A New Hope? Possibly Not.

Galle, Day 3

De Silva took the new ball immediately, and ignoring his sole seamer handed it to Peiris and Jayasuriya. Immediately batting looked a great deal harder, like the ball itself, which turned somersaults and played hide-and-seek with the bewildered batsmen. First Smith fell to Jayasuriya, edging behind to Kusal. Not that Smith did anything wrong. If you play for the spin hereabouts, the straight one will make a fool of you. The ball pitched on off-stump, requiring a stroke, and took a thin outside edge. Then poor Inglis, who had watched the partnership of 259 from the dressing room, survived just two deliveries. Trapped in front, he was saved by a thin edge. The next ball skidded on and took the stumps via an inside edge. You had to feel for the man. Perchance his injured back needs more rest anyway.

Thereafter it became a grim struggle, with both bowlers well on top. Eventually Carey, who had struggled this morning, went for his trademark sweep and for once missed it. Jayasuriya had his third for the morning and fourth for the match. Webster was joined by the debutant Connolly with the visitors suddenly 6/376 and well short of where they wanted to be. Carey (156) and Smith (131) had made it appear yesterday that they were batting on a different pitch, on a distant but friendly planet. Connolly’s first delivery from Peiris was everyone’s worst batting nightmare. It drifted in to him, leapt off the pitch like an over-excited Jack Russell and just missed the outside edge.

His fifth delivery from Jayasuriya he swept in the air to deep backward square. Unfortunately the fieldsman was a long way in from the fence and watched it sail over his head. Encouraged by this good fortune he essayed a wild slog against Peiris and sliced it to backward point. Audacity looks good when it comes off. This misadventure did not show the young man to best advantage, to say no more. Meanwhile Webster leaned on his bat at the other end and wished for someone to stay with him. He had by this point made a useful 19, using his enormous reach to smother the spin. His heart must have spun into overdrive when Starc edged his second ball straight to short leg. Nissanka clutched at it like a drowning man reaching for a lifebelt, and muffed it.

De Silva then burnt Sri Lanka’s last review on a hopelessly optimistic shout, and next ball Webster was struck on the pad again and given out. He reviewed immediately and was duly reprieved. It must be said of Joel Wilson that he has not had a good match in the white jacket. To be fair to the man, umpiring is jolly difficult when the ball is turning this much. The tail did their best, but were undone by prodigious spin: none more so than Webster, whose excellent 31 was cut short by a gigantic off-break from Ramesh Mendis which was aimed at silly point and hit the leg stump. The innings ended at 414 on the stroke of lunch, with the home side 157 behind and up against a dark and forbidding wall.

At first all went well for the visitors. Kuhnemann and Lyon reduced Sri Lanka to 3/39, including the vital wicket of Chandimal. Yet Angelo Mathews, who had been largely a spectator in the series, now took a hand. He is a super-veteran now, with over 8000 Test runs to his credit. I will make these Aussies sweat, he vowed, and did. There were useful stands with Kamindu and de Silva, but it took the arrival of the redoubtable Kusal to find somebody to stick with him. The pair put on 70 until Webster used his Inspector Gadget arms to haul in a lofted sweep. Mathews walked off, although he might have stood his ground and asked for a review; since Webster’s overenthusiastic chuck-away had been performed in mid-roll. Steve Waugh memorably did it. Mathews scorned to do any such thing. His 76 had been an innings of class, well worthy of his exalted repute.

Thereafter the tail began to crumble. Lyon and Kuhnemann did most of the bowling, and shared seven wickets between them. Webster’s off-breaks disposed of Ramesh in his opening over. Is there nothing the man cannot do? His first Test wicket came from bowling medium-fast. His second came from a looping off-spinner which bounced – it helps if you’re the height of Goliath of Gath – and Ramesh spooned it meekly to Head. Kuhnemann spun one past Jayasuriya, and by stumps the home side is eight wickets down and a mere 54 ahead. And yet. Kusal is still batting, on 48, to add to his unbeaten 85 in the first innings. He has two men left to partner him, neither with any batting pedigree. You would find few takers for a home victory at odds of less than 50 to 1. But it had been a fine day’s cricket from Sri Lanka. They began the day pretty much nowhere and clawed their way back into the match, if only by the merest thread.