A Country for Old Men: Smith and Khawaja have Australia in dominant position

Australia 2-330 (Smith 104no and Khawaja 147no)

With collar popped and baggy green atop his head, Steve Smith cut an almost anachronistic figure as he danced and dashed at Sri Lanka’s spinners after the lunch break.

The acting captain would have enjoyed his meal. He’d gone to the middle on 9,999 runs, but ticked the counter over to 10,000 on playing a drive to the first ball he’d faced.

The day previous he’d admitted that he’d probably become distracted by the impending milestone at the SCG.

“I’ve tried to put it out of my mind, to be honest,” he said. “I probably thought about it a little bit too much in Sydney, I’m trying to forget about it, concentrate on the job at hand.”

The job at hand involves attempting to get Australia its first series win in Sri Lanka since 2011. While Pat Cummins has proved himself an admirable skipper of the Australian side, the restless Smith is possibly better suited to the tactical intricacies involved when selectors name three spinners and just one specialist paceman.