HOBART, Thursday: All eyes were on the Cricket Australia XI batters in the national Test squad, but a brilliant 219-run partnership between Kurtis Patterson and Jake Doran stole the show for the home side.
Test aspirants Joe Burns, Matthew Renshaw and Marnus Labuschagne all fell within the first 11 overs of the Cricket Australia XI innings as Sri Lanka’s seamers made the most of the new pink-ball in this three-day, day-night clash in Hobart.
With the Sri Lanka seamers getting the pink Kookaburra ball to nip about after being asked to bowl, Burns, Labuschagne and Renshaw all fell – in that order – as the CA XI slipped to 3-25 in the 11th over.
Burns was the first to fall for four from 13 balls as he slashed with minimal footwork at a wider ball from Kasun Rajitha and it flew towards the vacant fourth slip region only for Dhananjaya De Silva to fling himself to his right from third slip and reel in a great catch.
Labuschagne, batting at No.3 in the position he occupied against India after a surprise recall for the SCG Test against India, cut hard to the boundary when he received a similar ball in his innings.
But a rising delivery from Dushmantha Chameera, who finished with 3-57, saw him stand up on his toes and attempt to force off the back foot, only to find an inside edge that chopped down onto his off-stump as he exited for six from 13 balls.
And it was Chameera that struck again when he had Matthew Renshaw edging to first slip where Dimuth Karunaratne took a good low catch coming forward.
Renshaw had been circumspect in scoring seven from 35 balls, surviving a strong shout for a catch behind earlier in his innings, and his only boundary came off an edge that he played with soft hands to guide down and between the slips fielders.
But after that first hour and a short burst to start the second session, Sri Lanka’s bowlers were flat as Patterson put his name in lights with an unbeaten 157 and Doran raced to his first significant score of the summer with an unbeaten 102.
Perhaps it is not without coincidence the two batters to adjust quickest to the pink ball and white clothes were those whose involvement in T20 cricket has been minimal.
The CA XI declared their innings at 5-316 at the agreed cut-off of 75 overs, but Sri Lanka’s openers survived a couple of early scares to bat out the 13 overs under lights to reach stumps at 0-38.
Australia Test captain Tim Paine was in attendance for part of this first day’s play to witness the early dismissals of his Test squad teammates, and would have noted with interest the confident manner with which Patterson handled the Sri Lankans.
There had been some animated discussion between captains Burns and Dinesh Chandimal before the coin toss as they thrashed out the rules of engagement for this three-day, day-night clash.
Sri Lanka had opted to use their full squad in the match, as is their right as the visiting team, but the Australians were insistent on a coin toss to determine who would bat first. Shorn of first-class status the match may be, but for the Test hopefuls in the Cricket Australia XI, this game carries significant weight.
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