Sri Lanka v Australia Second Test, Day Two Report Card

Featuring a flurry of synonyms, keeping company with legends and memory lapses

A Flurry of Synonyms
Grade: D

A flurry of wickets in the first session of the second day (at least, I think it was a ‘flurry’. It might have been a ‘spate’ or a ‘rush’, but we’ll go with ‘flurry’ for now) gave way to almost two sessions of wicket spatelessness as Steve Smith and Alex Carey took this game by the scruff (or maybe the ‘nape’?) of the neck, combining for a double century (or ‘hundred’) partnership that put Australia well ahead (‘in front’) by stumps (‘the end of play for the day’).

After Matt Kuhnemann belatedly took the final Sri Lanka wicket, the home side might well have been satisfied with their first innings total of 257. Tricky pitch. Taking more and more spin. Game on, especially when Travis Head was out for just 21 and Marnus Labuschagne was trapped LBW for four.

Smith was also given out LBW, but it was by umpire Joel Wilson, so he successfully reviewed it. (I’m still waiting for somebody to invent a ‘Joel, you need to change your decision’ t-shirt.) But when Usman Khawaja was so plumb a couple of overs later that not even Joel could get it wrong, Carey joined Smith out in the middle, batting at number five.

‘Why isn’t Josh Inglis batting?’ was Smith’s first question.

‘His back,’ came Carey’s reply.

‘His back?’

‘Yeah, he’s back in the pavilion behind me where he belongs,’ snorted Carey, distorting ‘his’ into ‘he’s’ for the purpose of the insult, before his face softened and he clarified. ‘But seriously, he hurt his back and was off the field for long enough that he’s not eligible to bat yet, so I’m out here instead. I hope that’s okay.’

Keeping Company With Legends
Grade: B+

Smith didn’t care. For some reason he’s decided to revert to being a batting genius again. Honestly, it was kind of a weird decision to stop, but who knows how the man’s mind works.

Regardless, for the fourth time in his last five Tests, Smith proceeded to score a century, looking utterly untroubled by anything the Sri Lanka attack could throw at him, batting in a baggy green, needlessly reverse sweeping when he got bored, and taking his overall tally of Test match tons to 36.

In the process, he also finished the day with his Test batting average back to precisely 57.00, away from the shameful 56-point-something crowd of Hobbs, Walcott and Hutton, and back alongside Sobers and Sangakkara.

A blessed relief. Next goal? Re-entering the 58-point-somethings and shaking statistical hands once more with legends of the calibre of Hammond, Weekes, Barrington and Harry Brook.

Memory Lapses
Grade: B-