Feature

Dunk sets the stage alight

Plays of the day from the second T20 international between Australia and Sri Lanka in Victoria

Brydon Coverdale
Brydon Coverdale
19-Feb-2017
Jhye Richardson's pace and fire brought him early cheer on international debut  •  AFP

Jhye Richardson's pace and fire brought him early cheer on international debut  •  AFP

The debutants
Only one cap was presented, but there were three debuts in this match. Fast bowler Jhye Richardson was playing his first match for Australia in any format, umpire Sam Nogajski was standing in his first international fixture, and Geelong's Kardinia Park was making its maiden appearance as an international venue. And the results? Mixed. Richardson bowled with impressive pace and claimed a wicket with his third ball. Nogajski was at the centre of a strange moment when Michael Klinger edged behind; the umpire took a long while to respond to the appeal, and asked his square-leg colleague if the ball had carried - it was taken comfortably at knee height - before raising the finger. And the Geelong crowd of 13,647 - even allowing for the fact that rain earlier in the day might have turned some spectators off - was a little disappointing, given the size of AFL crowds at the venue. Empty seats, of which there were plenty, are not a great look for a ground on debut.
The Dunk slams
Richardson was one of Australia's two inclusions for this game, and the other certainly made his presence felt as well. Despite being the BBL's leading run-scorer this season, Ben Dunk initially was not picked in Australia's T20 squad, and was called up only when Chris Lynn was ruled out due to injury. But in the sixth over, Dunk took to Dilshan Munaweera and slammed him for a four and three sixes that lit up Kardinia Park - literally, for the sixes were each followed by flame-jets around the boundary. He was out in the next over, but Dunk's 32 off 14 balls at least made for a memorable return to the side for the first time since 2014. It also meant that Munaweera - who was bowling his first T20I over and was not called on again - finished the game with the highest career economy rate of any T20I bowler to have sent down at least one over: 22.00.
The home-town boy
Aaron Finch is a loyal Geelong man, having grown up in the nearby country town of Colac and played for Geelong Cricket Club for a decade and a half, despite having plenty of opportunities to move to Melbourne-based clubs. So it was fitting that Finch led Australia in Geelong's maiden international match, and he also had the honour of striking the first boundary, a crunch through cover for four off Lasith Malinga in the opening over of the game. But there wasn't a fairytale hometown innings to follow - Finch was caught and bowled in the third over for 12.
The final-over wickets
The women's T20 earlier in the day had brought a flurry of wickets in the final over of both innings - three in New Zealand's 20th over and then four in the last over of Australia's unsuccessful chase. And the trend continued in the men's match, with Nuwan Kulasekara running through Australia's tail in the 20th over, collecting three wickets and ensuring that Australia were bowled out.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @brydoncoverdale