Australia successfully blends old and new to thrash Sri Lanka 2-0

A 2-0 trouncing of Sri Lanka, just Australia’s third Test series win in Asia since mid-2006, was the fruits of excellent planning and the moulding of old and new.

Steve Waugh never did it. Neither did Glenn McGrath. Not David Warner either.

Hefty margins and oft-rudderless cricket from the opposition might have taken away much of the sense of drama, but make no mistake, winning an away Test series against Sri Lanka is no mean feat.

The home side may not have had a Muralitharan, Jayawardene, Sangakkara or Herath. However, Sri Lanka had still been in the frame for World Test Championship final qualification as recently as last month.

The hosts had a very experienced batting line-up, an emerging star in Kamindu Mendis who entered the series with a Test batting average above 70, and a spinner in Prabath Jayasuriya who has collected wickets in Galle like Bitcoin in a crypto bubble.

And this Australian team, even without its captain, thrashed them.

This 2-0 trouncing, just Australia’s third Test series win in Asia since mid-2006, was the fruits of excellent planning and the moulding of old and new.

Sans Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, almost all the rest of Australia’s senior core answered the challenge.

Australia's Usman Khawaja, left, and captain Steve Smith were among Australia’s senior core to answer the challenge in Sri Lanka. Picture: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP

Steve Smith stamped his return as a dominant force in Test cricket, a resurgence that only a couple of months ago had appeared doubtful.

Usman Khawaja backed the faith of selectors by showing that he is not yet a spent force, even at 38.

Alex Carey franked his revival from the depths of a rough 2023, batting and ’keeping splendidly.

Relegated to bit-part player against India, Nathan Lyon looked energised, leading a depleted attack to leave his Test bowling average within distance of slipping below 30 for the first time since 2012.

Mitchell Starc was the only pace threat on either side, continuing a long record of beating up on the Sri Lankans.

But it wasn’t all just left to the 30-plus brigade.

Josh Inglis and, in particular, Matt Kuhnemann made sizeable contributions when afforded rare opportunities in the Test XI.

Kuhnemann was a totem of Australia’s success in this series. He had been in the long-term planning for this assignment only for his involvement to be threatened by a thumb injury less than a fortnight before the first Test.

Remarkably he not only played, he starred to be the series’ leading wicket-taker, showing that his game had taken leaps since his introduction to Test cricket two years ago in India.

Australia's players with the trophies after their win at the end of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. Picture: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP

There had been much handwringing about the decision not to select Sam Konstas for either Test, and consternation around the call to pick Cooper Connolly ahead of Todd Murphy for the second.

In the end, these selection calls proved typical of the decisions made around the fringes of a strong outfit. An extra bit of bowling or some more batting? A young opener or a more experienced middle order innovator?

It doesn’t tend to matter too much when a critical mass of the team is performing so well.

From the apparent crisis point post-Perth in November, Australia has won five of six Tests (the other one a wet draw) to end two significant series droughts and will enter the WTC decider as warm favourites to defend their title from two years ago.

In the aftermath of the first Test, Lyon had insisted that this was not yet a great team as it had not won away Test series in India or England.

He makes a reasonable argument, and those wrongs can’t be righted until 2027. But, for now, with Australia holding every major bilateral trophy, the WTC crown and the one-day World Cup, and winning regularly at home and abroad, they have earned serious plaudits.

Maybe not great, but in the postcode.