Australia v Sri Lanka 1st Test [R]

[Craig the Aussie]

Sri Lanka won the toss and sent the Ponting-less Aussies in to bat (why :confused: ) on what looks a good batting track in Darwin.

Openers off to a good start 0/52 in the 17th over.

[Craig the Aussie]

Well, looks like it was a good decision after all. :(

Australia all out for 207 - dreadful effort, with some of the wickets coming from poor shots rather than good bowling.

Darren Lehmann top score with 57, while Chaminda Vass took 5 for 31.

[OldFanatic]

Is Murali playing?

[Capt. Socceroo]

Is Murali playing?

No, and AFAI can tell, opinion is divided in to two camps.

1. That this is bad for the series, as he is the world leading wicket taker, and it would be good to see him in Australia and how he stacks up against the best, or
2. That this is good, as it gives Shane Warne the chance to overtake Murali

My $0.02: - caution - rant alert!

A majority of people I have talked with agree with me that he is a coward. We don't buy this crap about him being 'tired'. He takes a truck load of 'easy' wickets against weak teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, but get his nose out of joint and decides not to tackle Australia because he can't handle the stick he cops for his dodgy bowling action. Don't worry Murali, the sycophant ICC will ensure you dont get no-balled anymore because they are too scared to stand up to the subcontinent cricket boards. Firstly because of the $$ they bring to the game, and secondly because the Indian's/SriLankan's/Pakistani's know the quickest way to get the 'old colonial' powers of the game to back down is to cry "RACISM" at every turn that goes against them....no one in the western world likes being called a racist.

As you can tell, this issue really hacks my cheese!

[BhoysFC1995]

socceroo,

it sort of reminds me of how here in baseball, i think it was last season when pedro martinez was doing good pitching (for the red sox), he happen to get hurt when it was time to play against a good team- especially the yankees.

as for this test, sri lanka is now 3-43. wow, 207 is pretty disappointing for the aussies.

quick facts
- 6 of the top seven batters are lefties for australia.
-attendance at darwin for day 1 4595 (low isn't it?)
-gillespie got his 200 wicket
-Mcgrath got 2 wickets in his first test in over a year

[Craig the Aussie]

Sri Lanka all out for 97 just before the lunch break.

5 wickets for McGrath and 3 for Warne. Australia lead by 110 runs.

(btw, it's "batsmen"; "batter" is what you coat fish in before you fry it :D )

[BhoysFC1995]

(btw, it's "batsmen"; "batter" is what you coat fish in before you fry it :D )

you made me laugh, hmm i feel like fish and chips!

ok, i have yet to see highlights, explain to me how lanka went all out for for only 97, is that true, how?!?

[Craig the Aussie]

The pitch is doing some funny things. There is a lot of movement and the batsmen are really struggling. It is a "drop in" pitch which means it was prepared away from the oval, then dropped into a hole. These pitches are notoriously difficult to read.

The Aussies are now 5/114 - a lead of 224. Probably need another 50 or so to make it tough for Sri Lanka. Lehmann is the only one who has looked reasonably comfortable.

[ScouseCat]

Australia are 8 for 180 approaching stumps on the second day, a lead of 290. Gilchrist is going along nicely on 64, and is getting some good support from Kasprowicz who is 11 not out.

[BhoysFC1995]

so after day two complete, sri lanka needs 312 to win (unlikely).

my question is- is the test over in 3 days if sri lanka goes all out in day 3? has that ever happened before?

[OldFanatic]

My $0.02: - caution - rant alert!.........................As you can tell, this issue really hacks my cheese!
Chill out. He's a physically handicapped person, and went through sheer hell the last time he was in Australia. It was not conclusively proven that his action was illegal, and/or he could "fix" it given his physical limitations. For someone with his talent, putting up with the humiliation due to physical handicap is nothing short of torture. The race issue is somewhat orthogonal, but complicates the matters even further.

[Andy TAUS]

my question is- is the test over in 3 days if sri lanka goes all out in day 3? has that ever happened before?Yes & plenty of times to many teams AUS plays.

[ScouseCat]

Chill out. He's a physically handicapped person, and went through sheer hell the last time he was in Australia. It was not conclusively proven that his action was illegal, and/or he could "fix" it given his physical limitations. For someone with his talent, putting up with the humiliation due to physical handicap is nothing short of torture. The race issue is somewhat orthogonal, but complicates the matters even further.
With all due respect, that is absolute rubbish mate. Murali just didn't want to come to Australia and have his bowling average wrecked by our world class batsman! The difference between Warne and Muralitharan is that Warne is a legendary spin bowler who has proved himself over a 13 year career by getting the best players out and would give anything to represent his country, even coming back after breaking his finger a couple of weeks ago, (he could have missed the 2 games and noone would have looked down on him) whereas Murali is a talented spin bowler who's always had a suspect bowling action and wants to get cheap test wickets against the weaker countries like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and West Indies.

And as for this match, the pitch was pretty ordinary and made it very difficult for the batsman to score many runs. Good to see McGrath and Kasprowicz amoungst the wickets, especially McGrath who has been out of test cricket for almost a year.

[BhoysFC1995]

Michael Kasprowicz produced a stunning spell of medium-fast bowling - 7 for 39 from 17.4 overs - to lead Australia to an emphatic 149-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin

Australia 207 and 201 beat Sri Lanka 97 and 162 by 149 runs

pretty freakin great stuff by kasprowicz!

[ScouseCat]

Michael Kasprowicz produced a stunning spell of medium-fast bowling - 7 for 39 from 17.4 overs - to lead Australia to an emphatic 149-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin

pretty freakin great stuff by kasprowicz!
Kasprowicz has been on the edge of the Australian test team for a number of years now, and would come into the team when someone got injured or when we play on the sub-continent but not do much. However, this time he's really taken his opportunities and pushed ahead of the likes of Williams, Bichel, Bracken and the injured Brett Lee by taking plenty of wickets.