KEY POINTS:
BRISBANE - Australia thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs on the fifth day of the first cricket test here after Brett Lee took three of the five wickets to fall today.
Resuming on 218 for five this morning after being asked to follow on, the
tourists went to lunch at 290 for nine and were soon bowled out for 300 after the break.
Man-of-the-match Lee took four for 86 in the second innings for match figures of eight for 112.
Leading the attack for the first time since Glenn McGrath's retirement, Lee took the second wicket of the day when the paceman hit the off stump of Farveez Maharoof (18) at 259 for seven.
Maharoof had been unsettled by three short balls earlier in the over and failed to get forward to a leg-cutter.
After a second rain delay, Lee had Chamara Silva caught at third man for 43.
Lee took his eighth wicket of the match in his next over, bowling Dilhara Fernando for four as lunch was taken.
Stuart Clark had grabbed his 50th wicket in his 10th test by removing wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene lbw for one in the sixth over of the day.
Clark (two for 75) wrapped up the result for Australia, their 13th consecutive test win, by bowling Muttiah Muralitharan for four 10 minutes after lunch with Chaminda Vaas remaining 11 not out.
Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill yesterday reached the 200-wicket milestone in his 41st Test, the equal fourth-fastest in cricket history.
Queensland left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson took two for 49 and two for 47 in an encouraging debut.
The two-test series concludes with the second match in Hobart starting on Friday.
SCOREBOARD
Australia
First innings 551-4 (dec)
Sri Lanka
First innings 211
Second innings
M Atapattu c Gilchrist b Symonds 16
S Jayasuriya c Ponting b Lee 39
M Vandort b MacGill 82
M Jayawardene c Gilchrist b Johnson 49
T Samararweera c Hussey b Johnson 20
C Silva c Hussey b Lee 43
P Jayawardene lbw b Clark 1
F Maharoof b Lee 18
C Vaas not out 11
D Fernando b Lee 4
M Muralitharan b Clark 4
Extras (4b, 3lb, 6nb) 13
Total (for 10 wkts, 99.2 overs) 300
Fall: 53 (Atapattu), 65 (Jayasuriya), 167 (M Jayawardene), 213 (Vandort), 215 (Samararweera), 259 (Maharoof), 266 (P Jayawardene), 281 (Silva), 290 (Fernando), 300 (Muralitharan).
Bowling: B Lee 27-7-86-4, M Johnson 19-5-47-2, S Clark 22.2-3-75-2 (6nb), A Symonds 6-1-21-1, S MacGill 25-3-64-1.
Result: Australia won by an innings and 40 runs.
- AAP