Lunch Sri Lanka 2 for 80 (Jayawardene 30*, Thirimanne 4*, Bird 2-14) v Australia
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
On a day when Australia entered a Sydney Test with four fast bowlers and sent the opposition in, Jackson Bird was the only one of Michael Clarke's men who struck before lunch. Sri Lanka lost both openers to Bird but given the green tinge to the pitch, which offered some early movement for the fast bowlers, their score of 2 for 80 at the first break was reasonable and importantly the captain Mahela Jayawardene had made a good start, on 30, alongside Lahiru Thirimanne on 4.
Jayawardene had struck five boundaries, including a couple of strong strokes through point, and he had already moved to his highest score of what has been a disappointing tour for him personally. He also had a life early; on 4, he edged Peter Siddle to second slip, where Michael Hussey was slow to react to a chance he should have taken, and managed only to get his left hand to the ball, which then ran away to the boundary.
Thirimanne had also had a near miss first ball when he was given out lbw off the bowling of Bird. After some consideration, Thirimanne asked for a review and replays showed the ball had pitched just outside leg stump, forcing Aleem Dar to overturn his decision. Until the replays, Bird thought he was on a hat-trick after having Tillakaratne Dilshan caught behind for 34 when he pushed at a ball that moved away and got a thick outside edge through to Matthew Wade.
Dilshan had been steady and occupied the crease for 100 minutes before his lapse, which was Bird's second wicket after he also got rid of Dilshan's opening partner Dimuth Karunaratne. On 5, Karunaratne went for a pull from just outside off stump but the ball bounced more than he anticipated and his top edge flew high and over the slips cordon and was taken by Hussey, running back with the flight of the ball from second slip.
That wicket left Sri Lanka at 1 for 26 and gave Clarke some encouragement after he sent Sri Lanka in. Australia's two left-armers, Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson, struggled to create any real opportunities and some turn and bounce from Nathan Lyon, who bowled two overs before lunch, might have had Australia's selectors wondering about the wisdom of their decision to leave Glenn Maxwell out and include four fast men.
The inclusion of Starc for the injured Shane Watson was the only change for Australia, while Sri Lanka were forced to bring four new men in to cover for injuries. Dinesh Chandimal will keep wicket and bat at No.7 instead of Prasanna Jayawardene, who suffered a hairline fracture to his thumb in Melbourne.
Thirimanne was included as a replacement for Kumar Sangakkara, who also suffered a broken digit in the MCG Test, and had little time to acclimatise having just flown in from Sri Lanka. The same can be said of Suranga Lakmal, who has been thrust into the side in place of Shaminda Eranga, who hurt his ankle at training on match eve. There will also be an opportunity for the fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep, who has been named as a replacement for the injured Chanaka Welegedara (hamstring).
Bird strikes twice but Sri Lanka otherwise steady
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Bird strikes twice but Sri Lanka otherwise steady
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Bird strikes twice but Sri Lanka otherwise steady
