Symonds makes a case for selection

Australians 484 for 6 and 250 for 4 (Symonds 119*, Langer 63*) lead Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI 166 (Gunawardene 70, Lee 4-29) by 568 runs
Scorecard

Somebody call Amnesty international. Cruelty reached new heights on the second day of the tour match against Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI, as the Australians built a lead of 568 runs, after dismissing their opponents for 166 in 36.2 overs. Brett Lee took the morning's honours, crashing through the top order to take four wickets, and then Andrew Symonds turned the competition for a Test berth into a full-blown battle with a sparkling unbeaten century that gave his team the momentum to score 250 for 4 in only 50 overs.

In the first innings, Simon Katich and Darren Lehmann cracked rapid hundreds, while Symonds, their competitor for the sole middle order slot, managed an unbeaten 45 in the limited time he had. In the second innings, under Ricky Ponting's `everyone gets to play' policy, Symonds made pretty good use of his promotion to No. 3 by smashing 119 with 18 fours and a six that cleared the ground. For the second time this game, the ball was lost.

Symonds shared a 141-run stand with Justin Langer, who struggled to score 63. Shane Warne then turned up and scored 31, but Symonds kept applying more and more pressure on the hapless bowlers, and he tonked 15 boundaries on his way to 90, before cautiously scoring singles to reach his hundred. It was a comprehensive performance by the batsmen, who followed up the work of the bowlers earlier that day.

The Australians had made an overnight declaration at 484 for 6, and let their bowlers loose first thing in the morning. Lee wasted no time, trapping Russel Arnold with his first ball, and yorking Saman Jayantha with the fifth. The double-blow exposed a soft underbelly, and the bowlers were on to it like vultures. Sanjit Fernando struck three fours before Michael Kasprowicz slipped one through, and Lee then removed Sanjeewa De Silva and Thilan Samaraweera, who average over 50 for Sri Lanka. In seven overs, Lee decimated the top order, but would have had prettier figures if not for eight no-balls.

A cavalier attitude to batting cut short Gunawardene's Test career three years ago, though the same quality held him in good stead today. Unaffected by Lee's onslaught, he took Kasprowicz apart. By lunch, Gunawardene had crashed his way to 59, with 52 coming through boundaries. When he was finally out for 70, leg before to MacGill, the team fell into a crevice. MacGill picked up two other wickets, but the innings was ended by Shane Warne, who had Ruchira Perera stumped to pick up his first wicket in Australian colours since January 25, 2003.

Then came the Australian batsmen, and more misery for the Sri Lankans.