Mahinda on the Australian Cricketers 1983 Test Tour of Sri Lanka-by Mahinda Wijesinghe
Mahinda Wijesinghe, in ESPNcricinfo on 4th February 2004, … deploying this title ”Australia’s first Test tour of Sri Lanka”
Conveniently situated midway between Australia and England, Ceylon, as the island was then known, provided touring cricket teams with a perfect chance to break their long journey and refresh their sea legs. No doubt the most famous of all Australian cricketers to visit Ceylon was Don Bradman. His first visit, aged 22 and on the threshold of becoming the most feared batsman of all time, was in 1930 and was the first occasion that he had donned his pads outside his native land. The Australians, led by Bill Woodfull, were dismissed for 233 (Kelaart 6 for 65) with The Don contributing 40 and the locals replied with 52 for 1 when rain intervened. Incidentally, Bradman was dismissed `hit-wicket’ by the first delivery bowled by Neil Joseph. In his first book, published in 1930, he commented: “The cricket enclosure was a pleasant surprise; it was an excellent ground and a big crowd turned out…the people were most enthusiastic and they had infinitely more than a nodding acquaintance with the game.”
The second visit by The Don was in 1948 as over 25,000 fans crowded the Oval (as the P.Saravanamuttu stadium was then known) to watch the `Invincibles’, who were on their way to England. In his autobiography, Farewell to Cricket, Bradman recollects: “Rain put an early end to the match, but not before we had become very suspicious about the length of the pitch, which on subsequently being measured was found to be some two yards short…Worthy of mention is the Colombo scoreboard, which in some respects gives more information than any board in the world – a tribute to local enthusiasm.”
In 1981 came the most important tour by the Australians. The team, led by Kim Hughes, which also included John Dyson, the current coach, had been asked by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to help make a closer assessment of Sri Lanka’s application for Full Member status. Sri Lanka duly impressed during the 10-day tour, beating the Australians in a limited overs game. In the four-day match they also played themselves into a winning position. Alas, needing 126 in their second innings to clinch a famous win, rain intervened. As the Wisden Almanack remarked: “Rain curtailed play ten hours and could have deprived Sri Lanka of their first, first-class victory over Australia.” Ten weeks later, on July 23, Sri Lanka was awarded full Test status.
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Australia’s first visit to play a Test match was in April 1983. It was also the first time the re-landscaped Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy – the 54th Test venue in the world – had hosted a Test match. Greg Chappell, with David Hookes as his deputy, was leading his country for the 48th and the last time. Hookes, in what was his 24th Test innings, scored the only century of his 23-match Test career. The match was also significant due to the fact that skipper Chappell was the only right-hander in the first six of the Australian batting order. Left-handers, Kepler Wessells, Graeme Wood, Graham Yallop, David Hookes and Allan Border being the other specialist batsmen. With so many southpaws in the Australian top-order, the Sri Lankan selectors played right into the tourist’s hands by picking two right-arm leg-spinners, with one, Roshan Guneratne, making such a disastrous debut that he never played another Test.
The Australians were weakened by the absence of Kim Hughes, Rodney Marsh, Jeff Thomson and Geoff Lawson, but nevertheless, as expected, inflicted a crushing defeat, winning by an innings with a day and a half to spare. It was Sri Lanka’s sixth defeat in eight Tests. The tour itinerary comprised of one three-day match, four One-Day Internationals and a single Test. The tour began on a triumphant note for the home team as Sri Lanka won the first ODI by two wickets at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium. Three days later at the same venue, Sri Lanka repeated their success and doubled their margin of victory. Replying to a respectable 207 for 5 in 45 overs (Yallop 59 and Chappell 54), Sri Lanka’s openers, Sidath Wettimuny (56) and Susil Fernando (34), added 101 runs in 29 overs. Then came the fireworks from a fresh-faced Arjuna Ranatunga, just 19 at the time, who smashed 55 from 39 balls, hitting three fours and three sixes. After a listless three-day drawn game against a Board President’s XI at Moratuwa, when wicket-keeper Roger Woolley (57) – the first Tasmanian player to represent Australia since Laurie Nash in 1931-32 – top scored, the two teams set off to the hills for the all-important Test match.
Winning the toss, Chappell had no hesitation in batting first. There was though an early hiccup as Wood (4) was caught at long-leg off the first ball delivered by — surprise, surprise! — Arjuna Ranatunga, the gentlest of seamers. After that, however, it was carnage. Wessels (141) plundered the bowling with precise cuts and drives and, well supported by Yallop (98) and the majestic Chappell (66), kept the scoreboard moving quickly along. Hookes walked out to bat with his team on 290 for 3. Unbeaten on 43 at lunch, Hookes scored 100 runs in the second session of play. Hookes (143* with two sixes and 17 fours) added 155 runs for the fifth wicket with Allan Border before Chappell finally declared on 514 for four.
The Sri Lankans made a dreadful start, as Wettimuny (0) and Fernando (0) were dismissed by Lillee and Hogg. Duleep Mendis (74) and Ranatunga (90) provided some resistance, but Bruce Yardley claimed five for 88 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for a modest 271. Asked to follow on, Wettimuny made up for his first innings failure with a classic 96, but with the exception of Ranatunga (32) and Ravi Ratnayake (30), the rest of the batting struggled against the left-arm spin of Hogan (5 for 66). Sri Lanka were bowled out for 205 and Australia had won with a day and a half to spare.
The final ODIs, scheduled at the SSC grounds, were interrupted by rain. In the first game the tourists scored 194 for 5 in 39.2 overs (Yallop 51) when bad weather intervened. Rains came again in the next encounter when Australia were 124 for 3 in 19.2 overs (Yallop 60*, Hookes 49). Sri Lanka thus won the ODI series 2-0.
It took almost two decades – in 1999/00 – for Sri Lanka to win a Test for the first time against Australia, led at the time by Steve Waugh. The match, best remembered for a sickening fielding collision between Waugh and Jason Gillespie, was dominated early on by Sri Lanka’s seamers. The hosts won easily in the end to take a 1-0 lead. They dominated for the first couple of days in Galle too, before the monsoon swept up the south coast and washed out the final two Tests. Sri Lanka had won their first ever Test series. No doubt, Rick Ponting will aim to start the post Steve Waugh era by avenging that surprise defeat. Sri Lanka’s two captains, Marvan Atapattu and Hashan Tillakaratne, will certainly have their work cut out.
