Australia v Sri Lanka: Live coverage of day one of the second Test

Joe Burns transformed from Average Joe to Smokin’ Joe in one stunning innings on Friday as the Queensland opener booked his ticket for the Ashes tour with a monster unbeaten hundred in Canberra.

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The first century of the Australian summer went to the bloke selectors didn’t want to pick.

Joe Burns transformed from Average Joe to Smokin’ Joe in one stunning innings on Friday as the Queensland opener booked his ticket for the Ashes tour with a monster unbeaten hundred in Canberra.

At risk of becoming the first Australian side in more than 30 years to go through an entire home summer without a single batsman making a hundred, Burns (172 not out) and Travis Head (161) broke the dam walls open with an emphatic double-dose against a demoralised Sri Lanka, smashing a record 308-run stand.

The heroes of day one were Joe Burns and Travis Head

“You bloody beauty," said Burns.

"It was just pure elation. All I wanted to do was kiss the badge on my helmet ... (when Travis got his) I just wanted to hug him as hard as I could."

With confidence levels boosted before the Ashes, the twin centuries in the Nation’s Capital was enough for former England spinner Phil Tuffnel to observe on the ABC:

“It’s like London buses. You wait all summer for a century and two come along.”

That said, it couldn't be ignored that the Jimmy Anderson alarm bells were ringing at 3-28 when Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne departed softly against a second-string Sri Lankan attack.

Burns’ bulldozing 172 not out might have served as proof that it was an error to not back him in right from the first Test of the summer against India, but by the same token, Head’s breakthrough 161 was a major tick for the selectors and their instinct for talent.

To their credit Trevor Hohns’ panel weren’t too proud to re-evaluate their position on Burns after the Indian loss, and in turn he didn’t miss the golden chance to nail his opportunity as Australia’s unprecedented team rebuild took its biggest step to date as they powered to 4-379 at stumps.

Burns has twice gone under the bus in the wake of Australian cricket crises – dumped after one Test in Hobart in 2016 following a humiliating loss, and again after he was called in to play in Johannesburg last year immediately following Sandpapergate.

Friday’s response, Burns said, was a lesson to himself.

“It can be tough (being in and out). They were both extreme the way they unfolded," Burns said.

Usman Khawaja falls for a duck.

“That’s just life sometimes. It makes days like today when you kiss the badge on your helmet bloody good.

“You never know when your last Test match is or when you will be out of the team.

“You can’t take anything for granted.

“It’s very special today and just a message to yourself knowing when you’re out of the team, you work hard and days like this can be around the corner."

The epic 308-run stand piled on by Burns and the ever-improving Head broke the record for Australia’s highest ever partnership against Sri Lanka for any wicket, eclipsing the 260 not out by Steve Waugh and Dean Jones in Hobart back in 1989.

Joe Burns will be pushing on for a double century on Saturday.

It’s just the 22nd triple-century partnership in Australian Test history and has left Burns eyeing records and Kurtis Patterson (25 not out) his own chance to set up his career.

Head came to the crease with Australia on the brink of an embarrassing crisis.

If Justin Langer was having nightmares about losing to Sri Lanka at the Gabba last week, the three soft-serve dismissals in the first hour must have felt like Armageddon.  

The nerve and fight displayed by Head and Burns ensured it was a world class partnership regardless of the opposition.

Marcus Harris isn't finishing the Test season on a promising note.

Burns’ unfashionable values cost him at the start of the summer when selectors went for Aaron Finch and Harris. But on Friday the time-honoured virtue of Test match resilience made him a standout, even if he was given a life on 34.

In 16 Test matches, the no-frills right-hander who wasn’t even fancied for Australia A last year now has four Test centuries.

After squandering another opportunity, Australia would be doing cartwheels if Harris could accumulate the same record over the next 12 months, yet on three occasions in Burns’ brief career, he has been dropped after just one Test.

There is so much water to pass under the bridge before the first Ashes Test in Birmingham on August 1, and Harris has largely impressed, but how can Burns not be there in the top 3?

Originally published as Australia v Sri Lanka: Live coverage of day one of the second Test