim Amla.

For the People's Choice Award, Sangakkara received more votes than Amla, England batsman Jonathan Trott, West Indies opener Chris Gayle and India captain MS Dhoni.

Best Wishes for Sangakkara from SL Cricket Team!

                                                                                                     2011-09-13

                                                                                                    Sl Cricket Online 

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Rain helps Sri Lanka salvage a draw

Australia did many things right in the second Test but in the end they couldn't beat the Pallekele weather, or Sri Lanka, as the match faded away to a gloomy draw on the fifth afternoon. The teams will now head to Colombo for the final match with the series still undecided, a heartening outcome for Sri Lanka, who were outplayed for most of the first two Tests but fought hard on the final two days in Pallekele.

Only 35.3 overs were bowled on the final day, not nearly enough for Michael Clarke and his men, who needed a run of wickets to set up a small chase. Ryan Harris worked tirelessly to finish with three wickets - and a hamstring niggle - but when the weather and gloomy conditions set in during the early afternoon, Sri Lanka led by 80 runs with four wickets in hand, having done enough to save themselves.

Australia made four breakthroughs in between meal breaks and rain delays, starting the day encouragingly when Kumar Sangakkara was caught at slip for 69 in the fourth over. Harris extracted some movement from the new ball and squared Sangakkara up with a delivery that swung in just a touch and then seamed the other way, and the edge was taken by Clarke.

Later in the same over, Clarke put down an edge when Thilan Samaraweera had not scored, and chastised himself for a potentially costly mistake. However, he made sure to end the 41-run partnership that followed between Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene, when Jayawardene edged Trent Copeland to slip on 51.

Clarke hurled himself to his left to snare the ball just above the turf, the second time in the Test that Jayawardene had been out to a stunning catch in the cordon. It led to an uncomfortable moment when Jayawardene stood his ground despite Clarke telling him that he was "100% certain" he had taken the ball cleanly, which replays quickly confirmed was the case.

But Australia just couldn't force the collapse they needed; the next wicket came ten overs later when Prasanna Jayawardene (21) edged behind off a wonderful Harris ball that seamed away just enough. That was followed by the dismissal of Samaraweera, who had made a steady 43 when he suffered a lapse in judgment, edging behind when he tried to cut a Shane Watson inswinger that was too close to his body.

It was a loose shot at the wrong time, a disappointing end for Samaraweera, who has been one of the culprits in Sri Lanka's batting struggles during this series. Had he survived another five overs, he could have finished with an unbeaten half-century; instead, Angelo Mathews and Suraj Randiv saw the Australian threat off until the rain set in.

It was a frustrating outcome for Australia, who have outplayed Sri Lanka in both Tests but could still face a drawn series if Sri Lanka succeed at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in the third Test starting on Friday. However, the SSC has hosted three draws in its past five Tests, and as positive as Clarke and his Australians are, they would be content to make it four draws from six.

Whatever the SSC provides, both teams have some selection decisions to ponder over the next few days. Sri Lanka need to play both Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis if fit - both missed this game due to injury - while their batsmen were again outdone by their Australian opponents.

For Australia, the major issue is deciding which batsman will make way for Ricky Ponting, who will have rejoined the squad after missing the Pallekele Test for the birth of his daughter. Shaun Marsh's century on debut has all but secured his place and the selectors would be reluctant to tinker with the opening combination, which could mean Phillip Hughes plays and Usman Khawaja is the man to miss out.

There is also concern regarding whether Harris' hamstring trouble - he left the field for assessment during the last day before returning shortly before the final rain delay - is serious enough to put him in doubt. Peter Siddle and James Pattinson are in the squad as the backup fast men.

But the biggest question is whether the teams will get five days of uninterrupted Test cricket at the SSC in Colombo. No rain and no bad light would be a victory for fans of both sides, regardless of the result.

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Marsh and Hussey star before rain sets in

There was plenty for Australia to celebrate on the third day in Pallekele - Shaun Marsh's hundred on debut, and Micheal Hussey's 14th Test century - but Sri Lanka ended the day with some hope of salvaging a draw after rain washed out almost the entire afternoon's play. Only 40.3 overs were bowled, mostly before lunch, and Australia extended their lead to 237, but with further showers expected over the next two days, Michael Clarke's men were wondering if they would have time to knock Sri Lanka over again and take a 2-0 series lead.
An overnight declaration loomed as a possibility as the Australians would not wish to waste their big advantage, set up during a terrific 258-run stand between Marsh and Hussey, the second Highest for Australia in Tests against Sri Lanka, and the highest for any country for the forth Wicket against Sri Lanka. And while Hussey's composure was expected, the way Marsh played in his first innings made him look like a Test natural.
He became the 19th Australian to score a century on his Test debut, and the only one of his countrymen to achieve the feat batting at No.3 was the great Bill Ponsford. Marsh started the day on 87 and quickly moved off the unlucky number with a glide past gully for four.

Negotiating the nineties proved slightly tougher; Hussey was on 76 when Marsh moved out of the eighties, yet he reached triple-figures before his younger partner. Both men got there in the same over, Hussey pushing a two past midwicket off Suraj Randiv, before Marsh swept two from the final ball of the over.

It was a wonderful moment for the Marsh family; his father Geoff jumped to his feet in the stands, riding the two runs home like he was cheering on a race-horse, and Shaun raised his bat and high-fived Hussey when he caught his breath. Both batsmen soon lifted their tempo and Marsh brought out some of his limited-overs strokes, including a brutal drive back over the bowler's head for four off Chanaka Welegedara.

Hussey eventually fell for 142 when he lofted Thilan Samaraweera - who hadn't taken a Test wicket since 2004 - to deep cover. It was the third hundred in seven Tests for Hussey, who since the start of the Ashes he has averaged 68.50, and it continued a remarkable Test for him after he took a stunning catch hurling himself to his left at gully on the first day, and bowled a wicket maiden to get rid of Kumar Sangakkara.

Hussey was the only wicket to fall before lunch, but in the eight overs delivered after the break Australia suffered a mini-collapse. On 141, Marsh pulled Suranga Lakmal to deep midwicket, and in the next over the out-of-form Brad Haddin lofted a catch tamely to mid-on off the bowling of Randiv for 1.

Randiv was on a hat-trick after he bowled Mitchell Johnson next ball; Johnson expected the ball to turn away from him and shouldered arms, only to see the topspinner go straight on and rattle his stumps. Ryan Harris negotiated the hat-trick ball - barely - and was 9 not out when the rain came, while Usman Khawaja was on 13.

But such a collapse meant little, next to Marsh's milestone and Australia's weather worries. There will be some nervous Australians looking out the window at daybreak on Sunday.

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