Jackson Bird has shrugged off comparisons to Glenn McGrath after another promising display with the ball for Australia.
Bird picked up 4 for 41 as Sri Lanka collapsed late on day one of the third Test at the SCG, bowing out for 294.
Kept in the side as part of the fabled four-pronged pace attack after his 4 for 61 at the MCG, Bird showed the same placement and movement off the seam that saw him dominate Sheffield Shield line-ups this season.
Bird was crucial in removing the Sri Lankan openers before joining in the late carnage to prevent the visitors amassing a big score.
But he has dismissed any notion of being the next McGrath, saying it is far too early in his career for comparisons with the pace great.
"Glenn McGrath was a great bowler for Australia, I think he's taken the most wickets for a fast bowler," he told Grandstand.
"Getting a comparison to him is a good feeling, but I've got a lot of work to do to get even close to Glenn."
After a slow start which saw Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene (72) and Lahiru Thirimanne (91) stroke the Australian attack to all parts, Mitchell Starc (3 for 71) triggered a collapse with the wickets of Angelo Mathews (15) and Dinesh Chandimal (24).
Bird joined in the fun, taking another two wickets as Sri Lanka lost its last five batsmen for 72 runs on a green SCG pitch.
But the Sydney local, now plying his trade for Tasmania, reckons the wicket could favour batsmen heading into day two.
"It was pretty tough work out there today, it's a beautiful wicket to bat on," Bird said.
"We probably let them off the hook in the first session, the ball was only doing a little bit, but we fought back well in the last two sessions.
"This morning there was a little bit of help and if you put the ball in the right areas and bashed the wicket with the seam standing up, you got a little bit out of it.
"But towards the end of the day it flattened out a little bit, so it's going to be a beautiful wicket to bat on tomorrow.
"I thought we bowled pretty well in the middle session and restricted them to about 2 for 80, we just built the pressure up in that last session and we managed to get the rewards towards the end.
"I reckon we'd probably take 294 on the first day. It's just going to get better to bat on. Hopefully the boys can dig in and put on a big score for the first innings."
Sri Lanka will rue the fact it could not build on Jayawardene and Thirimanne's innings to post a 350-plus score, as its middle order failed to properly support its chief run-scorers.
But Thirimanne - drafted into the Sydney Test after injuries crippled the visitors' line-up - says his side is happy with 294.
"We are happy with the score, we batted really well at times," he told Grandstand.
"[At] 4 for 224 we are trying to get 350-plus, but the way the Australian bowlers bowled at the end of the end of the day ... they are really good. So 294 is not a bad score."
Having previously only scored one half-century in seven Tests for Sri Lanka, Thirimanne was a picture of confidence after surviving a first-ball LBW shout from Bird.
Saved by the smallest of margins on review, Thirimanne shrugged off the scare to post his highest Test score after captain Jayawardene hit his first Test 50 outside of Sri Lanka since 2009.
But Thirimanne threw his wicket away in the nervous 90s, top-edging a square drive to a diving David Warner off Nathan Lyon (1 for 69).
"I'm really disappointed because I worked really hard to get 91," he said.
"I was trying to hit over the field to extra cover so it spun a little bit so ... that's it."
Tags: cricket, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, australia, sri-lanka First posted January 03, 2013 19:18:20
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