Feature

Cheers for an Australian wicket

Plays of the day from the fourth day of the SCG Test between Australia and Sri Lanka

Michael Clarke's dismissal brought Michael Hussey to the ground, much to the crowd's delight  •  Getty Images

Michael Clarke's dismissal brought Michael Hussey to the ground, much to the crowd's delight  •  Getty Images

The throw
Australia had two run-outs in their first innings, and Sri Lanka would have matched them in their second, had Matthew Wade's underarm gone anywhere near its intended target. Rangana Herath had tucked Mitchell Johnson into the leg side, and was charging back for the second run, but despite having travelled more than two thirds of the pitch, was sent back by Dinesh Chandimal. The throw came into the keeper's end, before Herath had even begun his trek back, but Wade's underarm lob flew high over Johnson and towards mid-off, allowing Herath to return safely.
The red herring
Even before Sri Lanka took the field, Dinesh Chandimal's resistance on the fourth morning had given rise to hope that the visitors could achieve an upset victory, like South Africa did at the SCG in 1994, when they defeated Australia by five runs. That hope intensified in the second over, when David Warner edged Suranga Lakmal to second slip, leaving Australia at 1 for 0. But although wickets fell regularly during Australia's chase, they never threatened a collapse, and achieved the 3-0 whitewash with five wickets remaining.
The farewell
With the match drawing quickly to a close, only a modest crowd turned out to see Michael Hussey's final day as an international cricketer, but they were treated to a video celebrating his career in the innings break, narrated by Hussey himelf. In the video Hussey recounted childhood cricket memories accompanied by footage of him playing in the backyard with his brother, and explained why he didn't like the title "Mr. Cricket". "There are better cricketers in the world, and players who know much more about the game," he said. "But I don't know if anyone loved it more than me."
The cheer
Rarely have the Sydney crowd been moved to applaud an Australian wicket, but they could not have been happier to see the back of Michael Clarke for 29, with Hussey in next. The previous evening they had chanted "Give Huss a bowl", until Clarke did, and after Clarke and Cowan had neared Australia's target enough to make the game safe, the chants of "Huuu-sseeey" began again. Clarke succumbed to the crowd again before long, and Hussey was at the crease when the winning run was hit.
The bequeathal
The Australian team song has a storied history, and to date, has had seven custodians: Rod Marsh, Allan Border, Ian Healey, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer and Michael Hussey. Upon his retirement, it was Hussey's task to choose a successor, and to the surprise of some, he announced he had given the song to offspinner Nathan Lyon, because he felt Lyon "was a man of great character".

Andrew Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. He tweets here