3rd Test: Clarke likely to be fit as Australia eye series sweep
Sri Lanka hope for first Test victory Down Under.
Hussey would be hoping to leave Test cricket on a high with a big performance against Sri Lanka in the third Test starting tomorrow. PHOTO: AFP
SYDNEY:
Australia skipper Michael Clarke came through a fitness test yesterday, indicating he will play the third Test against Sri Lanka and resolve at least one of the hosts’ selection problems for the dead rubber match. With an unassailable
2-0 lead in the series, Australia could have been forgiven for going into the match, which starts at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) tomorrow, riding on the crest of a wave of optimism for the future.
The hammer blow of Michael Hussey’s retirement announcement coming so quickly after that of Ricky Ponting, though, has left them contemplating their batting resources with a test series in India and back-to-back Ashes encounters to come this year.
Sri Lanka, despite being humbled by an innings and 201 runs inside three days in the second Test in Melbourne, can still hold onto the hope of claiming a first Test victory in Australia on what should be the most spin-friendly of the three tracks.
‘Hussey will leave a big hole’
Australia wicket-keeper Matthew Wade admitted there would be a lot more expectation and responsibility on other batsmen once Hussey bids adieu to Test cricket after the Sri Lanka series.
“We’ve got to accept the responsibility,” said Wade. “It’s a big hole that’s going to be out of our team but our young batters are keen and eager to learn and get better and hopefully there’s another ‘Mr Cricket’ waiting in our top six or seven.”
Hussey announced last week that the Sydney Test would be his 79th and last, and the 37-year-old’s chances of going out with a bang are high if statistics are anything to go by.
He has averaged 117.8 runs in his seven previous Tests against Sri Lanka, 100 in a similar number of matches at the SCG and has scored centuries in three of his last five Tests.
Sri Lanka’s battered and bruised tour party, by contrast, have had to call for reinforcements after injuries ruled out batsman Kumar Sangakkara and bowler Chanaka Welagedera and put serious doubt over wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara.
Still, batsman Thilan Samaraweera said they were still motivated by the chance of making a little bit of cricketing history.
“It was really hard to digest that defeat but that’s the past now,” said Samaraweera. “The good thing is this team has to believe they can make history if they win one Test in Australia.
“That is the kind of attitude we are taking into the New Year’s test.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2013.
Australia skipper Michael Clarke came through a fitness test yesterday, indicating he will play the third Test against Sri Lanka and resolve at least one of the hosts’ selection problems for the dead rubber match. With an unassailable
2-0 lead in the series, Australia could have been forgiven for going into the match, which starts at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) tomorrow, riding on the crest of a wave of optimism for the future.
The hammer blow of Michael Hussey’s retirement announcement coming so quickly after that of Ricky Ponting, though, has left them contemplating their batting resources with a test series in India and back-to-back Ashes encounters to come this year.
Sri Lanka, despite being humbled by an innings and 201 runs inside three days in the second Test in Melbourne, can still hold onto the hope of claiming a first Test victory in Australia on what should be the most spin-friendly of the three tracks.
‘Hussey will leave a big hole’
Australia wicket-keeper Matthew Wade admitted there would be a lot more expectation and responsibility on other batsmen once Hussey bids adieu to Test cricket after the Sri Lanka series.
“We’ve got to accept the responsibility,” said Wade. “It’s a big hole that’s going to be out of our team but our young batters are keen and eager to learn and get better and hopefully there’s another ‘Mr Cricket’ waiting in our top six or seven.”
Hussey announced last week that the Sydney Test would be his 79th and last, and the 37-year-old’s chances of going out with a bang are high if statistics are anything to go by.
He has averaged 117.8 runs in his seven previous Tests against Sri Lanka, 100 in a similar number of matches at the SCG and has scored centuries in three of his last five Tests.
Sri Lanka’s battered and bruised tour party, by contrast, have had to call for reinforcements after injuries ruled out batsman Kumar Sangakkara and bowler Chanaka Welagedera and put serious doubt over wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara.
Still, batsman Thilan Samaraweera said they were still motivated by the chance of making a little bit of cricketing history.
“It was really hard to digest that defeat but that’s the past now,” said Samaraweera. “The good thing is this team has to believe they can make history if they win one Test in Australia.
“That is the kind of attitude we are taking into the New Year’s test.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2013.