Test cricket as it happened: Australia’s men and women claim huge wins – simultaneously​on February 1, 2025 at 11:03 am

Jeffrey Vandersay is going down swinging.

He’s just whacked Kuhnemann over his head for six to gallop out to 34 runs off just 31 balls. He also has six fours to his name.

Good hustle. Could have done with more of this, earlier… from all other Sri Lankan players.

There we have it – Kuhnemann has just changed to over the wicket and the switch has paid immediate dividends. That’s spun a lot, and taken out Nishan Peiris’ bails.

Australia’s men needs one more wicket to win… just like the women.

These two matches are going to finish at bang on the same time, aren’t they?!?

They’ve got reviews to burn, though. Travis Head just convinced Steve Smith to go upstairs after Kuhnemann hit Vandersay on the pads – and while it looked like he’d beaten the inside edge, replays showed that he hadn’t. There was an edge. So it’s not out.

Still two more wickets remaining, Sri Lanka are 8-201.

Gardner just dropped a bouncer out of nowhere and it found Ecclestone wanting as she swung wildly at it and succeeded in top-edging it for a catch.

Gardner is a super smart player, Australia needs one wicket for victory.

Sadly only one of King or Gardner will get five wicket and an honour board spot but this win won’t be forgotten by this team for some time.

Now let me preface this by saying I am no cricket historian.

But surely… surely, this has never happened before? And by ‘this’ I mean a country’s men’s and women’s Test cricket teams closing in on innings victories at pretty much exactly the same time?

I mean, it’s rare enough that the women are playing Tests; we need more of those, obviously. It’s even rarer for the men and women to be playing Tests simultaneously; that’s best avoided, let’s be honest.

But for them both to be winning like this? Off the back of spin bowling, mainly?

This is just bonkers.

If you’re aware of a precedent, let us know. But I can’t think of one.

Well, that one was so routine, the Aussies barely even celebrated.

Nathan Lyon bowled Prabath Jayasuriya. That pitch well outside off but came in – Jayasuriya went for the slog, missed it, and his off stump paid the price.

Sri Lanka is 8-192 – and now Lyon is on a hat-trick, since his previous wicket came at the end of his last over!

Well… no hatty, unfortunately.

King has a wicket from a full toss. Yes, she is bowling that well.

She let a waist high ball loose and MacDonald-Gay tried to hit it for six.

All she did was hit it down the throat of the fielder.

The third umpire double-checked it wasn’t above the waist then ruled it all good.

King has four wickets. Austalia needs two more for a whitewash and England are 8-122.

Boom. There’s another wicket for Australia in Galle – it’s from Nathan Lyon, to Kusal Mendis, and he’s been stumped by Alex Carey as he charges down the pitch to attack… but has Carey got that right?

The ball isn’t in his gloves! It’s being held to his chest by his gloves when the bails are taken off. Is that good enough for Joel Wilson? He’s certainly got control of the ball…

Yes – it’s OUT! Sri Lanka is 7-187, and this one’s gonna be over pretty quickly from here, I reckon.

Gardner and King continue to ask questions of the English lower order but in the overs since dinner, Sophie Ecclestone and Ryana MacDonald-Gay are hanging tough.

Both spinners have beaten the bat a couple of times but the English pair are defending staunchly and taking the odd run when it is available.

England are 7-122, still 148 runs behind.

Kuhnemann is now back bowling, just from the opposite end to before. Let’s see if that makes any difference. Probably some different rough spots for him to aim at.

Yep – that has made a big difference. He’s lured Dhananjaya de Silva into throwing his wicket away, the ball after he hit him for a big six. DDS tried to go big again but got this one all wrong and Beau Webster swallows it up.

Bad shot, big mistake.

So the hosts are now 6-181, and Australia can clean this up quickly if they’re good enough. Sri Lankan heads will drop, you’d imagine, after that.