Hussey and Clarke guide Aussies home

In a contest which displayed the evenness of this summers one-day series, Australia eased home to the tune of five wickets, knocking off Sri Lanka’s total of 218 with nine balls to spare in game seven of the VB Series at the Adelaide Oval.

It was opening bat Simon Katich – under pressure to justify his place in the One Day team – who dropped anchor early on in the Australians innings, driving and nudging his way to 52 off 89 deliveries. After his dismissal, it appeared that the experienced duo of Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds were to guide their side home. Yet in an over which demonstrated the beauty of cricket, the pendulum swung again.

Wily Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan turned the game on its ear with two wickets – those of the incumbent batsmen – within the space of three deliveries, leaving Hussey and Clarke to guide their side home.

In a match that lacked spectacular individual performances, it was Brad Hogg who ignited the Australians early in the afternoon. After Symonds and the veteran McGrath dismantled the top order, the nippy West Australian chinaman - who spends his spare time as a postman - capitalized on his teams good work, nabbing the wickets of the dangerous Kumar Sangakkarra (25) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (1), both bowled through the gate.

Hogg finished with 2/35 from his 10 over portion, continuing to reinforce the point that Shane Warne will have to work hard should he wish to regain his place in the Limited Overs squad.

No Sri Lankan batsman passed 34, as the Australian bowlers toiled hard – choking the batsman on an afternoon in which the mercury tipped 39C. The heat was on from the word go, with both openers struggling to contend with both McGrath and Lee, as well as the patchy outfield which has dried remarkably due to a lack of rain over the past month.

Both Mubarak and Tharanga found the going tough early on, as Lee and McGrath held a tight line and length, not allowing the batsmen any width to go after. Both batsmen seemingly refused to take any quick singles, which enabled the Aussies tighten the screws.

Aside from the lack of boundaries (13), the aspect of the batting which hurt the Sri Lankans was the loss of wickets at regular intervals, with no batsman ever appearing settled on a pitch which slowed up remarkably as the day wore on.

Nathan Bracken came back well after 12 runs were pummeled off his first over, returning with figures of 2/45 off his 10 over spell. Symonds was just as effective, scooping a tidy 3/48 off his nine over allotment.

Australia was always going to find the going difficult on a slow deck against the wily Sri Lankan spinners. Keeper/batsman Adam Gilchrist, taking over from Ricky Ponting as skipper for a day, returned to his regular post as opening bat, teaming with the busy Katich.

After coming under fire for his recent run of outs, there were shades of the Gilchrist of old, slapping five boundaries and a six on his way to 34 off 33 deliveries before Kulasekara stopped the stand in skipper in his tracks.

With captain Ricky Ponting taking a well earned rest, Gilchrist took over the resigns as leader, while Victorian batsman and Test sensation Brad Hodge was lured from outside the squad to bolster the batting stocks.

It was a disappointing return to the side for the Bushranger, moving to five before he was bowled by Kulasekara.

Martyn (46) teamed with both Katich and then Man of the Match Symonds (32) to add 102 vital runs, before the wizardry of Murali struck – dislodging the two batsmen which gave them so much grief in game one of the Series.

It was left to the new guard of Clarke and Hussey to steer the ailing Aussies to victory, putting on the final 42 runs required for victory. Despite some tense moments late in the piece, the experienced Hussey – a revelation this summer – stuck the winning runs, seeing his side home to the tune of five wickets.

Both sides now head across the Nullabor to face off at the WACA Ground on Sunday, in a match which may suit the Australians, with Sri Lanka’s disliking of bouncy wickets.

Full scorecard available here.

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