If nothing else comes out of this rain-interrupted third Test match, Ricky Ponting's brilliant century will be enough of a memory from Colombo. From the first ball he faced two days ago he looked like a man on a mission of taking his team to an equalising Test match victory. His feet were like those of a tap dancer as he moved around the crease with the confidence of a very classy Test cricketer. His timing was impeccable, as was his shot selection against one of the best spin bowlers in the world.

Since the one-day series finished, 'Punter' has been batting beautifully in these foreign conditions. He has looked very relaxed every time he has walked out into the middle and the runs have flowed accordingly. His effort in the first innings combined with a great opening partnership on the first day and a gutsy 30 runs from Damien Fleming has us in a position of strength.

Unfortunately the abundance of rain is literally dampening our chances of a result, although as the game now stands there is only one team who can win it. If we are able to play two full days of cricket on Monday and Tuesday this fact will be a huge factor in the game. Sri Lanka have plenty to gain by drawing this match but psychologically it is always difficult to play your best cricket when the prospects of a victory are slim. By bowling and fielding aggressively for the next two days we can set up a perfect finale to this tour.

Besides a strong Sri Lankan batting line-up our biggest hurdle at this stage will be the continued falling of heavy rain. Without having seen a weather forecast for the next two days it is highly unlikely that we will have two completely rain-free days. Such is the water level at the SSC ground it simply cannot take too much more of a battering from the heavens. This afternoon the sun has shone brightly and the drying wind has blown strongly but unfortunately the ground is simply saturated.

We are obviously frustrated because of our strong position and added determination for this Test match but as I stated yesterday there is nothing we can do about the rain. Unfortunate as it may be!

Talking about unfortunate and spare a thought for yet another injured casualty of this tour. Scotty Muller, a hero in his first game for Australia has had a nightmare since his dream debut in the practice match before the second Test. In the second innings of his first appearance he split the webbing on his left hand. Over the past few days his hand has been recovering very well. That is until yesterday when he damaged his right index finger taking a few high catches during our warm-up. In an attempt to protect his injured left hand he over-compensated with his right mitt in turn damaging the bone and tendons in his opposite finger. Talk about bad luck for the big Queenslander who is on the first plane out of Colombo tonight.

They say things happen for a reason, hopefully this crazy rainfall and Scott's misfortune will see a happy ending in the bigger picture?

From Colombo, JL