Galle: Australia’s three specialist bowlers had to sweat while holding Sri Lanka to 9-229, as debutant Cooper Connolly bowled just three overs on day one of his Test career.
A masterful spell by Nathan Lyon (3-78) and some reverse swing from Mitchell Starc (3-37) had threatened to corner the Sri Lankans on a dry but equable Galle surface that played better on day one than the tourists had expected.
Cooper Connolly on debut.Credit: Getty Images
But Dinesh Chandimal dug in to prevent a rout reminiscent of the first Test, where neither innings made it to 55 overs. Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann have already bowled 60 between them.
After Kuhnemann (2-53) twirled past Chandimal for an excellent Alex Carey stumping early in the final session, the tourists were grateful for Mitchell Starc and the second new ball to snuff out a lower-order stand by Kusal Mendis (59 not out) and Ramesh Mendis.
Even so, the balance of the Australian side will have to be weighed up against how they fare with the bat on a pitch that is already much drier and potentially more treacherous than the one on which the visitors piled up 654 last week. Josh Inglis was off the field for a chunk of the day with back soreness.
Connolly’s first spell of the day lasted two overs, and in the evening he bowled just one more, costing nine runs, before captain Steve Smith hooked him for Travis Head. Todd Murphy watched all this from the boundary as a drinks waiter after being left out for Connolly, who might also have played in place of Beau Webster.
The day had begun with the call to include Connolly after just four first-class matches and no wickets, albeit in vastly different conditions at home, as a spin bowling allrounder in place of specialist off spinner Murphy.
“Incredibly tough call on Murph, because whenever he’s come into the team he’s done a fantastic job,” assistant coach Dan Vettori said. “Our interpretation of the wicket led us to believe that runs were going to be at a premium.
“This one was full of cracks, loose and as dry as you’ll see. So the anticipation was it would turn big. And it did turn, but it probably wasn’t as consistent as we thought, and there was a bit more low bounce than we anticipated as well.
“We’re going to have to match whatever Sri Lanka do in this first innings and a little bit more, because batting is going to become more and more difficult. First innings runs are going to play a huge role in whoever wins this game.”
Mitchell Starc celebrates the wicket of Prabath Jayasuriya.Credit: Getty Images
Connolly, 21, received his cap from Simon Katich with the following encouragement – that the former opening batter would follow his ups and downs as closely as Richie Benaud once did his own after handing over his cap at Leeds in 2001.
“The reason I mention Richie is that he became an avid follower of my career,” Katich said at the presentation. “He certainly let me know about it when I played a shit shot, and I can guarantee I’ll probably do the same to you, mate.”
By dropping Murphy to make room for Connolly, the Australian selectors dealt a blow to the Victorian spinner but also to specialist slow bowlers around the country. Essentially they decided that Murphy would add no more value than a trio of part-timers and all-rounders in Connolly, Head and Webster.
Coincidentally, the last time Australia played just three specialist bowlers was on another occasion when they dropped Murphy, at Manchester in 2023, to bring back Cameron Green – a move that did not work.
Nevertheless, Murphy and Connolly shared a warm hug after the cap was handed over. Sri Lanka’s win at the toss put the Australians in the field, and they might have struck in the second over.
Pathum Nissanka looked out of sorts and was twice an umpire’s call away from falling lbw to Kuhnemann, who skidded the new ball on with the arm from around the wicket. Lyon would come on first change, and dismissed Nissanka with his fourth ball, bowled trying to sweep; Starc also beat his outside edge numerous times.
Dimuth Karunaratne, playing his 100th and last Test, was greeted by a massive guard of honour that the Australians courteously added to, and he played solidly alongside a chancier Chandimal up to lunch.
Lyon’s skill and unrelenting pressure brought an end to the partnership when he skidded one through Karunaratne and the subsequent wicket of Mathews, before Head came on and befuddled Kamindu Mendis.
His celebration, violently shaking his arm as though it had just been dipped in boiling water, maintained the theme of Head’s bowling career: he does have a hot hand.
Dhananjaya de Silva fetched a first-baller when he skewered Starc’s full reverse swinger straight into the hands of Webster at backward point, and at this point Sri Lanka’s cause looked lost.
But without a fourth specialist to contend with, Chandimal, Kusal and Ramesh had enough elbow room from which to swing a few punches. Smith switched around his bowlers but still relied heavily on Lyon and Kuhnemann, who ultimately tallied.
It took Starc, in the day’s closing 40 minutes, to claim two wickets in as many balls and end Sri Lanka’s prospects of getting somewhere in the region of 300. A tally of 250 may still be competitive – Sri Lanka made 281 here on day one in 2016 and belted Australia by a 229-run margin.
