Aussies dominate in Brisbane Test !

Aussies dominate in Brisbane Test

First Test, Brisbane, day two (stumps): Australia 551-4d v Sri Lanka 31-2

Match scorecard

Clarke made Sri Lanka suffer on day two in Brisbane

Australia hit 551-4 before declaring and reducing Sri Lanka to 31-2 at stumps on day two of the first Test.

Michael Hussey, dropped on 13 on day one, made 133 and Michael Clarke an unbeaten 145, the pair sharing a brilliant stand of 245 in Brisbane.

Muttiah Muralitharan, so dangerous for much of the time on Thursday, could not add to his Test wicket tally of 702.

Brett Lee then took two wickets with the new ball before Marvan Atapattu, in his first Test for two years, dug in.

Australia started day two on 242-3, with Hussey 28 and Clarke five.

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene had not been unduly concerned with his team's position on Thursday night.

But as an extended morning session wore on the tourists' plight deepened.

606: DEBATE Whilst Murali can build pressure on a batsman, Warne has this incredible ability to build pressure on a team to the point where top teams completely capitulate Durhamfootman

Clarke and Hussey had to concentrate after 10 months away from Test cricket and never played their shots with carefree abandon - scoring at a little over three runs an over in their partnership.

By lunch the scoreboard had moved along sweetly to 359-3 in 111 overs, with Hussey on 85 and Clarke 64.

Muralitharan, having dismissed two left-handers on Thursday, and given Hussey frequent problems, was enduring a tough day at the office.

Hussey became gradually more confident against the spin, picking the ball more easily out of Muralitharan's hand and continuing to rotate the strike against the fast bowlers.

He was the first to reach triple-figures, passing the milestone with a pair of leg-glanced fours off Chaminda Vaas.

Hussey's century pushed his incredible Test average to 82.38 from 17 Tests but he eventually fell 15 minutes before tea, driving Dilhara Fernando on the up to Atapattu at short cover.

It was an ironic moment - Atapattu had been the fielder responsible for the costly error when dropping Hussey on day one.

By then, Clarke had reached his century and was especially effective against Muralitharan (2-170), using his feet well in coming forward to play handsome drives or rock back to cut hard.

With Australia in complete control, Clarke and Andrew Symonds (53 not out) played some bigger shots after tea leading to a typically imaginative declaration from Ricky Ponting, who gave his bowlers 16 overs at the Sri Lanka top order.

Mitchell Johnson bowled promisingly on his Test debut, but it was Lee who supplied the wickets.

Brett Lee was in irresistible form with the new ball

Sanath Jayasuriya got the faintest of outside edges as he flayed well wide of the off-stump and Michael Vandort was undone by pace, also edging to Adam Gilchrist.

Atapattu made Stuart MacGill ponder his return to the Test fold by stroking him for three effortless boundaries in a single over.

But it was a tiny crumb of comfort for Sri Lanka in a day of general misery.

Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss said: "You've got to give the [Australia] batters credit - they did very well - I thought we bowled quite well this morning, better today than we did yesterday when we didn't quite use conditions.

"We were a litlle bit wide and a little bit short [on day one] and against this opposition we needed to bowl a little bit better in those conditions yesterday.

"Our batters have got a lot of hard work in front of them, but if they're worth their salt they've got an opportunity on a good wicket tomorrow."

The world's three leading news agencies have not been providing material from the Brisbane Test due to a dispute with Cricket Australia.

As a result, our pictures of Michael Clarke and Brett Lee are not from the current match.

Sri Lanka - Bangladesh 2nd Test Match over

Sri Lanka crush brave Bangladesh
Second Test, Colombo: Sri Lanka 451-6d bt Bangladesh 62 & 299 by an innings and 90 runs
Scorecard

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful in action on day three in Colombo
Captain Ashraful ran out of partners with his score on 129

The highest partnership in Bangladesh's Test history was not enough to save them from defeat by an innings and 90 runs against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Captain Mohammad Ashraful put on 191 with 18-year-old Mushfiqur Rahim put on 191 before Rahim fell to spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan for 80.

Once Rahim had gone Bangladesh's last four wickets fell quickly and they were all out for 299.

Ashraful ended 129 not out as Sri Lanka took a 2-0 lead in the series.

The match followed a near identical course to the opening Test, which Sri Lanka won by an innings and 234 innings, with Bangladesh dismissed cheaply in their first innings and then making a fight of it in the second.

On this occasion, however, they were unable to extend the game into a fourth day.

"We just have to bat better in the first innings and get a big score," Ashraful said afterwards.

"It was a great partnership with Mushfiqur and we showed that Bangladesh was up for the challenge. But we needed at least two other such big stands to save the game.

"The boys are trying hard to learn the art of playing Test cricket. We won't give up."

Bangladesh made a bad start to the morning session, losing Habibul Bashar for 12 after adding only nine runs to their overnight score of 69-4.

Chaminda Vaas runs out Shahadat Hossain


Chaminda Vaas runs out Shahadat Hossain to end the match

Bashar was bowled by paceman Dilhara Fernando, who has figures of 3-60, but Sri Lanka had to wait another 60 overs for their next success.

Ashraful and Rahim's partnership beat the previous best for Bangladesh, a stand of 187 by Bashar and Shariar Nafees against Australia in 2006.

But they were eventually seperated when Rahim gave a return catch to Murali, his only wicket of Bangladesh's second innings.

Ashraful went to his fourth Test century - and third against Sri Lanka - off 184 balls, a fine, disciplined effort by a 22-year-old in only his second game as skipper.

But Chaminda Vaas had Mohammad Sharif and Mashrafe bin Mortaza lbw with successive deliveries to reduce Bangladesh to 276-8 and the game ended in disarray for the tourists as Mohammad Rafique and last man Shahadat Hossain were run out.

"I can't praise the bowlers enough for toiling hard on a wicket that had nothing for them," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene commented.

"Vaas is a top performer as is Murali, they are great at creating opportunities. It helps that we also have two bowlers in Malinga and Fernando who bowl consistently at 90 miles an hour."

Jayawardene also praised Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten double century on the second day which set up their declaration and won him the Man of the Match award.

"Sangakkara really shored up the innings, although I was a bit disappointed that the other batsmen could not go on to get big scores."

Jayawardene praised Ashraful and Rahim for their fighting spirit, but added: "The rest of them should have batted around the captain as well.

"They are a young team and I'm pretty sure they will improve with time."