This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

This Moment In The First Twenty20 Match Against Sri Lanka Might Be The Silliest Piece Of Cricket Fielding We've Seen

Oh deary, dear.
Where is it? Doh! Where is that stupid thing?
Channel Nine
Where is it? Doh! Where is that stupid thing?

Oops.

Coulda happened to anyone, but it happened to 27-year-old Sri Lankan all-rounder Seekkuge Prasanna on the first ball of the 19th over in the first T20 international between Australia and Sri Lanka at the MCG.

What happened exactly? Well, this.

Brother, we've all been there.

Meanwhile, despite repeated outbreaks of the fielding yips in Australia's innings, Sri Lanka beat Australia by five wickets with a boundary (when they needed a single) on the very last ball of the match.

That makes it sound like this match was incredibly tight, but in reality, a Sri Lankan win looked likely for most of the visitors' innings.

At the start of this match, the Australian team had an unfamiliar look about it.

At least half of the regular Australian T20 team is unavailable due to commitments in India, as the Test squad prepares for a four-match series. That opened the door for the likes of 36-year-old batsman Michael Klinger, who took his place in the line-up alongside fellow debutant, all-rounder Ashton Turner.

While the Test team has opted for a youth policy, the T20 policy appears to be picking form players from the Big Bash, as it should be. Klinger was third top run-scorer in BBL06, his 334 runs spearheading the Perth Scorchers' run to the title.

He started brightly on Friday night, racing to 28 off his first 16 balls before he was roped in a little, eventually being dismissed for 38 off 32 balls.

Stand-in Aussie skipper Aaron Finch made a brisk 43. You don't see many bigger hits at the MCG than this.

Progress was a little sluggish in the middle overs. Australia took until the 15th over to reach 100. Things would have been worse if Sri Lanka had held their catches.

Or stopped some really easy balls.

Or not done this. Which is fun to watch again and again and again.

Moises Henriques sped things up briefly before departing for 17 off 10.

Australia was 3/139 after the 17th over with Travis Head and Ashton Turner at the crease. Wickets fell pretty regularly after that and they ended up at 6/168 off 20.

Enough? It felt like maybe not.

Sri Lanka started slowly in reply, but had rocketed along to 50 midway through the fifth over for the loss of just one wicket.

You thought at that point they'd have to be favourites to win, and you'd have thought right. Led by 52 from Asela Gunaratne, Sri Lanka just had a few too many shots up their sleeve, and unlike Australia, was never really bogged down in the middle overs.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.