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Uzzie & Smith dominate hosts on Day 1 | 03:24
Sri Lanka was left to rue several missed chances in the field as veterans Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith put Australia in a dominant position at stumps on day one of the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy series opener in Galle.
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Australia was 2-330 when rain forced a premature end to play, with Khawaja (147*) and Smith (104*) unbeaten overnight following an unbeaten 195-run partnership for the third wicket.
Opener Travis Head blasted a 35-ball fifty, the equal sixth-fastest half-century by an Australian in Tests, before the experienced duo of Khawaja and Smith set about heaping pain on Sri Lanka’s spinners.
The first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia resume on Thursday at 3.15pm AEDT.
AUSSIE SELECTORS ‘VINDICATED’ AS GAMBLE PAYS OFF
Travis Head’s previous Test tour of Sri Lanka was a nightmare.
The South Australian, batting in the middle order, scored 23 runs at 7.67 across two matches, falling to spin in each innings.
An apparent weakness had been exposed. Eight months later, Head was dropped for Australia’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener in India, with Peter Handscomb recalled in a horses-for-courses selection.
However, an elbow injury to opener David Warner forced Australia to make a change at the top of the order, with Head taking his place and finishing the low-scoring series with 223 runs at 55.75 as a makeshift opener.
Fast forward two years, Australia arrived in Sri Lanka last week with a conundrum. Head had cemented himself as one of Test cricket’s most destructive middle-order batters, but the temptation of throwing him back up the order at the expense of teenage prodigy Sam Konstas was difficult to ignore.
Ultimately, national selectors took a gamble and promoted Head to opener for the first Test in Galle – a decision that quickly paid dividends.
The left-hander, opening alongside Usman Khawaja, got Australia’s campaign off to a rapid start by cracking three boundaries in the opening over, heaping pressure on Sri Lanka’s bowlers.
Having switched to white-ball mode, Head whipped out a flurry of sweeps, cuts and lofted drives, at one stage muscling Sri Lankan spinner Nishan Peiris over mid-wicket for six.
The 31-year-old’s footwork was exceptional, dancing around the crease to throw Sri Lanka’s spinners off their lengths, a stark contrast to three years ago when he was flat-footed and hesitant.
Head’s aggressive approach also took the pressure off Khawaja, who settled into his innings without any scoreboard pressure, with the duo combining for a 92-run partnership, Australia’s highest opening stand in Sri Lanka since 1999.
“There would have been a lot of discussion around this move back home in Australia given that Konstas had played the role beautifully against India,” former Test batter Simon Katich said in commentary.
“They put him at the top of the order to put Sri Lanka under pressure right from the word go.
“It vindicated for the Australian hierarchy (decision) to send Head to the top of the order.
“It was a tough call on Sam Konstas … but in these conditions they wanted to maximise Travis Head’s match-winning ability.
“He was brutal against anything that was pitched up. It was a wonderful knock that got Australia off to a flyer.”
Head currently averages 56.00 as a Test opener, albeit with a small sample size, but it’s a role he may continue fulfilling whenever Australia tours Asia over the coming years.
Highest Test batting average among Australian openers
71.38 – Sid Barnes
56.00 – Travis Head
55.51 – Bob Simpson
55.28 – Michael Hussey
54.17 – Bill Ponsford
* Minimum six innings
KHAWAJA’S 14-YEAR REDEMPTION AFTER DROUGHT-BREAKING TON
Australian opener Usman Khawaja was perhaps feeling a little bit of pressure heading into the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy.
The left-hander had not scored a Test hundred since the 2023 Ashes campaign in England, failing to reach triple figures in 33 consecutive innings and averaging 30.70 during that period.
Having recently celebrated his 38th birthday, Khawaja indicated his desire to continue playing Test cricket until at least the end of next summer’s Ashes series. However, following an underwhelming home season against India, where he contributed 184 runs at 20.44, the Queenslander was suddenly at risk of copping a tap on the shoulder.
Luckily for Khawaja, there weren’t any openers bashing the door down at domestic level, while his recent Test record in Asia meant he was a certainty to play in Sri Lanka this week.
And on day one of the series opener in Galle, he silenced any lingering critics.
After a patient start against the new ball, Khawaja picked up the tempo with a handful of sweeps, both conventional and reverse. He passed fifty in 71 deliveries before racing towards triple figures, reaching the milestone with a well-timed nudge through fine leg.
Khawaja’s 16th Test hundred wasn’t his flashiest or most elegant — he was dropped on multiple occasions, with Sri Lanka also neglecting to review a caught-behind chance he feathered through to wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis.
But otherwise, Khawaja looked to be in complete control at the crease, playing the ball under his eyeline and nudging into gaps with ease.
The drought-breaking performance adds another chapter to Khawaja’s 14-year redemption story in the subcontinent, having played his first Test in Sri Lanka in 2011. The left-hander averaged 14.62 across his first five Tests in Asia, which included a horror tour of Sri Lanka in 2016, leading to his controversial axing ahead of the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign in India.
However, since the start of 2018, Khawaja has compiled 1342 Test runs at 83.87 in the subcontinent, including five hundreds in 12 matches. Having added sweeps and reverse laps to his repertoire, he’s no longer a sitting duck on a spinning wicket.
Meanwhile, only two Australians have scored more Test hundreds in Asia – Smith and the legendary Allan Border.
SPIN TO WIN ON BREWING RAGING TURNER
Jeffrey Vandersay’s first delivery of the Galle Test took everyone by surprise.
Pitching outside leg stump, the ball spun viciously off the deck and evaded Marnus Labuschagne’s outside edge before missing off stump by a whisker. The Sri Lankan leggie had come within inches of producing a contender for ball of the century.
It’s no secret that Galle International Stadium has been conducive for spin over the past few years, but Vandersay’s magical delivery indicated that this deck could become a raging turner in the coming days.
Thankfully, both teams came prepared.
Sri Lanka and Australia selected three strike spinners for the series opener, with the tourists leaving out seamer Scott Boland, who claimed career-best figures at the SCG earlier this month, in favour of tweakers Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann.
Victorians were left fuming at Boland’s omission, but it could prove the right call — on Wednesday, seamer Asitha Fernando finished with figures of 0-41 from seven overs as Sri Lanka’s spinners carried the workload.
Although Australia’s batters dominated day one in Galle, Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers will become more influential as the match progresses. Since the start of 2022, local spinners have averaged 52.45 in the first innings of Test matches at Galle compared to 22.58 in the third innings.
With the pitch expected to deteriorate dramatically over the next 48 hours, Australia’s first-innings runs could prove crucial.
Meanwhile, Vandersay’s impressive performance may have left national selectors questioning whether they should have included a leg-spinner in the touring party. Adam Zampa, Mitchell Swepson and Tanveer Sangha were each ignored in favour of finger spinners, a decision that could come under the microscope if Australia doesn’t win the series.
Sri Lankan Test spinners in Galle since 2022
52.45 – 1st innings
22.64 – 2nd innings
22.58 – 3rd innings
29.86 – 4th innings
CAPTAIN SMITH ‘ON ANOTHER LEVEL’
With incumbent captain Pat Cummins unavailable for Warne–Muralitharan Trophy, Steve Smith was tasked with leading his country for the Sri Lanka tour.
It marked a significant moment for the New South Welshman, who for the first time since the Cape Town sandpaper scandal had been named Australian captain for a Test series.
Captaincy brings out the best in Steve Smith, it always has. During his Test career, he has averaged 68.46 as skipper compared to 50.67 when not captaining.
And that trend continued on day one in Galle, with Smith celebrating his 35th Test hundred along with his 10,000th run in the format.
It was his third century in four Tests, having reached triple figures against India in Brisbane and Melbourne last month.
After a worrying 18-month century drought, Smith is well and truly back.
“He’s been on another level,” former Sri Lankan cricketer Russel Arnold said on SEN commentary.
Smith, who spent most of his innings donning a baggy green, should have been back in the sheds before lunch, having slapped his third delivery back to Sri Lankan spinner Prabath Jayasuriya,= who dropped a low return chance.
It proved a costly mistake. You don’t give a champion like Smith an extra life at the crease.
Smith was faultless for the remainder of his knock, proving once again why he’s considered one of Australia’s greatest players of spin.
And if he can carry this form through to the World Test Championship final at Lord’s, South Africa doesn’t stand a chance.
Highest batting average among Test captains
68.46 – Steve Smith (AUS)
59.11 – Mahela Jayawardene (SL)
58.80 – Garry Sobers (WI)
58.72 – Graham Gooch (ENG)
57.83 – Brian Lara (WI)
* Minimum 25 matches
BACKLASH TO ‘RIDICULOUS’ KONSTAS CALL
“Oh yeah mate, no stress. I get it.”
Sam Konstas’ response to being informed of his omission for the Test series opener in Galle spoke to his maturity.
The teenager burst onto the scene last month with a dazzling Boxing Day half-century at the MCG, helping Australia win back the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 3-1 series triumph. He became a household name courtesy of his on-field antics and extravagant strokeplay, averaging 28.25 with the bat across the series.
However, in a horses-for-courses selection, Konstas was dropped for the first Test against Sri Lanka to make way for Travis Head at the top of the order.
The decision was met with heavy backlash – speaking on Channel 7, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting declared: “I don’t like it, to be honest. I just expected that Konstas would play and would open the batting.
“I think there is a real missed opportunity for the Australians here to get to learn a bit more about Konstas. If he is the player we all think he is, I would have loved to have seen him work out a way to play spin in tough conditions in Sri Lanka over the next couple of weeks.”
Former Test bowler Stuart Clark continued on ABC: “Konstas had one of the most remarkable debuts of all time.
“I can’t see why you’d leave him out of the team. I find it ridiculous … he’s not gonna get any better unless he plays.”
Australia’s Sam Konstas. Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFPSource: AFPKonstas’ lack of experience in the subcontinent contributed to the decision, which proved a masterstroke when Head’s flashy half-century got Australia off to a flying start on day one in Galle.
Ultimately, the national selectors stuck to the plan and picked a starting XI that they believed would help Australia win its first Test series in Sri Lanka since 2011.
Konstas’ Test career is in its infancy. He’s still a work in progress. His time will come.
Winning was deemed more important than blooding youth.
“Leaving Sammy out was a very difficult thing,” national selector Tony Dodemaide told reporters in the Galle media box.
“There was a long discussion there. We feel though that he’s on a remarkable journey. He’s a hugely talented player, hasn’t played a lot in this part of the world, but he’ll learn quickly obviously.
“His game will develop, we’re confident of that, we feel he’s got a massive future in the game, but for this Test and this series here, we thought the structure with Heady at the top was going to work better for us.”
Following Wednesday morning’s cap presentation for debutant Josh Inglis, Konstas embraced every member of the West Australian’s family. The kid’s pure class.
