Proactive Green, Carey hand Aussies healthy lead

Emerging middle-order dynamos Cameron Green and Alex Carey helped Australia seize the upper hand against Sri Lanka on a rain-shortened second day of the first Test that started and finished in dramatic fashion.

Building on the early work of reborn opener Usman Khawaja (71), Green (77) and Carey (45) launched stirring rearguards on an increasingly dicey Galle surface to take the Aussies from a position of peril to one of strength.

That turnaround was as swift as the morning winds that had wreaked havoc at the coast-side cricket ground, delaying the start of play until the early afternoon.

When Carey joined Green at the crease, Australia were still trailing the hosts by 55 runs.

Less than 90 minutes later, the pair had changed the game and given their side a 29-run lead, an advantage that was extended to 101 when bad light was called and an early stumps signalled after only 44 overs of play for the day.

That was not before Pat Cummins launched three enormous sixes off debutant leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, the last sailing out of the ground and landing on the road not far from the ramparts of the fort that towers over the iconic venue.

Cummins (26no) and Nathan Lyon (8no) will resume on Friday with the tourists 8-313.

For a second consecutive Test, Australia's new six-seven combination ensured the kind of subcontinental crumble that had become all too familiar in recent years never eventuated.

Having put on a crucial 135 for the sixth wicket in Lahore in the Aussies' series-sealing win over Pakistan in March, Green and Carey added 84 on Thursday in even more trying circumstances.

A difficult early stumping chance fluffed by Niroshan Dickwella aside, Green hardly put a foot wrong and defied the conditions to play a fluent hand.

His intent to not be bogged down was apparent throughout; not through particularly aggressive stoke play, but in the use of his feet and elongated stride from the very first ball he faced.

Image Id: 73B8EA09A4E54F98987387B3E2B04F92 Image Caption: Green cuts hard on his way to a valuable 77 on day two // SLC

However, a Test century remains elusive – Ramesh Mendis (4-107) capped a strong day-two effort with the ball by dismissing the tall allrounder lbw for 77 – with Green having now been dismissed within 26 runs of a ton on five occasions in his 19 Test innings to date.

Like his wicketkeeping counterpart Dickwella had done the previous day, Carey swept and reverse swept his way to a vital score and didn't score a single run down the ground against spin.

In fact, his first attempt to do so brought about his downfall, as he skied a lofted drive off Mendis and was caught by Dinesh Chandimal running back from mid-off.

Mendis was a constant threat but Sri Lanka's spin brigade otherwise underwhelmed and has so far failed to bowl a single maiden.

The teams had arrived to dramatic scenes in the morning as heavy gusts blew over a makeshift stand, pinning corrugated iron and roof sheeting against concreted seating and the wall behind it on the eastern side of the ground.

The glass front of a marquee hosting Australian tour groups was also knocked flat, while the white sheets acting as the city end's sightscreen were taken down.

No one was hurt and groundstaff worked admirably to not only stay upright amid the buffeting winds and sideways rain, but also keep the entire ground protected (relying on more than a hundred rubber tyres to keep the covers in place) through what should have been the first session of play.

Travis Head lasted just five balls after the resumption, closing his face to Dhananjaya de Silva’s first ball of the day before the off-spinner completed a sharp caught-and-bowled, to leave his side 5-157 and continue a post-Ashes slump that has seen him fail to pass 26 in his past five innings.

It is in stark contrast to the hot form of Khawaja, who put on 57 with Green and added 27 to his overnight score to see his run tally since his recall at the beginning of the year swell to 822 at 117.42, making him the most prolific Test batter of 2022.

It justified the vigour with which Vandersay celebrated when he had the left-hander well caught at short leg, the leg-spinner's first Test wicket.

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