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Australia arrived in Sri Lanka comfortable in the knowledge that they had only ever lost one of the 13 Tests they have played against Sri Lanka. On paper, the highest ranked team should have had little trouble accounting for seventh placed Sri Lanka.
However, factor in the dusty spin friendly wickets; the off spin of Muralitharan; Sri Lanka's impressive home record; a change of captaincy; return of an aging leg spinner; the pressure on two spinners racing to 500 wickets and a possible world record; and a series loss in the last tour to Sri Lanka when Gillespie broke his leg over Stephen Waugh's nose with rain ruining the final two Tests of that series. All these factors combined to make the uncertainty factor higher than it should have been for the tour.
Sri Lanka currently has only one player who would stroll straight into any world eleven that may play Australia later this year in South Africa - Muralitharan. Without the off spinner, Sri Lanka's rating would be a long way short of its current level.
Muralitharan takes an average of 5.8 wickets per Test. Ignoring the ongoing saga regarding the legality of his action, that rate of wicket taking alone rates him as one of the all time greats. That he is racing with Warne, a 'Cricketer of the Century' to the world record of 519 Test wickets set by Courtney Walsh further supports that view.
Muralitharan's ability to run through opposing batsmen on his home wickets has been the most significant factor in Sri Lanka winning twelve and drawing four of their last 17 home Tests before the Australians toured. During the same period, Sri Lanka won only one of the eight Tests played away from home.
However, Sri Lanka's advantage was effectively neutralised against Australia. With Warne and MacGill, Australia had two champion spinners and any turning wickets would be of equal benefit to both teams. It was no surprise when Warne (26) and Muralitharan (28) were the leading wicket takers in the series.
The race to Walsh's record will next move to Zimbabwe, where Sri Lanka will play two Tests in early May. Muralitharan would be expected to take the record at that time. Australia arrive straight afterwards in late May. However, given Warne's comparative age and slower rate of wicket taking per Test (4.7), he may never catch Muralitharan.
Sri Lanka's remaining players are not of the same consistent quality as Muralitharan and that showed throughout the series. Despite the lack of consistency, Sri Lanka still had their opportunities to win each match. However, Australia won most of the crucial sessions where Sri Lanka could have converted their advantage into victory or a draw. The most striking examples being the second Test where they fell only 28 runs short of victory and the final Test where survival by only eight more balls would have forced a draw.
Any concerns that the transition to Ponting may unsettle Australia have been dispelled. Ponting's luck became apparent when he won each toss and was able to force the home side to suffer the worst of the pitches in the fourth innings. Despite an unusual practice of conceding a first innings deficit in each Test and squeezing the available time to dismiss his opponents, Ponting emerged as a first up winner. Of Australia's long-term Test captains over the past 50 years, only Johnson, Benaud, Greg Chappell and Waugh have won their first Test as captain. None of them managed a series whitewash, although a series whitewash was more difficult in the longer series of earlier eras.
Ponting showed that he is willing to be different from his immediate predecessor. While Waugh disavowed the use of night watchman, Gillespie was sent out in the third Test to protect his batsmen. The move did not pay off, however, as Gillespie promptly returned to the pavilion with one run against his name.
As a result of this series, Australia remains firmly lodged in first place in the ratings with their rating rising to 1236 points. That is the same level as the best (Sir) Vivian Richards' West Indians achieved in April 1986 and the fourth highest rating ever recorded. The three higher ratings were set by Australia under Waugh's leadership. Australia is now just five rating points short of their own all time record of 1241 points.
Ponting's opposite number, Tillakaratne, has subsequently resigned the captaincy after the Sri Lankan selectors started casting around for a replacement before the third Test had even begun. Sri Lanka remains in seventh place on 1022 points, with their lead over eighth placed West Indies reduced to eleven points. However, Sri Lanka is unlikely to be troubled by that given the West Indies is losing badly to England in a series currently in play.
The latest Test cricket ratings are: 1. Australia (1236); 2. South Africa (1156); 3. Pakistan (1087); 4. England (1067); 5. India (1046); 6. New Zealand (1034); 7. Sri Lanka (1022); 8. West Indies (1005); 9. Zimbabwe (891); 10. Bangladesh (793).
