Daniel Cherny

Feb 5, 2025 | codesports.com.au | Daniel Cherny

Steve Smith says he is unfazed by Sri Lanka’s decision to bowl defensively towards him during his first innings century last week at Galle. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya repeatedly bowled outside the line of leg stump only for Smith to pad the ball away during a stretch of play during the final session of day one. But Aussie skipper Smith said he understood why the Sri Lankans had chosen that tactic, even if they had left themselves open to being warned by the umpires.

Feb 3, 2025 | codesports.com.au | Daniel Cherny

If the idiom that the darkest hour is just before the dawn holds true, then for Travis Head it came during a struggling County Championship stint with Sussex in 2021. Head was 27, had been dropped from the Australian Test side over the summer and had lost his central contract. His career had reached a crossroads when he ventured to the UK, hoping to rediscover some runs. Spoiler alert: He didn’t. Head’s memory embellishes the story slightly. On Sunday in Galle he quipped that he had averaged 12.

Jan 31, 2025 | codesports.com.au | Daniel Cherny

CricketDon't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News. Steve Smith has been labelled a tactical “genius” by Australian spinner Matt Kuhnemann after the stand-in skipper helped set up the wicket of Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva on Friday. De Silva was stumped for 22 after dancing down the wicket to left-armer Kuhnemann, who credited the champion batter for tempting his opponent into the error. “That was down to Smudge.

Jan 29, 2025 | cairnspost.com.au | Daniel Cherny

LIVEAustralia heads into day two of the first Test against Sri Lanka looking to press home the advantage gained from Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith’s centuries. Khawaja (147) and Smith (104) were unbeaten when an evening shower saw stumps called early with Australia 2-330 after electing to bat first. Play will resume at 3:15pm (AEDT) on Thursday to make up for the time lost on day one.

Jan 29, 2025 | codesports.com.au | Daniel Cherny

Usman Khawaja has revealed a plea from Australian coach Andrew McDonald that the veteran keep playing until this tour as the opener took a veiled swipe at those who had been telling him to retire over the summer. Khawaja, 38, became the oldest Australian to score a Test century in more than two decades, batting for the entirety of day one in Galle for an unbeaten 147 as the tourists reached 2-330 at stumps in the first Test against Sri Lanka.