Cricket: Australia redress balance

Australia 247

Sri Lanka 258-9

CRAIG McDERMOTT, the Australian pace bowler, took four wickets in seven overs to redress the balance in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Khettarama Stadium in Colombo yesterday.

The big Queenslander claimed his victims in his third spell to undermine Sri Lanka's position before today's rest day. They slipped from 211 for 3 to 258 for 9 at the close of play on the third day.

Rested during the afternoon session when the Australians were frustrated by a century third- wicket stand between Chandika Hathurusinghe and Aravinda de Silva, McDermott used the old ball to devastating effect to fire out the Sri Lankan middle order.

He had de Silva caught behind by Ian Healy for 85, Jayasuriya was dismissed in similar fashion for 19, Ramanayake was bowled by a yorker for eight and Dulip Liyanage was caught behind for four.

The medium pacer, Tom Moody, broke the 107-run third- wicket stand, bowling Hathurusinghe for a painstaking 67 compiled over 257 minutes.

Before McDermott's superb burst, Tony Dodemaide and Mike Whitney kept the Sri Lankan batsmen on a tight rein with some tidy seam bowling, Dodemaide making the breakthrough by dismissing the captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, for 18 with the score on 240.

AUSTRALIA - First Innings 247 (D M Jones 77, G R J Matthews 55).

SRI LANKA - First Innings

R S Mahanama c Moody b Dodemaide14

U C Hathurusinghe b Moody67

A P Gurusinha c Healy b Whitney29

P A de Silva c Healy b McDermott

*A Ranatunga c sub (Martyn) b Dodemaide18

S T Jayasuriya c Healy b McDermott19

R S Kaluwitharana c sub (Martyn) b Border1

C P H Ramanayake b McDermott8

D Liyanage c Healy b McDermott4

S D Anurasiri not out2

M Muralidaran not out0

Extras (lb6 nb5)11

Total (for 9)258

Fall: 1-26 2-67 3-174 4-211 5-240 6-243 7-243

8-255 9-258.

Bowling: McDermott 20-4-53-4; Whitney

16-1-49-1; Dodemaide 25-4-74-2; Matthews

10-2-20-0; Waugh 4-0-11-0; Moody 6-1-17-1; Border 11-3-28-1.

Umpires: I Anandappa and U Wickremasinghe.