Sri Lanka v. Australia - 2nd. Test

[JLC]

How people were even thinking of playing MacGill ahead of Warne is beyond me. MacGill got taken to the cleaners and is probably one of the reasons that the Aussies may lose after being in a strong position along with the Martyn dropped catch.

However hopefully the Aussies will come out fresh. If Ponting has any clues he will open with Dizzy and Warne who both can keep the run rate down and take wickets. When Dizzy is tired the Kaspa takes over.

Surely Symonda will be dropped. He is not much of an all rounder in the test match arena. He doesnt bowl that many overs (probably less than he does in the one day arena......lol) and struggles with the bat. Is Symonds Sri Lankan for Lacourici (however you spell it) ??

jlc

[London Dave]

I think Symonds could be a decent test player. I'm not always convinced good ODI players (of which Symonds has been for a year) will make good test players. A test alrounder he perhaps is not, in exactly the same sense Harvey is not a test all rounder.

[Blanch]

JLC - you've hit the nail on the head. McGill is a waste of space in this team. Throw figures all you like, he bowls for himself not the team. How many times have we seen Warney hold down an end for 1 run p.o. and Mcgrath knock them over at the other end? or vice versa. McGill doesn't create that pressure at one end to help the bowler at other end.

Symonds should go in favour of Katich. Katich earned the right to keep his spot in the last series, and really should be handed a chance, given that Symonds can't bat or bowl at test level on the Sri Lankan pitches.

And as for the "opening with Dizzy and Warne," that's 3 from 3 I agree with you JLC. Who is smoking the funny stuff...you or me?

[Donny]

JLC,

Just who was thinking of playing MacGill ahead of Warne ? The only issue there was Warne's fitness and form as he'd played no cricket for 12 months.

Yes Blanch, MacGill does have better career figures than Warne and had just taken the second most Test wickets for 2003 but when it comes to control, strategy, and economy rate, Warne is supreme.

[JLC]

Warne wasnt even a certain starter for the tour....lol

jlc

[JLC]

[JLC]

The man does it again. Vaas is out to the champion and Langer show Symonds how its done. Symonds has had an ALL ROUND bad game.....lol

Aussies must be wishing they had Warne for the Indian series

jlc

[Donny]

What a Test match. Another great win to the Aussies.

Warne takes the last wicket to finish with 10/155. Gillespie took 5/101 and Kaspa, 5/138.

Warne should get Man of the Match but Gilly and Marto also played a big part in this victory.

For the Sri Lankans, Jayasuriya's innings was outstanding and Vaas had a top match with bat and ball. He scored 68 n.o. and 45 and took 5/127. Muralitharan took 9/221.

Symmo and MacGill could well make way for Katich and Williams fot the 3rd. Test. There's also an outside chance of Tait getting a run because the series has been won.

[JLC]

Warne wraps up the game and the series for the Aussies

what a champion

jlc

[tazza2000]

What a finish to a great test match

Warne and Dizzy the heros for ausralia
and let's not forget martyn, JLC?

[JLC]

Yes Martyn made a 160 and then gave away 100 with his dropped catch.

I thought Gilly would have got it as his was the innings that shifted the momentum and wittled away at the lead for the Aussies and helped set the game up. However Warne deserved it just as much maybe a little more and he is a worthy winner and will no doubt win player of the series as well.

Greg Matthews surprsingly made a good point re Symonds he average 78 with the ball in the Pura Cup so how can he be expected to take wickets at Test level. Surely Symonds will be dropped unless Ponting declares his undenying love for Symonds in the media.

jlc

[Donny]

Warne looks to record
By Robert Craddock
March 21, 2004

TRIUMPHANT Shane Warne declared Courtney Walsh's world record "gettable" this week after he overcame unsporting tactics to guide Australia to a series win over Sri Lanka yesterday.


The Australian players celebrate their win.

Warne enhanced his reputation as the ultimate "go to" man when he took two of the three wickets to fall yesterday as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 324, giving Australia a 27-run win and a landmark 2-0 series victory in Ricky Ponting's first series as captain.

Warne pumped his fists like a boxer after a world title win when he slipped a top-spinner into Kausal Lokuarachchi's pads for the final wicket of a Test which swung violently before Australia finally buried the Kandy curse.

It was Sri Lanka's first loss from their past seven home series and Australia had to fight like junkyard dogs to get there, overcoming first-innings deficits of 161 and 91. Only 10 teams have scored less than Australia's first innings of 120 here and won a Test.

Sri Lanka were so desperate to put Warne off that No10 Nuwan Zoysa transgressed the spirit of the game by standing close to where Warne bowled at the crease, putting his bat near the leg-spinner's feet as he landed.

"Obviously he was sent out to try to put me off," Warne said. "He was waving his bat and putting his bat where I was landing my foot.

"(Umpire) Steve Bucknor had it under control ... so I let Steve handle it. It's obviously a tactic they were going to try but it sort of fired me up more than anything."

Warne finished with 5-90, his fourth successive five-wicket haul in his comeback series, a scenario even he didn't think possible after a year out of the game due to a drug ban.

It left Warne on 511 wickets, needing nine in the final Test in Colombo to snatch the world record from West Indian Walsh.

"If I had written the script before I got selected to come here and to take 20 wickets, two 10-fors and win the series 2-zip ... I think Simone (his wife) would've tapped me on the shoulder and said 'come on, you're dreaming'.

"I didn't really think about the record but now but if I bowl like I did this Test match and the first one, I suppose it's a chance so long as it's a big turning wicket again. As I said before the Galle Test, it was never in my mind.

"All I wanted to do was first of all get selected in the tour ... try to perform well in the tour game and the lead-up to the Test matches. It's definitely in my mind now."

The last-day tension was almost unbearable for both sides. Australia started on the defensive by putting five men on the boundary to Warne and offering Chaminda Vaas a single to get Lokuarachchi on strike.

They scattered men to the fence for most of the 35 minutes play trying to keep the scoring rate down in the belief that Warne and Jason Gillespie, who partially erased the memory of his collision with Steve Waugh here five years ago, would produce three wicket-taking balls. It worked.

Vaas, so calm and impressive for most of the match, lost his nerve and decided the only way to get the runs was to get them quickly, smacking Warne to Justin Langer at deep midwicket.

Gillespie struck next when Zoysa gloved a hook shot behind as Sri Lanka's hopes faded further.

Sri Lanka lost their last three wickets for five runs as Australia moved the bulk of the fieldsmen to the fence in the knowledge the tail would go down swinging.

[Donny]

Who won the Test ?

WE DID !!!