MELBOURNE: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has no illusions about the hostile reception awaiting his team at Melbourne Cricket Ground but insists it will only spur the tourists in the second test against Australia starting today.
Sri Lanka do not have particularly fond memories of the MCG, where their spin great Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled seven times when the islanders last played a Test here in 1995.
The visitors have riled the Victorian fans this time by unofficially accusing local favorite Peter Siddle of ball tampering in the first test in Hobart.
“We have been through a lot of hostile things in the past. 1995 was one and even after that,” Jayawardene told a Christmas Day news conference yesterday.
“I don’t think that fazes our team. It might give us something extra,” added the visiting captain, who was expecting a decent Sri Lankan turnout in the match.
“You have to remember there will be a good partisan Sri Lankan crowd as well so that will be good. It might go against him (Siddle).
“We can’t control what happens out there. All we can control is what happens in the middle.” Sri Lanka have not won a single test on Australian soil and Jayawardene wants to break that spell before relinquishing captaincy after the ongoing series.
“If we do that, it won’t be for me personally but for the entire team and for the entire country it would be something good, and it would be for the next generation to look at.” Sri Lanka will make a late call on playing pacer Nuwan Kulasekara, who was hit in the rib while batting in the Hobart test which the visitors lost by 137 runs.
“We want to give him another chance to bowl today and see whether he’s 100 percent and we’ll make a call on that probably tomorrow morning,” said Jayawardene.
Captain Michael Clarke, in white-hot form with the bat, remains a doubt to play the Boxing Day test after suffering a hamstring strain at Hobart, while front-line seamer Ben Hilfenhaus has been ruled out with a side strain.
Top young talents Pat Cummins and James Pattinson have already been lost for the series, and have been joined in the casualty ward by fellow quicks John Hastings and Josh Hazlewood.
Six months out from the Ashes, Australia’s hopes of using its home summer to hone a battle-hardened attack lie in tatters.
Australia’s selectors have compounded the angst, however, with a controversial rotation policy that has seen injury-free bowlers rested for fear they might break down, drawing howls of criticism from former players and pundits.
The in-form Mitchell Starc is the latest casualty of that policy, and despite taking a five-wicket haul to help Australia seal the Hobart win, will cool his heels in the Melbourne Cricket Ground dressing room when the test starts Wednesday.
“We’ve got to be very mindful of the fact that we’ve got such a lot of important cricket coming up,” Australia head coach and selector Mickey Arthur told reporters on Monday.
“And Mitch will be integral to that. It’s tough on Mitch but hopefully he misses one test to make sure we don’t have another injury.” Paceman Starc’s enforced break and Hilfenhaus’s absence mean Australia will bring an overhauled pace attack for a third consecutive Test.
The mercurial Mitchell Johnson earns a recall after being dumped following the third and final test against South Africa in Perth.
Although the Proteas’ batsmen bullied Australia in the series-sealing victory at the WACA, the 31-year-old Johnson was the pick of the hosts’ bowlers and will hope for a big haul to remain in favor ahead of tours to India and England.
Johnson, however, may have to wait his turn behind debutant Jackson Bird, who will open the bowling against Sri Lanka’s formidable batting lineup in front of a bumper crowd at the MCG.
The 26-year-old Bird has played only 17 first-class matches, but is the leading wicket-taker in the domestic Sheffield Shield, and has enjoyed good form for his adopted Tasmania state in his two matches at the MCG.
He is likely to share the new ball with fiery paceman Peter Siddle, who took nine wickets in a man-of-the-match performance at Hobart and is the only pace bowler retained from the first test.
Sri Lanka have their own pace bowling problems, with their raw attack struggling in Hobart, but they will again pin their hopes of a breakthrough first test win in Australia on their batsmen and spinner Rangana Herath.
With the team having lost the coin toss and the benefit of batting first, Sri Lanka’s batsmen frustrated the Australian bowlers for nearly four sessions on a deteriorating wicket at Hobart, only to collapse after tea and surrender the test within the last hour.
They will hope to have better luck with the toss at the MCG, where the drop-in pitch traditionally rewards batting sides who survive a torrid first session on day one, before offering something for the spinners on days four and five.
