Aussies expecting drier pitch for second Test

GALLE – A reinstatement of Galle’s early-year weather patterns coupled with an additional day of preparation time means Australia are expecting an even barer, drier pitch for the second Test against Sri Lanka starting Thursday.

The lead-in to the series opener – which Australia won by an innings and 242 runs inside four days – was plagued by daily monsoonal downpours which meant the pitch at Galle initially sported a ‘tacky’ surface and only began to take spin on days three and four.

By that stage, Australia had piled on their highest-ever Test innings total in Sri Lanka – 654 for six declared – and were able to attack the home team’s batters relentlessly as conditions became more challenging.

From what Australia gleaned upon turning up for their main pre-Test training session yesterday, which was also Sri Lanka’s Independence Day holiday, the track for the next game will likely take spin earlier in proceedings after being best for batting on day one.

It has been prepared under fine conditions since the first game ended a day earlier than scheduled, with the welcome sunshine helping to bake a hardness into the surface that was lacking in last week’s fixture.

As newly crowned Allan Border Medallist Travis Head noted following a quick inspection of the surface which was baking under more cloudless Galle skies this morning, it appeared even more barren than the closely-shaved strip used in the series opener.

But as Australia have discovered on previous visits to Sri Lanka including their most recent in 2022, the nature of Test pitches can alter markedly in the 24 hours before the coin is tossed.

“It probably looks a little bit dry but looks a really good wicket still,” Head said yesterday, not-quite-so-fresh from his Medal-winning celebrations last night.

“As we know, over the next couple of days we’ll see how that plays out and where we get to on the first morning.

“It probably looks like it’s got a little bit less grass on it than the previous Test.

“It looks like it will spin earlier, but it looks at the moment like the first couple of days will be good for batting and then it will spin.

“Like we’ve said in the last couple of weeks, it’s just being able to adapt when that moment, that shift (happens).

“And what we saw in the first Test was probably that day three moment where it shifted to heavy spin, and we were able to capture the moments.”

The Australians are also aware of the certain symmetry at play when they recall that 2022 tour, on which they also recorded a hefty victory in the first of two Tests at Galle only to be greeted by a vastly different pitch that brought an innings defeat in the second.

Having suffered the biggest defeat in their 43 years as a Test-playing nation, Sri Lanka are unlikely to leave any stone unturned in the search for a more competitive effort from Thursday.

There had been speculation within the Australia camp the home team might even use the same pitch for both Tests, but that was scotched when Sri Lanka employed that surface for centre-wicket ‘naughty-boy nets’ on what should have been day five of the first match.

(CA)