Blazing Aussies reject past to keep pace with greats

Not since the halcyon days of one of cricket's greatest ever teams has an Australian side in the subcontinent been able to score at the kind of pace seen over the first two days in Galle.

Yet even though Cameron Green's new-found sweeping ability revived memories of Matthew Hayden's monster frame being used in a similarly imposing manner two decades ago, Usman Khawaja believes his side's game-shifting onslaught against Sri Lanka stems from conventional wisdom of the not-so-distant past being rejected.

Despite only 44 overs being possible on a wet and wild second day of the Test series opener, Australia blazed 215 runs (at close to five-an-over) on what Khawaja labelled one of the toughest Test pitches he has ever played on.

It has left Sri Lanka 101 runs in arrears and put Australia in the box seat to record consecutive Test victories in Asia for the first time since 2006.

Their current run-rate of 4.53, underpinned by the efforts of Green (77 from 109 balls), Khawaja (71 from 130) and Alex Carey (45 off 47), is the fastest recorded in a single innings by an Australian team in Asia since the Mumbai Test of their famous 2001 India tour (minimum 30 overs).

It was there the Steve Waugh-led outfit recorded a record 16th consecutive Test win after racing at 4.75 runs per over in their first innings - thanks largely to Adam Gilchrist, who scored what was then the fastest hundred ever by a Test keeper - before India famously followed on in Kolkata, ended the Aussies’ streak and went on to win the series in Chennai.

All of which occurred despite Hayden sweeping his way to 549 runs at 109.80 for the series.

Of course, no one in this current Australian side is making the case to be mentioned in the same breath as that all-conquering team of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But there is a sense they have turned the corner from the days of being perplexed by the kind of extreme turn on offer in this gripping encounter in Galle.

From a bowling perspective, that shift is reflected in Sri Lanka's spin coach Piyal Wijetunge's candid admission that Nathan Lyon, who took a five-wicket haul on day one, has so far "bowled better than our bowlers".

And the fact that, on the batting front, the change is being led by the top-order's two least experienced players in Green (playing his 13th Test) and Carey (his ninth) is only adding to the cautious optimism.

"How we talk about the game and the way we play has changed a lot since I started playing for the Australian cricket team," said Khawaja, who has made no secret of his frustrations with Australia's previous strategic approach to subcontinental tours.

"We've learnt from our mistakes, guys are more trusting of their plans and able to adapt to different situations. They bat very differently to the way we do in Australia.

"When you see someone like Carey and see him sweep like that – the amount of times I got told growing up not to sweep as a youngster, every second coach (was) telling me not to do it.

"But for 'Kez' and myself it's a very natural shot. Kez plays it as well as anyone. 'Greeny' is doing it now (too) – the amount of times I've heard people say 'You're a tall bloke, just hit down the ground' – it's just the biggest bullcrap in the world.

"A player has the ability to sweep whether he's six-foot-seven or five-foot-five. It's actually more potent when you're a tall person – you saw Matthew Hayden do it in the past."

This match marks a second successive Test where Carey and Green have combined for a crucial sixth-wicket stand; in Australia's series-sealing win in Lahore in March, the duo put on 135, while they added 84 in Galle on Thursday in decidedly less batter-friendly conditions.

Not dissimilar to 2001 when Gilchrist bit the bullet on a spinning Wankhede Stadium surface and took on a Harbhajan Singh-led attack, Green and Carey's attacking intent against Sri Lanka was borne out of necessity.

But, as Khawaja notes, that aggressive approach requires skill and judgment, the kind lacking when Australia last played in Galle six years ago when they squandered the series in humiliating fashion inside three days after being rolled for 106 and 183.

That was an overall run tally Australia needed just one innings to pass on their return to the historic venue, having reached 8-313 in their first innings at stumps on day two.

"If you try and block on that wicket too often, it's good night," said Khawaja, who was dropped after that Galle Test in 2016 and later suggested he had made been made a scapegoat for Australia's defeat.

"I don't know if you can see it watching the game, but my God, that wicket is ragging. The guys are batting extremely well to get to 300. 

"I was joking with the guys today that I think we scored 230 or 240 last time we were here for the whole game, so we're one step up on that one.

"I think the wicket dictates the game. It moves so quickly in Galle. You can lose wickets in clumps and you have to score quickly as well, but you have to be able to execute that."

Khawaja had been dropped in each of the first three Test series he played in Asia, but in 11 innings on the subcontinent since 2018 he has piled on 798 runs at 88.66, including three hundreds.

In his eyes his slow start only increases the regard he holds Green in, suggesting the 23-year-old has benefited from the mistakes made and mentorship provided by senior batters including himself, Steve Smith and David Warner.

"It took a lot of courage to bat the way he batted," said Khawaja, who had a day-two partnership of 57 with Green.

"He came out and played a sweep shot straightaway. It's not easy (to do that) out there.

"The wicket is extremely tough, one of the toughest I've ever played on. I just kept trying to help him throughout his innings, trying to give him the right sort of messaging about what I thought was the right play on that wicket.

"Most of it was about intent. Then he's the one who has to actually do it and he was doing it beautifully.

"He was coming down the deck, he was sweeping, he was going back in his crease.

"Where his game is right now for a young early-20-year-old kid is great to see.

"It's well beyond where a lot of us were on the subcontinent (in our twenties).

"But that's great to see. It's actually nice to see that sort of knowledge being passed on to the guys and them taking it up at a younger age.

"That's something we didn't really have because people were still trying to find their feet with the sort of wickets we get now.

"Competing on those wickets, we really struggled. So credit to him."

Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Test squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Dinesh Chandimal, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Jeffrey Vandersay. Standby players: Dunith Wellalage, Lakshitha Rasanjana.

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. Standby players: Jon Holland, Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy

June 29 - July 3: First Test, Galle, 2.30pm AEST

July 8-12: Second Test, Galle, 2.30pm AEST

Sri Lanka v Australia Test matches will be screened live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports