Chris Tremlett claimed four wickets as England bowled out the cream of Australia’s best young talent for 230 on the opening day of their four-day game at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval yesterday.
Tremlett took 4-54 off 17.1 overs and Ajmal Shahzad 3-57 from 21 overs as England’s second-choice bowlers got their turn after the tourists’ first string were sent to Brisbane to adjust to the conditions ahead of the opening Ashes Test which starts there next Thursday.
Australia A hit back late on the first day to claim the wicket of England skipper Andrew Strauss for 10 to leave the tourists on 22 for one at stumps.
Alastair Cook was 10 not out with nightwatchman Monty Panesar on two.
England smashed through Australia A’s top order after winning the toss on a conducive pitch and had them reeling at 58 for four before some late resistance from Steve Smith and Steve O’Keefe gave their team’s innings some respectability.
Shahzad showed plenty of aggression to grab the wickets of Test prospect Usman Khawaja (13), Smith and Clint McKay (0).
England lost their early momentum as conditions improved for batting in the afternoon, with Smith and O’Keefe hitting out freely.
However, England had a late setback with skipper Strauss out in the fifth over to a great juggling catch by O’Keefe in the gully off paceman Mark Cameron.
England showed the strength of their bowling depth by fielding their second string contingent after sending Test bowlers, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn and Graeme Swann to Brisbane.
Tremlett and Tim Bresnan, who both sat out the opening two tour matches, proved a handful on a responsive pitch in the morning session.
White was bowled between bat and pad by Tremlett for five as he attempted to force through the off-side before Smith launched his team’s fightback.
SRI LANKA V WEST INDIES
Reuters, GALLE, Sri Lanka
Mahela Jayawardene completed his 37th test fifty before rain washed out play on the third afternoon of the first test to leave Sri Lanka on 165 for three yesterday in reply to West Indies’s 580 for nine declared.
Only 4.1 overs were bowled after lunch, but the few minutes of play was sufficient to allow Jayawardene to reach an unbeaten 51 off 87 balls. Thilan Samaraweera was 11 not out.
Sri Lanka, who need to reach 381 to avoid the follow-on, were kept under pressure by the West Indian bowlers, losing two early wickets on a gray morning at the Galle International Stadium.
Opener Tharanga Paranavitana (10) went in the third over after he had his off-stump knocked back by Kemar Roach to end a 55-run partnership with captain Kumar Sangakkara.
Jayawardene joined Sangakkara (73) at the crease and the two played some attractive strokes in raising a partnership of 71 for the third wicket.
However, Dwayne Bravo produced a big inswinging yorker 15 minutes before the lunch break to comprehensively bowl Sangakkara and put West Indies back in command.
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