Lunch Australia 5 for 364 (Hussey 66*, Wade 31*) v Sri Lanka
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Michael Hussey continued his productive summer with a half-century that kept Australia on track for a very healthy first-innings total against Sri Lanka. In a session shortened by rain, the Australians added 65 to their overnight score and went to lunch on 5 for 364, with Hussey on 66 and Matthew Wade on 31, and the Sri Lankans had so far been unable to find the spark they needed in the field to fight their way back into the contest.
Their only success during the session was the early wicket of Michael Clarke, who added only four to his score in the morning before he was caught at slip. In the third over of the morning, Shaminda Eranga got one to nip away off the seam and Clarke, on 74, saw his edge snapped up by Kumar Sangakkara at first slip. That brought Wade to the crease to join Hussey, and by lunch their partnership had reached 60 runs.
The Sri Lankans had a chance to get rid of Wade on 20 when he pulled Chanaka Welegedara and the ball whizzed through the fingers of the substitute fielder Suraj Randiv at midwicket. The ball was flying but Randiv, typically a very reliable fielder, had a genuine chance to make the catch stick, but instead it raced away and became Wade's first boundary.
Wade was generally watchful in his first Test innings on the ground on which he grew up playing his club cricket, while Hussey was also careful. But both men accumulated enough runs to keep things from stagnating and Hussey's half-century came from his 114th delivery with a single to mid-off from Welegedara, in an over that cost the Sri Lankans ten runs.
It was Hussey's fourth fifty-plus score in his six Test innings this summer and by lunch he was in a position to push for what could become his fourth Test hundred this year, which would be a personal record. Hussey and Clarke had to wait 50 minutes beyond the scheduled start time before they could resume in the morning, due to wet weather.
Hussey and Wade steer steady Australia
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Hussey and Wade steer steady Australia
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Hussey and Wade steer steady Australia
