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Seamer only bowled six balls in training on Wednesday due to sore elbow

George Dobell in Cape Town01-Jan-20200:37

Archer becomes injury doubt for second Test

Jofra Archer has emerged as an injury doubt for England’s second Test in South Africa.Archer, who took six wickets in the first Test, only bowled six balls in England’s training session on January 1 due to a sore elbow, raising concerns that he will not have recovered in time to play in the Cape Town Test.ALSO READ: England ‘will not be afraid’ to leave out Broad or Anderson – SilverwoodThe pitch for the Test, which starts on January 3, lacks the grass seen in Centurion and is relatively dry. As a result, England are likely to bring a spin bowler into their side. Dom Bess, the Somerset offspinner, looks in pole position to play, ahead of Jack Leach – who trained on Wednesday, but has been unwell for most of the past month – and Matt Parkinson.Jofra Archer is a fitness doubt for the second Test•Getty Images

That means that one seamer would have to miss out, with Archer’s injury suggesting he could be the most likely to do so. If he is fully recovered and fit to play – which is far from certain – the selection dilemma facing Joe Root and Chris Silverwood would probably come down to a choice between James Anderson and Stuart Broad.While Archer was expensive in the second innings at Centurion, it will be a significant blow for England if he is unavailable. He is, alongside Mark Wood, the fastest bowler in their squad and their seam attack would risk looking somewhat one-paced in his absence. The pitch is expected to prove relatively good for batting. Not only it is the first Test surface prepared by new groundsman, Ihtishaam Adams, but the local board’s finances suggest they would prefer a four or even five-day crowd.All 19 members of England’s touring party were fit enough to train, with Dom Sibley recovering quickly from the illness that has swept the camp since their arrival in South Africa.

The Bangladesh opener, who is recovering from a wrist fracture, hurt himself again during training and might not be available for the first Test against West Indies

Mohammad Isam13-Nov-2018Opener Tamim Iqbal’s return to the Bangladesh side is likely to be delayed further, after he had picked up a side strain during training on Tuesday. Tamim, who had fractured his wrist in the Asia Cup, had hoped to return to action for the first Test against West Indies, which begins on November 22 in Chittagong, but chief selector Minhajul Abedin has now said that he is in doubt.”We are still awaiting a doctor’s report on Tamim to know the extent of his injury but it now seems difficult [for him to be available for the first Test],” Minhajul told ESPNcricinfo.Tamim had returned to batting against the cricket ball in the nets earlier this week, after undergoing rehabilitation for the wrist injury. Tamim injured himself while batting during the Asia Cup opener in September.He then left to London for check-up before returning to Dhaka for rehabilitation. The Bangladesh selectors will also assess Shakib Al Hasan’s recovery from a long-standing finger injury, before naming the squad for the opening Test against West Indies.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien and offspinning allrounder Paul Stirling, though, returned from injuries

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2017Seamers Barry McCarthy, who has fractured his right thumb, and Craig Young, who is nursing an elbow injury, were ruled out of Ireland’s one-off ODI against West Indies on September 13 in Belfast. Wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien and offspinning allrounder Paul Stirling, though, returned from injuries. Left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who had missed Ireland’s Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands, also made a comeback.

Ireland’s squad for West Indies ODI

William Porterfield (capt), John Anderson, Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Jacob Mulder, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh , Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson (wk)
In (from squad for tri-series): John Anderson, Jacob Mulder, Boyd Rankin
Out: Barry McCarthy, Stuart Thompson, Craig Young

In the absence of McCarthy and Young, Peter Chase, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin are the seam options in the 14-member squad. Rankin appears set for his first ODI since June 2016. A back injury had kept Rankin out for most of Ireland’s matches this year. He had played the Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands earlier this month.Ireland’s spin department is well stacked with no less than six options, including legspinner Jacob Mulder, whose last ODI appearance came against Afghanistan in March this year. Mulder, too, was part of the Intercontinental Cup team, along with batsman John Anderson, who has not played an international for Ireland since September 2016.”It’s disappointing that both Barry and Craig are ruled out but we have other options in the seam-bowling department,” Ireland coach John Bracewell said.”On the plus side we have Paul Stirling and Niall O’Brien back from injury and that will certainly bolster the batting. George Dockrell has been in prolific form in domestic cricket and he is recalled too, which means we have no fewer than six spinning options in the squad.”Bracewell was wary of West Indies, who bounced back from a heavy innings defeat in the first Test to stun England in the second, with Shai Hope’s twin hundreds playing a big role. The return of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels also lends more depth to the side.”The West Indies showed incredible character to bounce back after losing the opening Test heavily against England, and showed just how dangerous and talented a side they truly are,” Bracewell said. “They will have double-centurion Shai Hope in their ranks for the Belfast clash, and when you add Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels into the mix then it’s a very dangerous group of players. “Ireland have recent history on their side, having chased down 305 against West Indies, during the previous clash between the two sides, in the 2015 World Cup in Nelson.Ireland squad: William Porterfield (capt), John Anderson, Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Jacob Mulder, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh , Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson (wk).

Anil Kumble has backed Virat Kohli’s aggressive approach, noting that he had been no different as a player, and adding that he would not curb anyone’s natural instincts

Shashank Kishore in Bangalore04-Jul-2016Anil Kumble, India’s new head coach, has said he will back Virat Kohli’s aggression and desire to push boundaries to secure wins. He also said India would approach tough situations positively during the long season, which starts with a four-Test series in the West Indies.”I love his aggression. I was no different,” Kumble said at the team’s pre-departure press conference in Bangalore. “I was also aggressive, but very different in terms of how I probably came across on the field. I’ll be the last person to curb someone’s natural instincts, but of course we all know how important it is to be ambassadors of India and be a part of the Indian cricket team. That everybody in the team understands. There is a fine line and we will ensure that everybody knows that. I certainly won’t curb anyone’s instincts.”Kohli, a picture of composure, wore a sheepish smile as talk of his “over aggression” did the rounds, but insisted that India’s mindset change wasn’t one-off, and that it was something they planned when he took over the reins of the Test team in January 2015.”Our first intention is to win – that won’t change,” he said. “Yes, there have been situations from where we’ve lost, but we know we were in that position because of the positive brand of cricket that we played.” The reference, clearly not lost on anyone, was the Adelaide Test in December 2014, which India lost trying to chase down 364 on the final day.”We need to realise we got there in the first place because we played at 80%, so the focus is on the remaining 20%. Anil ‘s mindset was the same during his playing days, so the mindset makes a difference. If you are hesitant, you don’t explore a different side to your ability as a team. Our motive is the same. We will play with the same mindset of trying to win the series and not just being satisfied with solitary Test wins.”As a follow-up, Kohli was asked about Test rankings, which he said were merely a byproduct of consistent cricket, and not the team’s primary aim. “High standards have different definitions,” he said. “The main goal is to play good cricket. Even if we’re No. 1 and someone else does better, there’s a chance they can overtake you. So that’s not our aim. The season is long, and we’re playing the same format over a length of time. So there’s an opportunity to use this stretch to challenge ourselves. That will give us a chance to assess ourselves and will determine how we play Test cricket over the next few years.”Where Kohli felt the team had benefited most during the week-long camp in Bangalore was in the players’ personal interactions with Kumble and the manner in which he may have broken down barriers within the group.”We haven’t had too many camps before, but I feel there’s already a lot that the team has benefited from,” Kohli said. “If you have experience of facing different situations in the past, you are better equipped. Understanding of skills and understanding of mindset are two different things. Mindset can’t be taught, but it comes only when you have faced tough situations, and that’s one big difference.”The information we’ve got from him about mental adjustments needed to win has been a big boost. He’s been more than willing to speak to everyone equally – the pacers, spinners, batsmen – and address their concerns. There’s an emotional connect with the coach, no doubt, but it’s about how he makes the players feel comfortable. That’s what I believe.”Anil has all those qualities in abundance. There’s huge respect within the group for what he’s achieved and also because he’s been Test captain. He understands that and makes them comfortable, so I feel the combination has settled in beautifully. He’s been involved with the players in some way or the other throughout.”Kohli brushed aside concerns over an elbow injury sustained by R Ashwin while batting during the camp, saying he had only suffered a bruise.When asked about Mohammed Shami’s return to the Test side for the first time since recovering from a long-term knee injury, Kohli enthused about his ability to generate reverse-swing. The skill was on display on his debut against West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where he returned match figures of 9 for 118 – the best figures by an Indian fast bowler on Test debut.”Shami is a skillful guy, we all know that. The way he bowls, the way he releases the ball, pitches the ball, it’s more or less perfect for Test cricket,” Kohli said. “The lines and lengths he bowls are always attacking. The best thing is when it’s seaming and swinging, he can bowl conventional lines and lengths. If it’s reverse-swinging, he knows exactly where to bring in the ball from. He has a great sense and feel of how to get batsmen out. We have been working with him on the mental strength aspect of his game. More consistency is something we push for him.”He’s eager to prove himself and come back after injury. We’ve seen when West Indies came to India in 2013, how he brought out his reverse-swing skills. Even in Adelaide in one of the sessions he brought us back into the game with two wickets. So he’s always someone on whom we can bank in terms of picking wickets. In short bursts, if you want a good attacking spell, Shami can deliver that for you. He’s got pace, a great bouncer – so he’s someone we always back because he knows he can take two-three wickets for us at any stage. I’m glad to have him back.”

Glamorgan took a strong grip over Derbyshire at Chesterfield despite another four wicket haul from England fast bowling hopeful Mark Footitt

ECB/PA07-Jul-2015
ScorecardMark Footitt picked up three wickets on day two•PA Photos

Glamorgan took a strong grip over Derbyshire at Chesterfield despite another four wicket haul from England fast bowling hopeful Mark Footitt. National Selector James Whitaker was at Queen’s Park for the second day running to watch the left-arm paceman but it was Glamorgan’s batsmen who caught the eye as they scored more than 66% of their 410 for 9 declared in boundaries with former Derbyshire allrounder Graham Wagg making 62 from 64 balls.Wagg was one of four Glamorgan batsmen to pass 50 but Derbyshire responded well to reach 122 for 2 at the close, 288 runs behind with Billy Godleman unbeaten on 49 from 119 balls.Derbyshire needed a response after bowling poorly on the first evening but Colin Ingram was the only wicket to fall in a morning session reduced to 45 minutes by rain. The South African looked set for his maiden Championship century for Glamorgan until he tried to cut Footitt for his 20th boundary but carved the ball into the hands of deep-backward point.Craig Meschede passed 50 in the Championship for the fourth time this season and Derbyshire added to their problems when they dropped catches off consecutive balls. Shiv Thakor spilled a return chance when Meschede was on 60 and Godleman failed to hold on when Wagg edged Footitt to third slip when he had scored only 7.Dropping a player who had scored a double century and 94 in his previous two Championship games was always likely to prove costly and Wagg duly enjoyed himself again, driving Wes Durston’s offspin for successive sixes to reach 50 from 62 balls. Tom Taylor defeated another drive to uproot his off stump but Wagg and Lloyd had put on 87 in only 14 overs and Glamorgan continued to prosper from too many “four” balls to the extent that maximum batting points arrived in the 78th over.The declaration came nine balls after tea leaving Derbyshire with 40 overs to negotiate before the close and Godleman and Hamish Rutherford looked comfortable until a run out lifted Glamorgan. Godleman turned the ball into the leg side and called Rutherford through for a single but Ruaidhri Smith swooped on the ball in his follow through and hit the stumps with the New Zealander short of his ground.When Chesney Hughes played across one in Smith’s next over, Derbyshire were wobbling but skipper Wayne Madsen survived a dropped catch on 17 to help steer his side to within 139 runs of the follow-on target of 261 although Glamorgan are well placed to push for what would be a record fifth consecutive championship victory.”I think we are still on top, unfortunately we put down a chance tonight and there is a lot of work to be done,” Wagg said. “But there’s a lot still in the wicket so if we put the ball in the right areas we should pick up some wickets in the morning.”Rutherford added: “The first hour is key tomorrow and if we can get through the first 30 overs and only lose one that would be ideal to get back into it the game.”

On the eve of the first Test in Hobart, Mahela Jayawardene backed his bowlers in the face of staunch criticism, but maintained it was his batsmen who would need to deliver a maiden win on Australian soil

Andrew Fernando in Hobart13-Dec-2012Sri Lanka’s XI for the first Test in Hobart features the two major components of a team at different ends of the experience spectrum. The top five has an opener playing his second match, but the other four men have 409 Tests to their name, and have hit 89 hundreds between them. None of the pace bowlers, meanwhile, has yet played 20 Tests or taken 50 wickets. On the eve of the first Test in Hobart, Mahela Jayawardene backed his bowlers in the face of staunch criticism, but maintained it was his batsmen who would need to deliver a maiden win on Australian soil.Former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg has been the most combative critic of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, declaring the visiting fast men comprise the “worst new-ball attack that has landed on our shores ever”. Others have been less caustic in their appraisal of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, but have also been skeptical of the visitors’ chances of taking 20 wickets in a Test, despite having one of 2012’s top wicket-takers in their ranks in Rangana Herath.”To be honest I don’t know in which capacity he has said that,” Jayawardene said. “Teams have to start somewhere. We have lost some fast bowlers in the past and some due to injuries.”This is an attack that is different. We probably don’t have the pace which you think which is required to win Test matches in Australia but we’ve got guys who will bowl good lines and lengths and create opportunities. If we keep to that I think we stand a good chance. We’ll see. We’ve got three Test matches to play. Once we finish that, I’ll have a chat to Rodney Hogg.”Jayawardene challenged his batsmen to rebound from a poor series against New Zealand, in which none of them made triple-figures, and only three men went past 50. Encouraging signs of form emerged from Sri Lanka’s tour match in Canberra, with Tillakaratne Dilshan making a ton and Kumar Sangakkara notching up a fifty, after having had his worst series ever against New Zealand.”We’ll bank on our experience with our batting to win a Test match. The important thing is to put runs on the board and give our bowlers a chance to get 20 wickets. If we achieve that, I think we have a pretty good chance. Looking at the wicket, both teams will have a challenge on their hands because we don’t know how the wicket is going to play. Depending on that, we need to adjust.”Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne are two men who arrived in Australia in some form, and Jayawardene also put faith in them to play a role in the first Test. Mathews’ 210 runs was by far Sri Lanka’s highest returns from a single batsman in the series, eclipsing the efforts of Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Dilshan combined, while Karunaratne’s run-a-ball 60 in Galle saw him earn a place in the squad to Australia. Jayawardene confirmed Karunaratne’s place in the XI, with him having also made enough runs in the tour match to displace Tharanga Paranavitana.”Angelo has improved a lot over the years. Every time he’s been challenged he’s come out of those challenges very well. Definitely at No.6 6, he has given us that little bit extra of what we’ve been looking for: an aggressive player who can score quickly and change a game for us. With the ball he’s contributed as well. Yes he is going to play a big role in these Test matches.”Jayawardene also marked Phil Hughes out as a possible soft target for Sri Lanka’s bowlers, as Hughes attempts to embed himself in the Australian side after a year out of the team. Hughes’ last Test had also been at Bellerive Oval, where he completed a quartet of near-identical caught-behinds off Chris Martin.”We’ve spoken to a few people and we’ve seen a lot of footage of Hughes lately as well. We know where his strengths are now and what he’s trying to do. If we keep bowling where we want him to be playing at consistently, we probably can get him to make a few mistakes.”

The ECB remains fully committed to ensuring the Test Championship comes to fruition

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's24-Nov-2011The ECB remains fully committed to ensuring the Test Championship comes to fruition after initial hopes of staging an inaugural event in England during 2013 were scuppered by the ICC’s current broadcast deal.Earlier this month Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, confirmed that a Test Championship won’t take place until at least 2017 due to the commitment in the current TV rights package with ESPN STAR Sports for a Champions Trophy tournament in the 2013 season.”We are building towards the Test Championship in 2017,” David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said. “I’m very confident it will form part of the calendar in that year.”It is common knowledge that we were the main advocates for the Test Championship and we still believe that very strongly,” he added. “We recognise the challenges when you already have contracts in place for the 2013 season but remain fervent in our support for the Test Championship and we’ll be pushing very hard to make sure in happens in the future.”I don’t think the interest in Test cricket has ever been higher in this country. I realise there are challenges elsewhere in the world but in this country it is still the true test of a cricketer.”England are one of the few Test nations where the game is healthy both on the field and in the stands and Collier’s remarks came on the day that the ECB announced a 10-year title sponsorship for the Test game with Investec. Andrew Strauss, the England Test captain, has previously voiced his concerns about the future of the five-day game and again warned that it would be dangerous for the English game to become complacent because crowds remain strong on home soil.The recent series between South Africa and Australia produced thrilling cricket but was never played in front of a full stadium over the two Tests, while the current contests between India and West Indies have been greeted by poor attendances – although the Sachin Tendulkar effect is having an impact in Mumbai.”I’d hate to think that anyone is arrogant enough to assume that it will always be around. I don’t think that is the case,” Strauss said. “I’m buoyed by what great support there is for the game in this country but I’m quite aware that in other parts of the world it is less so. We are in a fortunate position here, but administrators all around the world need to keep working on the product.”It’s important to market the game as well as possible. In a lot of ways in the past we’ve just relied on Test cricket always being around. Now we’ve got to knock our heads together and work out what the best way is to get people watching Test cricket. There’s a fairly strong argument saying that using one-day and T20 cricket to feed through can work. But I also think that added context to Test cricket is important, not just through bilateral series but playing for something greater whether it be the World Test Championship or something similar.”Administrators are also coming under pressure to back up their talk of defending Test cricket with actions. The delay to the Test Championship, the two-match series between South Africa and Australia and next year’s three-match contest involving England and South Africa are cited as examples to show administrators aren’t seriousHowever, Collier insisted there is a balancing act to strike so that the ten Test nations all remain viable rather than it becoming a game for a few elite teams. “If you always played five Test series you’d end up not playing some countries at all and ending up with three or four Test nations wouldn’t be good for cricket as a whole. It’s good that we are able to protect a number of nations.”If we play five Tests against one side [in a summer] we play two against the other,” he added. “We aren’t playing Zimbabwe or Bangladesh at home in this FTP cycle, they are just away series, so it means the two-Test series will be against the likes of New Zealand and Sri Lanka. It’s very important when we got back there, for example to New Zealand, that they have three Test matches so we have to help those countries as well.”

David Hussey has not given up on his ambition of playing Test cricket, despite losing his Cricket Australia contract during the off-season

Brydon Coverdale07-Oct-2010David Hussey has not given up on his ambition of playing Test cricket, despite losing his Cricket Australia contract during the off-season. Although the incumbent Test No. 6 Marcus North is wobbling, time is against Hussey, who at 33 is already three years older than his brother Michael was when he made his long-awaited Test debut back in 2005.But while younger men such as Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson are on the selection panel’s radar, Hussey continues to pile up runs at domestic level. He was the leading run scorer in the Sheffield Shield last summer and he hopes that if he can repeat the effort this season he might make the selectors think again.”I still think there’s a massive opportunity to play Test cricket and one-day cricket for Australia,” Hussey told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve done reasonably well in Twenty20 cricket so hopefully that stands me in good stead for one-day selection. In terms of Test cricket, all I can do is keep making runs and hopefully become the leading run scorer in Sheffield Shield cricket again.”Despite a formidable first-class record of more than 11,000 runs at an average in the mid-50s, Hussey is often pigeon-holed as a limited-overs specialist. It’s a description he has always disliked, although for the time being Twenty20 is the only format in which he is part of Australia’s side.However, Hussey’s most recent one-day international appearance resulted in a century against Scotland last August, and he is hopeful of a return to the 50-over squad. He is one of several fringe ODI batsmen aiming for a place in Australia’s World Cup title defence next February, after he was a key player in helping Australia reach the ICC World Twenty20 final earlier this year.”It’s the ultimate in one-day cricket, playing against the best in a World Cup,” Hussey said. “For me, I desperately want to be part of it. I’ve never been part of a World Cup before, so I know I want to put every foot right to gain selection.”

The Indian batting machine is in prime form, but the shoddy fielding has captain MS Dhoni worried

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009

Dhoni defends flat tracks

After a glut of runs in the Tests and Twenty20s against Sri Lanka, the first one-dayer in Rajkot also turned out be a bowler’s nightmare raising questions over the quality of pitches in India, but MS Dhoni defended the curators.
“Wickets are not easy to prepare. You try to get a good wicket and it turns out to be a flat one,” he said. “The Kanpur Test the wicket was flat but still the game ended one and a half days’ before schedule. In the last four games the wickets have been consistent and batter-friendly. It’s easy to criticise preparation of wickets.”

The Indian batting machine is in prime form, but the shoddy fielding has captain MS Dhoni worried. Three chances were grassed by India during Sri Lanka’s spirited pursuit of 415 in the first ODI in Rajkot. That added to some appalling fielding in the two Twenty20s took the dropped catches’ tally to 12, over 90 overs of limited-overs cricket in one week. And then there were the missed run-outs.”We were fielding well in patches and not dropping catches at the international level,” Dhoni said in Nagpur ahead of Friday’s second ODI. “You may drop the odd difficult catch but straightforward chances need to be taken. In the last three-four games we have dropped a lot of regulation catches. Of course it bothers me.”At the same time it will be solved at some point because of the effort that we are putting in. We are hoping we don’t drop catches in this game.”India did hold their nerve in the field towards the end of the Rajkot game, when Sri Lanka needed only 15 runs in the final two overs. Two run-outs in the penultimate over and a Sachin Tendulkar catch off the third-last delivery helped India edge home by three runs.The bowling from Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra at the death, another facet where India haven’t excelled, came in for praise from Dhoni. “It was one of the best in the past year. I have always said we had not been very consistent with the death bowling,” he said. “In the last game, in the last five overs we gave away only 27 runs. It was a very good effort.”Ashish bowled five overs in a row. There was a bit of reverse-swing going, which actually helped us a bit.”Dhoni said that on superb batting tracks like in Rajkot, the key is to stop singles. “Normally you don’t get wickets like that. It was not a big ground with the straight boundary not more than 60-65 yards. Since the wicket was so nice, it was easy for the batsmen to clear the field. It’s important not to give easy singles.”Looking ahead to the second one-dayer in Nagpur, Dhoni said he expected another run-fest. India racked up 354 when they played Australia in an ODI last month, and 401 runs were scored in the Twenty20 against Sri Lanka last week. “In the last T20 game here there was good bounce. The wicket for the match looks like good and flat. I had a conversation with the curator.”

Australia took firm control of the second Test with a pair of outstanding centuries as Sri Lanka’s attack struggled

Tristan Lavalette07-Feb-2025Seemingly having a ball experimenting with the reverse sweep, Steven Smith’s mastery in Asia continued and he combined with a dashing Alex Carey to defy a sharp-turning, deteriorating Galle surface as Australia grabbed firm control of the second Test.The game was in the balance when Australia were 91 for 3 just after lunch on day two in reply to Sri Lanka’s first-innings of 257. But stand-in skipper Smith and Carey produced an unbroken 239-run partnership to deflate a Sri Lankan team staring down the barrel of a hefty series defeat.Carey was fluent from the get go and motored past a tiring Smith by stumps as Australia build a sizeable first innings lead on a very dry surface.Smith reached his 36th Test century in style with a boundary in the final session on day two and raised his baggy green before nodding several times to his team-mates in the terraces. He broke a couple of Australian records in Asia along the way having overtaken Ricky Ponting for most runs and his seventh ton lifted him past Allan Border.Steven Smith brought out the rarely-seen reverse sweep during his faultless hundred•Getty Images

After a few modest years by his lofty standards, Smith has rewound the clock in recent months having now scored four centuries in his last eight Test innings. Always looking to add to his repertoire, Smith dusted off rarely used reverse sweeps and, while not always effective, it did give Sri Lanka more to think about.Smith might have been inspired by watching Carey, who swept – orthodox and reverse – almost flawlessly as he sped to his second Test century. Fittingly, Carey reached his ton with a sweep to the boundary as he raised his arms aloft to cap his strong form in recent months.It was a significant moment for Carey, who had previously in Sri Lanka and India come under scrutiny for his compulsive use of the sweep. His sublime innings also included quick footwork and brute power as he repeatedly thumped the spinners straight down the ground.Carey batted for the first time in his Test career at No. 5 with Josh Inglis having spent a significant period off the field in Sri Lanka’s innings because of back spasms. But Carey was more than comfortable in a position he occupies for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield.It was a major disappointment for Sri Lanka, who went wicketless for almost the entirety of the final two sessions. Their spinners occasionally produced sharp turn, but were unable to sustain the pressure and appeared out of answers as the day wore on.Alex Carey celebrates his second Test century•Getty Images

Offspinner Nishan Peiris was their most threatening bowler in a good bounceback after he was ineffective in the first Test with 0 for 189 off 41 overs and deemed fortunate to retain his spot over legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay. He turned the ball square at times and almost clean-bowled Smith just before tea with a fizzing offbreak that narrowly missed the top of the stumps.But Sri Lanka perhaps will rue not selecting Vandersay after his promising performance in the first Test, while talisman Prabath Jayasuriya lacked bite after a promising start and he resorted at times to a defensive leg-stump line to Smith.Sri Lanka had begun with optimism at the start of Australia’s innings. There was intrigue over whether Sri Lanka’s spinners would take the new ball, but lone quick Lahiru Kumara started and opener Travis Head enjoyed the pace with three early boundaries. Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva surprisingly decided to share the new ball having not bowled in the first Test due to a side strain.Head rattled along at a run-a-ball until on 21 he used his feet to Peiris but was outdone by turn, and a thick edge was taken at slip.All eyes were then on Marnus Labuschagne, who only made 20 off 50 balls in Australia’s massive 654 for 6 declared in the series-opener. Having not scored a Test century since the 2023 Ashes tour, pressure is mounting on Labuschagne with his spot for this match attracting some attention.He started well with a first-ball boundary through the covers, but he didn’t add any further runs and fell in the next over when he was trapped lbw by Jayasuriya in a decision overturned on review. Jayasuriya slid a fuller delivery that beat a tentative Labuschagne on the back foot. Labuschagne looked despondent when his fate was sealed and he trudged off the field.Smith, wearing his baggy green, had a nervous start with a big lbw shout from Jayasuriya turned down as Sri Lanka burnt a review. But Smith countered the sharp spin by skipping down the pitch while Usman Khawaja unfurled the reverse sweep just like he did in his double-century last week.Nishan Peiris had Usman Khawaja lbw and the game was in the balance at 91 for 3•Getty Images

They blunted the spinners as Australia reached lunch well placed at 85 for 2. The game sparked to life on resumption with Smith given out lbw by umpire Joel Wilson after a low Peiris delivery struck him under the knee roll. But Smith quickly reviewed and his confidence was justified with the ball hitting him well outside the line.Moments later, Wilson was again quick to raise the finger but this time he was vindicated with Khawaja plumb lbw on 36 after he tried to pull Peiris only to misjudge the line and length.But Sri Lanka’s bid for more inroads came to a halt and they failed to put enough pressure on Carey, whose confidence grew as he slog swept offspinner Ramesh Mendis for six.Smith brought up his half-century in style with a boundary as the runs continued to flow through to tea apart from when Jayasuriya restored to a leg-stump line. After the interval, Smith and Carey continued to score at ease as they tapped the ball around for singles with the field well spread as if it was the middle overs of an ODI.After reaching his century, Smith appeared to be flagging amid the oppressive humidity and he dropped anchor as Carey took over to reach his landmark in fine fashion.Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka finished with what appeared a competitive first-innings total after Kusal Mendis and No. 11 Kumara added 28 runs in the first 30 minutes of the day’s play. Mendis was left stranded on 85 but had spearheaded Sri Lanka’s recovery from 150 for 6.Australia’s three specialist bowlers Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann did the bulk of the heavy lifting and picked up three wickets apiece.