Spinner completes man-of-the-match effort on day three as tourists skittle Board XI
O'Keefe's 10 leads Australian rout
Steve O'Keefe was the star once again in Colombo as Australia dismantled the Sri Lankan Board XI to record an emphatic victory by an innings and 162 runs before lunch on day three.
O'Keefe claimed 5-21 – including his 200th wicket in first-class cricket – to finish with 10 wickets and an unbeaten 78 in the match.
O'Keefe picks up his first of the day and that's 200 first-class wickets at the superb average of 24.22! #SLTour pic.twitter.com/VZIFOFmjMb
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) July 20, 2016
Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc each chipped in with two wickets apiece as the hosts crumbled to be all out for 83 with opener Madawa Warnapura unable to bat due to a dislocated shoulder.
It was the ideal hit-out for the tourists ahead of next week’s first Test in Kandy, with all batsmen spending time in the middle and each member of the bowling attack getting overs under the belt without the threat of being worked into the ground.
Quick Single: Smith's side makes desired statement
The Australians declined a declaration before play commenced, with Jackson Bird posting his highest first-class score of 32 in a 58-run stand with O’Keefe for the final wicket.
Already trailing by 245 runs, things escalated quickly for the home side when Mitchell Starc once again dismissed Oshada Fernando for a duck in the opening over of the innings.
Starc struck again in his next over when he obliterated Manoj Sarathchandra’s stumps to leave the Board XI at 2-1 inside three overs.
A 49-run partnership between Shehan Jayasuriya and Asela Gunarathna appeared to steady things for the hosts, but O'Keefe had other ideas.
The NSW Blues spinner dismissed both set batsmen in the space of four deliveries to spark an epic collapse of 6-15.
Quick Single: Belief beats numbers for hungry Lyon
Brought down by illness on the eve of the encounter, Nathan Lyon proved he'll be a handful throughout the three-Test series with a pair of scalps and numerous near misses.
When O'Keefe trapped 37-year-old Dilhara Fernando in front for 15, it brought the innings to a close just after midday and forced the Australian camp into an afternoon training session to complete their required preparation for the series opener starting next Tuesday.