Australia’s Test series loss to India was not the way they wanted to rebound after last year’s the sandpaper scandal. So they’ve gone back to the drawing board again, bringing in batsmen Joe Burns, Kurtis Patterson and WA quick Jhye Richardson for the first of two Tests against Sri Lanka. The Gabba fixture represents another chance for Australia to save face under intense scrutiny over results and a perceived lack of quality leaders within their ranks. So will they be able to strike early and win a series on home soil this summer? Join our live blog from 11am as things get underway in Brisbane.<doc-sep>All is well once again in Australian cricket, after the men wearing the baggy green thumped Sri Lanka at the Gabba inside three days. All is well once again in Australian cricket, after the men wearing the baggy green thumped Sri Lanka at the Gabba inside three days. After suffering their maiden home series loss to India earlier this month, tensions within Australian cricket had reached boiling point. But despite Brisbane enduring a heat wave, Tim Paine’s men relieved the pressure with a resounding innings and 40-run victory to take a 1-0 series lead ahead of next week’s second and final Test at Manuka Oval. So what does the victory mean in the overall scheme and will there be any changes for the second Test? Here’s five burning questions. Every Test, ODI, T20I, and BBL match live. SIGN UP NOW! WHERE HAS MITCHELL STARC’S SPARK GONE? He’s the newest member of the 200 club, but the future of Australia’s strike bowler Mitchell Starc remains in question. Source: Getty Images He’s the newest member of the 200 club, but the future of Australia’s strike bowler remains in question. Starc took 13 wickets during the four-Test series against India but seldom did he look right. All summer he’s struggled to swing and control the ball and those problems continued in the first Test against Sri Lanka. Nor can the excuse that Starc needs to bowl more now be used either, as was the suggestion earlier in the summer after having minimal preparation leading into the first Test against India back in December. As debutant Jhye Richardson and Pat Cummins regularly put the ball on a dime and got the ball to move off the seam in Brisbane, Paine was regularly diving to his left and right off Starc as the left-armer sent balls widely down the leg side. Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee was one of a number of past players who commented on Starc’s struggles. “I just think there’s something going on (with Starc),” former Australian quick Brett Lee said in commentary for Fox Cricket during the Test. “There’s nothing wrong with his pace. So his pace is good, but … he doesn’t normally spray the ball like the way he has sprayed the ball today.” Should he remain fit, Starc remains a certainty for the Ashes. But Australia’s selectors will be eager to see him return to form soon because the spark has suddenly gone. READ MORE 6-23! Brilliant Cummins smokes Sri Lanka in massive win AUSSIE RATINGS: Red-hot Cummins roars at the Gabba ‘A BIT BIZARRE’: Baffling DRS decision brings Sri Lanka to its knees VOTE: Patterson’s flyer vs Khawaja’s screamer vs Kohli’s blinder ‘KICK UP THE BACKSIDE’: Lee’s plan to set Starc straight TO BLOOD HIM OR NOT TO BLOOD HIM, THAT IS THE QUESTION Will Pucovski’s exclusion for the first Test caught everyone by surprise. Source: Getty Images Will Pucovski was the shock omission for the Gabba Test. His exclusion for the first Test caught everyone by surprise, having been included in the 13-man squad before that number was increased to 14 on the eve of the match following Kurtis Patterson’s twin centuries in the lead up tour game. Test greats Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan were two that questioned the decision to leave him out and labelled it a missed opportunity. But the debate over whether he should have played has taken a twist as the 20-year-old won’t be eligible to play County Cricket in England ahead of the Ashes unless he makes his debut for Australia in the next Test, thereby robbing him some valuable experience and exposure to English conditions. No doubt Pucovski is a player of the future. The question Australia’s selectors must ask themselves is whether they genuinely think he is good enough to play in the Ashes – the next Test series. If he is not, he shouldn’t play because it would mean dropping a batsman from an already fluid batting line up desperately needing some confidence and solidity. It’s shaping that Pucovski will have to bide his time. WHO IS UNDER THE MOST PRESSURE AHEAD OF THE SECOND TEST? Usman Khawaja is having his leanest summer at a time when he was needed to stand up most. Source: AAP Starc, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns … the list could go on and on. Even Marcus Harris, who has been regularly among the runs this summer, needs to score a century because starts rarely win you Test matches. Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head, too, would be eager to post another score of substance to firm their positions in the spot ahead of the Ashes, particularly with David Warner and Steve Smith to be eligible for selection for the next series. More than being under pressure Starc would desperately like to see the ball begin to swing. But it is Burns and Khawaja most under pressure. Burns because he’s playing his second Test in as many years and needs a big score to remind selectors he’s of Test quality; Khawaja because he’s having his leanest summer at a time when he was needed to stand up most. Khawaja will tour England. But the clock is ticking on the classy batsman. WHAT DOES RICHARDSON’S EMERGENCE MEAN? Jhye Richardson’s entrance will put the heat on Australia’s usual trio of fast bowlers Cummins, Starc and the injured Josh Hazlewood. Source: Getty Images After taking 3-26 on Test debut Richardson fronted the media after completing a memorable introduction. The 22-year-old was asked how Peter Siddle responded to be looked over for him. In typical Siddle class, the veteran Australian quick had wished Richardson well and told him he was ready for Test cricket. They were words that meant plenty to Richardson and gave him the confidence to go out and succeed. How right Siddle was. But Richardson’s marvellous introduction to Test cricket, where he finished with match figures of 5-45, could mean Siddle’s Test days are numbered. The youngster’s impressive entrance will also put the heat on Australia’s usual trio of fast bowlers Cummins, Starc and the injured Josh Hazlewood. WHAT DOES BEATING SRI LANKA REALLY MEAN? You can never scoff at Test victories, particularly when the opposition currently holds the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy. But the innings and 40-run victory over Sri Lanka has to be put in context. While the tourists’ fast bowling attack is one of the better that they’ve brought Down Under, it’s one of the weakest Sri Lankan sides to tour Australia. So what do the runs scored and wickets taken mean ahead of the Ashes? Will they prove to do Australia an injustice or are some of the players that succeeded the real deal? Harris looked good, again, as he has all summer, but somehow got himself out on 44. Sooner rather than later selectors will want him to convert one of his starts into a century. Labuschagne and Head both made runs, but neither made a century. The former, in particular, looked compact and appears to have a technique that will hold up in all conditions. While his temperament and willingness to leave the ball was equally impressive. Head, meanwhile, continues to give the bowlers a sniff. He flashes outside the off-stump often and needs to work on his all-round game. But he’s hungry and willing. Cummins is a proven performer and continues to get better and better. His rhythm is excellent and he’ll be a handful in English conditions. Richardson, too, appears to have the action to succeed England also. He runs through the crease, keeps the seam straight and swings the ball at a good clip.<doc-sep>02:04 The inevitable arrives. Australia win the Test at nine down, with Kumara injured and unable to bat. It was always likely to be too much for Sri Lanka, batting in such unfamiliar conditions against decent pace, and so it proved: bowled out for under 150 in both innings. Patrick Cummins is the star of the show, with ten wickets in a Test match for the first time. “He is a bowler and all-rounder to absolutely savour,” says Alison Mitchell, and my word he is. The first innings he took 4 for 39, the second 6 for 23, his best innings figures by a handful of runs and his best match figures by one wicket. Jhye Richardson was also impressive with 3 for 26 in the first innings, then 2 for 19 in the second. Mitchell Starc got his pace back, even if his rhythm and results weren’t quite there. Two wicket for him in the first innings, though none in the second. And Nathan Lyon picked up one in each innings from a modest workload of 25 overs in the match. “Had a couple of debuts here, so that helped,” Richardson says on ABC radio, referring to other formats at the Gabba. “I got to know the ground and what to do.” “Every single person in the team said, ‘You deserve to be here and we’re happy to have you.’ Everyone in the squad. I don’t actually drink, so I’ll probably be having a nice Coke Zero. If I keep pushing harder and keep running in harder, I’ve found things don’t go my way as much. So it’s about keeping myself grounded. It’s a cliche to say I’m concentrating on the present, but that’s so important in cricket.” Sri Lanka’s bowlers did some excellent work in the one chance they had, but as injuries started to fell the pace attack it got harder. Suranga Lakmal put in a heroic effort, taking 5 for 75 as he had to take up more and more of the workload. He got the pink ball to talk once evening had arrived on the second day. But Australia’s batting was still underwhelming, given they were facing one of the more modest attacks in Test cricket. Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head ground out a pair of 80s and did some good work with a 166-run partnership, but otherwise there were pretty average returns. This series can’t offer any answers for Australia ahead of the Ashes mid-year. But a win is a win, and that alone will help this young and green team to feel a bit better about life after being towelled up in the back half of the India series. They’ve got another chance for a morale boost in Canberra, for the first ever Test at that venue, while Sri Lanka might be more at home on a flatter and truer batting surface. “As a batting unit we need to improve, and that’s what we’ll be working towards,” says Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal. We will of course be there for that match starting next Friday. Thanks from all of us for reading along, and we’ll see you then.<doc-sep>
Pat Cummins was player of the match at the Gabba. Order has been restored after Patrick Cummins bowled Australia to a rousing innings and 40 run victory over Sri Lanka at the Gabba to take a 1-0 series lead for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy. It was Australia Day and it was Cummins’ day, too, as the Australia fast bowler took 6-23 for the innings and finished with the stunning figures of 10-62 for the match. While the pain of a maiden home series loss to India remains fresh in the mind of Australia’s cricketers and indeed the public, this was an emphatic victory which will go someway to helping Tim Paine’s men move on. Every Test, ODI, T20I, and BBL match live. SIGN UP NOW! MATCH CENTRE: All the stats, analysis and video highlights Pat Cummins took 10 wickets for the match. Source: Getty Images The middle-order pair of Marnus Labuschagne (81) and Travis Head (84) didn’t end Australia’s century drought this summer, but they made important runs which will breed confidence in themselves and spread throughout the line-up. Cummins wasn’t the only bowler who impressed either. On debut, Jhye Richardson continued his fine entrance to Test cricket, taking 2-19 in the second innings to add to his 3-26 from the first. While fellow debutant Kurtis Patterson looked comfortable posting 30 on Friday evening and took two catches on Saturday, the latter a spectacular diving effort to his right. CUMMINS’ DREAM BALL, HEAD CASHES IN: Five moments that decided the Test VOTE: Patterson’s flyer vs Khawaja’s screamer vs Kohli’s blinder ‘KICK UP THE BACKSIDE’: Lee’s plan to set Starc straight AUSSIE RATINGS: Red-hot Cummins roars at the Gabba ‘A BIT BIZARRE’: Baffling DRS decision brings Sri Lanka to its knees Starting at 1-17 after Cummins’ final ball heroics on Friday night, the tourists always appeared at long odds to save the match. It wasn’t long before any hope of a Sri Lankan revival was wiped away, as Cummins took the wicket of the opposition captain with just the eighth ball of the day and his second in three deliveries as Dinesh Chandimal copped a brute of a climbing delivery and only managed to edge to Patterson in the gully. A dejected Chandimal, who only three days earlier had spoken of leading his country to a maiden victory on Australian soil, stood at the crease wondering how on Earth it had all gone so horribly wrong. Eleven balls later, Cummins had his third of the innings after Kusal Mendis threw his bat at the ball and snicked behind to Joe Burns standing at second slip to depart for one. At that point, Cummins had three wickets for no runs. After some brief resistance, Cummins popped up again taking his fourth wicket as Roshen Silva poked at a full delivery on three and Burns had another at second slip. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Richardson then set up Dhananjaya de Silva with four away shaping deliveries before an inswinger which cleaned the right-hander up to bowl him for 14. At the other end, Lahiru Thirimanne – playing his first Test since November 2017 – batted for survival. His resistance ending on 34, after being adjudged to have edged Cummins behind. The left-hander reviewed it, and despite technology not clearly showing an edge, Marais Erasmus’ dismissal stood, with a small spike showing on snicko even though the ball was fractionally past the bat at the point. Cummins, Richardson then took another wicket each, before Nathan Lyon eventually had Suranga Lakmal out stumped by Paine for 24. Sri Lanka all out for a disappointing 139 to go alongside their first innings total of 144.