Another Aussie battering, another Watson injury
It used to be that fast bowlers didn't make the best fielders, but Lee is a supreme athlete and confirmed it with a third catch to remove Chaminda Vaas
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Lee-thal
The first 10am start of the tournament at Cape Town always meant the toss would be crucial
and after the coin fell in Australia's favour, Brett Lee was on the
spot straight away. His second ball swung back into Sanath Jayasuriya,
cutting him in half, the next delivery was a touch fuller and did
exactly the same. This time Asad Rauf raised his finger and Sri Lanka
were immediately on the back foot. Meanwhile, Jayasuriya's
tournament continued to nosedive with his last three scores reading 5,
0 and 0.
Catching on
Lee was at the centre of most of the early action. After removing
Jayasuriya he held onto Upul Tharanga's top edge at third man before
having Mahela Jayawardene caught at mid-on from a ball which stopped
on the surface. Jayawardene could hardly tear himself away from the
crease, realising his side's chances were slipping away. The problems
grew when Lee, again at third man, but this time to a
right-hander, made Chamara Silva's outside edge appear a comfortable
catch. It used to be that fast bowlers didn't make the best fielders
but Lee is a supreme athlete - and confirmed it with a third catch, a
well-judged running effort, to remove Chaminda Vaas.
Clark and Clarke
Early on in the tournament the scoreboard at Newlands had a few issues
deciding whether it wanted to show Michael Clarke or Stuart Clark.
It's a good job it was in full working order today as both combined
twice to plunge Sri Lanka into deeper trouble. Kumar Sangakkara,
trying his best to hold the innings together, slashed to backward
point where Clarke took a smart low catch, but his next effort was on
another level. Farveez Maharoof tried to drive through the covers,
only to get an outside edge which flew in the direction of Clarke. It
was skimming inches above the turf; Clarke flung himself to his
right and managed to get a hand underneath the ball for one of the
catches of the tournament.
Six and ouch
The control Australia had throughout the innings was emphasised when
the first six didn't come until the 19th over - a meaty blow by Lasith
Malinga - but that wasn't the real drama. Shane Watson, in his first
match back after recovering from a hamstring injury, followed through
and immediately clutched his left hamstring. Once again he left the
field distraught and more time on the sidelines beckons. It is
becoming a depressing pattern and creates further questions about
Watson's long-term future.
Bullying batting
Australia barely had to break sweat during their run chase, but there
was still time for Matthew Hayden to show his brute force. His
unforgiving strokeplay stamped Australia's complete superiority on
the match, but it is no different to the way he goes about his innings
in ODIs and sometimes even in Tests. There isn't anything graceful
about how he plays, wielding his huge bat like a sledge hammer, but it
has served him well and lifted him top of the run-scoring table for
the time being.
Andrew McGlashan is a staff writer on Cricinfo
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