It used to be that fast bowlers didn’t make the best fielders, but Lee is a supreme athlete and confirmed it with a third catch to remove Chaminda Vaas
Andrew McGlashan in Cape Town20-Sep-2007
An injury concern for Shane Watson was the only blemish on a near-perfect day for Australia © AFP
Lee-thal
The first 10am start of the tournament at Cape Town always meant the toss would be crucialand after the coin fell in Australia’s favour, Brett Lee was on thespot straight away. His second ball swung back into Sanath Jayasuriya,cutting him in half, the next delivery was a touch fuller and didexactly the same. This time Asad Rauf raised his finger and Sri Lankawere immediately on the back foot. Meanwhile, Jayasuriya’stournament continued to nosedive with his last three scores reading 5,0 and 0.Catching on
Lee was at the centre of most of the early action. After removingJayasuriya he held onto Upul Tharanga’s top edge at third man beforehaving Mahela Jayawardene caught at mid-on from a ball which stoppedon the surface. Jayawardene could hardly tear himself away from thecrease, realising his side’s chances were slipping away. The problemsgrew when Lee, again at third man, but this time to aright-hander, made Chamara Silva’s outside edge appear a comfortablecatch. It used to be that fast bowlers didn’t make the best fieldersbut Lee is a supreme athlete – and confirmed it with a third catch, awell-judged running effort, to remove Chaminda Vaas.Clark and Clarke
Early on in the tournament the scoreboard at Newlands had a few issuesdeciding whether it wanted to show Michael Clarke or Stuart Clark.It’s a good job it was in full working order today as both combinedtwice to plunge Sri Lanka into deeper trouble. Kumar Sangakkara,trying his best to hold the innings together, slashed to backwardpoint where Clarke took a smart low catch, but his next effort was onanother level. Farveez Maharoof tried to drive through the covers,only to get an outside edge which flew in the direction of Clarke. Itwas skimming inches above the turf; Clarke flung himself to hisright and managed to get a hand underneath the ball for one of thecatches of the tournament.Six and ouch
The control Australia had throughout the innings was emphasised whenthe first six didn’t come until the 19th over – a meaty blow by LasithMalinga – but that wasn’t the real drama. Shane Watson, in his firstmatch back after recovering from a hamstring injury, followed throughand immediately clutched his left hamstring. Once again he left thefield distraught and more time on the sidelines beckons. It isbecoming a depressing pattern and creates further questions aboutWatson’s long-term future.Bullying batting
Australia barely had to break sweat during their run chase, but therewas still time for Matthew Hayden to show his brute force. Hisunforgiving strokeplay stamped Australia’s complete superiority onthe match, but it is no different to the way he goes about his inningsin ODIs and sometimes even in Tests. There isn’t anything gracefulabout how he plays, wielding his huge bat like a sledge hammer, but ithas served him well and lifted him top of the run-scoring table forthe time being.