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Australia’s woes against spin resurfaced yesterday as their batsmen fell either playing too negatively or too flamboyantly against Sri Lanka’s tweakers on day two of the first Test.
The tourists ended the rain-shortened day in a fine position, with Sri Lanka 1-6 and trailing by 80 runs. But they would have been disappointed that four of their top six batsmen made good starts only to waste them.
As well as Sri Lanka bowled, the Australians underperformed in making only 203 on a Kandy pitch which is not as difficult for batting as both sides have made it seem.
Captain Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Peter Nevill both lost their wickets playing over-ambitious strokes, with Smith’s dismissal particularly horrendous. Meanwhile, opener Joe Burns and first drop Usman Khawaja both fell into the trap of being too defensive against the Sri Lankan spinners.
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Khawaja has a bad habit of seeking to play spin mostly off the back foot, something he has tried to shed over the past two years by adding the sweep shot to his armoury. He still seems to revert to type under pressure, however. It is possible to play spin predominantly off the back foot on Australian pitches, which offer true bounce.
But such an approach is fraught with danger on the subcontinent, where the path of the ball off the surface is far more difficult to predict. The last time Australia played in Asia, two years ago in the UAE, they got in a frightful mess by playing Pakistan’s spinners from the crease.
Like Khawaja, Burns was very tentative against left armer Rangana Herath, despite the fact the veteran tweaker was barely turning the ball an inch.
Playing in survival mode, Burns instantly handed the ascendancy to Herath. Burns was glued to the crease, a veritable sitting duck.
Smith and Nevill had the right mindset. They sought to put pressure on the spinners and not allow them to dictate terms. The execution of this strategy, though, was abysmal. Wild dismissals against spin are becoming too common for Smith.
Nimble feet and an assertive approach have made him a fine player of slow bowlers. But several times in the past 18 months he has engineered his downfall via hyper-aggression, bordering on disrespect for his spin opponent.
When at his best using his feet, Smith’s sole priority is to get to the pitch of the ball.
Once that has been achieved he plays the delivery on its merits, driving through the infield if that seems appropriate, lofting if he is well in position, or defending if need be.
More recently he has seemed inclined to pre-meditate big shots – before even he leaves the crease he has a boundary in mind. The risk with this mindset is that you may follow through on that planned audacious stroke even if you find yourself in a poor position to do so.
This seems to be what has been happening with Smith, and did again yesterday. Rather than being able to adapt to the delivery once he is out of his crease, and defend if he isn’t to the pitch, his attack-at-all-costs mindset brings him undone.
Herath saw Smith coming and so dragged his delivery shorter and wider. The Australian could have and should have changed tack and looked merely to offer a dead bat. Instead he remained offensive-minded and tried to thrash the ball while horribly out of position. As has happened far too often recently, Smith was stumped in rather embarrassing fashion.
Smith’s positive play is crucial to the balance of the Australian batting order. But he has become almost cartoonish in his belligerence against the tweakers. Smith was fortunate that the middle-to-lower order managed to drag Australia to a significant lead of 86.
His aimless slog had left Australia in a crevasse. And, despite being ahead in the Test, they are far from assured of victory. On a pitch expected to take more and more turn as each day passes, Sri Lanka’s spinners will be an intimidating presence in the fourth innings.
Even a chase of 150 for Australia will not be elementary. Particularly so if their batsmen cannot find that happy middle ground between the excessive caution of Burns and Khawaja, and the cocksure approach of Smith and Nevill.