From: ecrjbruce@economics.adelaide.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: Australia v Sri Lanka - Third Test.
Date: 9 Sep 92 04:44:09 GMT
Organization: Economics, University of Adelaide
NNTP-Posting-Host: eco.economics.adelaide.edu.au

Well, Vaibhav has beaten me to the punch by giving a report on the first day of
the Third and final test between Australia and Sri Lanka.

There I was yesterday, got home from uni, turned on the radio, heard Australia
was 5/62 at lunch, got the razor blades out......well, nearly!

Allan Border won the toss for only the second time on the tour (first time was
in the final one day match which "we" won) and decided to bat. This I could not
believe  - we had had reports that it had been raining for 2 days prior
to the test, and that the wicket was going to be another seamer. 
Win the toss and bowl AB I thought. So he wins the toss and decides to bat and 
we are 5/62....AB, are you nuts? Border and Greg Matthews were our last hope,
so I said my prayers and did my homework.....

I turned the late news on to catch the end of play score, razor blades
poised.....Australia are 8/287 says the newsreader. UNBELIEVABLE! I scream.
Allan Border has scored his first test century in exactly (well about a week
off) 4 years! (September 1988, Pakistan, was his last). Matthews, the true
champion that he is, was out for 57, giving him 4 scores of over 50 in his 5
test innings on the tour. Healy 43 n.o at the close, once again showing his
fighting qualities. For Sri Lanka, Ramanayake took 4 wickets on what was
described as a real seamer of a wicket. The statistic was mentioned that in
this 4 year period where AB has been tonless, he has still averaged over 55.

Vaibhav mentioned that Mark Waugh was trying to avoid his third consecutive
duck....well, guess what.....yep : M. Waugh   b. Ramanayake   0
3 ducks in a row for Waugh (or was that G. Chappell :-)
Personally, even before Waugh had scored this duck, I would've given Damien
Martyn a shot. Waugh has had a pretty ordinary tour apart from a 100 in a warm
up match, and Martyn should have been given a go.
Whether Martyn should even be on the tour though is another point entirely....
Mark Smith and I have been discussing what we think the Aussie team to England
will be for 1993 - he feels Martyn will go, I think Michael Bevan or Darren
Lehmann. We'll just have to wait and see.

Moody has been a disaster as opener. In his defence though, he is more suited
to No. 5 and even AB has said he shouldn't be opening. (Selectors decision)
What happened is that when the selectors (including AB) met to pick the squad
for this tour, everyone expected slow, dry turning wickets, when in fact they
have been green, seaming ones! Moody was expected to thrive on the dry slow
ones so was picked to open. Now though that the wickets have been the opposite,
we are an opener short, so have had to stick with him.
This opens the door though for Geoff Marsh to make his way back into the team
for the tests versus the Windies in two months time.

It's been a real disappointment for all Australians to see our team battling to
win against the so called "minnows". I think though we cannot underestimate any
team on their home soil. As to how the Lankans would've gone if the series was
in Australia, well, I'm sure it would have been a different story....(I hope!)

I'll try to post a full scorecard up today. If not, tommorow, including the
second day's play.

--
Daniel. (The leggie from Down Under!)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket