Author: Australian Associated Press

• Hosts reach 229-9 in Galle after surviving mini-collapse
• Paceman just misses hat-trick on see-sawing first day

Australia may have a fight on their hands to seal a rare subcontinent series win against Sri Lanka after a see-sawing first day of the second Test in Galle.

Nathan Lyon (three for 78) and Mitch Starc (three for 37) were Australia’s key men on a hot Thursday, the former orchestrating a Sri Lankan collapse before tea and the latter coming just short of a hat-trick after it. But the hosts showed improvement from their dismal series opener, finally able to piece together partnerships on a dusty wicket already offering plenty of turn. They finished the day at 229 for nine, with the deck likely to become very tricky for batters as the Test goes on. Kusal Mendis (59) and Lahiru Kumara (0) were unbeaten at the crease, the former batting with the kind of tenacity rarely seen from Sri Lanka in the first Test.

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• Batter flies home after Travis Head was preferred in first Test
• Konstas will line up for NSW against Queensland this weekend

Sam Konstas’s Sri Lanka tour is officially over with the teenage batter returning to Australia to play Sheffield Shield for NSW.

Despite an impressive first two Tests, Konstas was replaced at the top of the batting order by the more experienced Travis Head in last week’s series opener in Galle.

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• South Australian wins Border Medal after brilliant year
• Ashes centurion claims Belinda Clark award

Travis Head is Australian cricket’s Allan Border Medallist and Annabel Sutherland has won the Belinda Clark award as the top woman in a surprise result.

It was the first time either player had won Australian cricket’s highest individual honours.

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• Batter finally inducted after committee reviews selection criteria
• Bevan acknowledged for revolutionising white-ball game

Michael Bevan has been elevated to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame after a tweak to the criteria governing selection.

Bevan, one of Australia’s greatest white-ball players, scored 6,912 runs at 53.58 from 232 ODIs while routinely steering his side to victory in chases.

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• Australia 654-6 dec; Sri Lanka 136-5 before rain comes
• Two sessions lost but better forecast ahead in Galle

Steve Smith may need to enforce the follow-on to seal an Australian win over Sri Lanka that appeared guaranteed before rain hit Galle in the Test series opener.

The entire second and third sessions on day three were lost to rain on Friday after Australia continued their dominance of the hosts with two key wickets before lunch to reduce them to 136 for five.

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• First Test: Australia 330-2 v Sri Lanka
• Skipper becomes fourth Australian to hit 10,000 Test runs

Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith each belted centuries as Australia bullied a wasteful Sri Lanka team on a one-sided opening day of the first Test in Galle.

Travis Head, promoted to open the innings, silenced the critics of those who wanted Sam Konstas at the top of the order by smashing 57 off 40 balls before Khawaja and Smith took control in an unbeaten 195-run third-wicket stand.

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• Experienced batter gets nod to open alongside Usman Khawaja
• Konstas, Nathan McSweeney and Josh Inglis contenders at No 5

Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas at the top of Australia’s batting order for the first Sri Lanka Test despite the teenager’s heroics in the triumphant India series.

Stand-in captain Steve Smith would not rule out finding a place for Konstas elsewhere in the order for the match that begins in Galle on Wednesday, with a vacancy now open at No 5.

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