Australia v Sri Lanka, 2012-13

Test matches (3): Australia 3, Sri Lanka 0
One-day internationals (5): Australia 2, Sri Lanka 2
Twenty20 internationals (2): Australia 0, Sri Lanka 2

	Jackson Bird: Australia's most significant find of the summer © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka tour of Australia Teams: Australia | Sri Lanka

Chastened by a home loss to South Africa that might easily have ended in a draw, if not an Australian win, Michael Clarke's team vented their frustration by dismantling an injury-blighted and occasionally distracted Sri Lanka either side of Christmas. Seventeen years after they were last invited to play Tests in Australia during the showpiece weeks of the summer, Sri Lanka would suffer the same deflating 3-0 scoreline. They were unable to grind out a draw at Hobart, surrendered meekly at Melbourne, then wasted chances to put Australia under pressure at Sydney.

The Australians' success came despite issues swirling round the team. Chief among these was the rotation policy aimed at preventing injuries to their fast bowlers. While it had been in place for some time, and was focused on ensuring that young bowlers such as Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson did not fall prey to injury too often before their bodies matured, it was the subject of much discussion, especially after the Hobart Test. Starc had bowled erratically for much of that match, but finished it off with a hostile spell of speed and reverse swing - so he was unhappy to be told he would be left out of the Boxing Day Test because of his workload. Matters were complicated further when Ben Hilfenhaus also missed the game through injury.

Mickey Arthur, the coach, remarked that Australia had begun the summer with a list of fast bowlers in mind, "and we're well down it now". But the policy provided a chance for Jackson Bird to show off his considerable skills of swing and seam. A 26-year-old raised in New South Wales before moving to Tasmania in search of greater opportunities, Bird swiftly demonstrated a method as mean and threatening as it was simple, a methodology recalling Stuart Clark. Bird was Australia's most significant find of the summer.

Less assuring were the various trials of the batting order. Shane Watson finally seemed to have lost his long fight to push his problematic body into service as a Test all-rounder. Long spells to cover Hilfenhaus at Hobart led to a calf strain in Melbourne, after which a meeting with Clarke, Arthur and national selector John Inverarity in Sydney persuaded him to return as a batsman alone. Mike Hussey's decision to retire from international cricket while still at the top of his game was a surprise to all but his closest confidants. The announcement came after the Melbourne Test, and left a considerable hole. Matthew Wade's increasing poise with the bat contrasted with some occasionally scruffy work behind the stumps.

Sri Lanka's board had shown a dispiriting lack of interest in Test cricket for a while, and it was difficult not to fear for their team in the game's longest form. While they showed some fight at Hobart, including a provocative complaint of ball-tampering against Peter Siddle and Ed Cowan, the collapse at Melbourne was indicative of a side struggling to deal with the physical and mental demands of five-day matches away from home. Thilan Samaraweera, in particular, was guilty of several shots not becoming a batsman of his seniority or skill.

Injuries - especially the broken hand suffered by Kumar Sangakkara in the Second Test - only heightened the feeling of displacement and, after slogging through a public row with Sri Lanka Cricket in Colombo newspapers early in the tour, Mahela Jayawardene looked relieved that his second captaincy stint was about to end. The question of who could adequately replace him did not have an immediate answer, and only the scantest consolation could be found in the bowling of Rangana Herath, plus the runs of Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal in Sydney. As though the rigours of an Australian tour were not enough, Herath spent one fitful night of the Sydney Test reassuring friends and family back home that a scurrilous rumour propagated on Twitter about his death in a car accident was untrue. If only he had been able to say the same of the series result.

Sri Lanka did have more success in the limited-overs games, in which - to start with at least - they faced a largely experimental Australian side. But they were denied a probable series victory in the one-day internationals by the weather at Sydney, where the umpires decided no resumption was possible, much to the tourists' irritation. They also won both Twenty20 games, the second in conditions similar to those at the SCG.

Match reports for

Tour Match: Cricket Australia Chairman's XI v Sri Lankans at Canberra, Dec 6-8, 2012
Scorecard

1st Test: Australia v Sri Lanka at Hobart, Dec 14-18, 2012
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2nd Test: Australia v Sri Lanka at Melbourne, Dec 26-28, 2012
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3rd Test: Australia v Sri Lanka at Sydney, Jan 3-6, 2013
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1st ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka at Melbourne, Jan 11, 2013
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2nd ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka at Adelaide, Jan 13, 2013
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3rd ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka at Brisbane, Jan 18, 2013
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4th ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka at Sydney, Jan 20, 2013
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5th ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka at Hobart, Jan 23, 2013
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1st T20I: Australia v Sri Lanka at Sydney, Jan 26, 2013
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2nd T20I: Australia v Sri Lanka at Melbourne, Jan 28, 2013
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