In dry situations, the New Zealand fast blew it to a three-wicket victory.
In his first vacation as a red-ball bowling in Asia, Will O'Rourke was a threat. In his first magic, when the pitch was at its bounciest, he was rapid- often breaching 140kph, and generated nervous jump from his six-foot-four-inch framework.
His first Check wicket in the peninsula came from a boy, with experienced opening Dimuth Karunaratne so shaken by the deliveries O'Rourke had bowled to him originally, that he fenced at one he could had left, and edged it to the wicketkeeper.
Pathum Nissanka, a centurion in the last Test innings he played, hardly 10 days before, was dismissed by an even better ball, a quick, yorker he brought his bat over to later on, and which ended up rattling his stumps.
Often foreign bowlers conflict in their first adventures in dry problems. O'Rourke destroyed it.
" Me and Tim Southee as the rate batsmen have the responsibility to be intense and plate swift and upset people- that's what we've talked about with coach Gary Stead and bowling Jacob Oram", O'Rourke said.
In his first five-over spell, O'Rourke took two wickets for 26.
" A lot of the talk going into the game was maybe that the pitch was a little bit flat and a little bit slow. We probably wanted a bat first. However, because Tim and I were receiving good carry, the conversation had to go in the opposite direction. I probably scattered it around a bit more than I wanted to, but when I hit the right spot I was lucky enough to get a few edges".
O'Rourke's third wicket was especially impressive. Late in the first session, he got one of his own, forcing him to smack Angelo Mathews on the index finger, which caused him to retire hurt. But when Mathews- frequently a good player of fast bowling- returned to the crease, O'Rourke got his wicket with another short, sharp delivery, one that a seemingly muddled Mathews fended at from a bad position.
" It's very special being this early on in my career bowling to legends like Angelo Mathews", O'Rourke said. " One ball may have jumped, irritated him a little bit, and caught him on the finger." It's special to be able to bowl to greats like him and lucky enough to get his wicket at the end".
O'Rourke, in his third Test, is also reveling in having Southee as a mentor. In a 2012 Test against Sri Lanka, Southee has bowled several memorable innings, including one against Galle the morning of the second day. Southee also averages an impressive 18.46 against this opposition.
" It's been awesome having Tim as captain. Having another fast bowler as captain who has done as much for the game as he has- it can only be a good thing for a young guy coming through. Getting him at mid-on, or even third slip when he comes over and gives you a wee pointer- that's a big part of our team and a big part of helping me out".
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