his new teammates for day one of pre-season on Monday, almost two months before the former Kangaroos representative expected to arrive at the foot of the mountains.He was a shock exclusion from

Spin plays a pivotal role as expected, but only for the hosts18.50 Bowling average of Sri Lanka spinners in the series; they took 54 of the 60 Australia wickets that fell in the series striking every 41.5 deliveries, with three five-wicket hauls from Rangana Herath and one from Dilruwan Perera. In comparison, Australias spinners took 24 wickets at an average of 38.29 with a best of 4 for 123 by Nathan Lyon. 54 Wickets taken by Sri Lanka spinners - the most by them in a series. Their previous best was a tally of 50 wickets against New Zealand in a series at home in 1998.Mitchell Starc stands out15.16 Starcs bowling average - the best by a fast bowler to take at least 20 wickets in a series in Asia since Waqar Younis took 27 wickets at 13.81 in a series against Zimbabwe in 1993-94. Overall, Starcs average is the eighth best for a fast bowler with 20 or more wickets in a series in Asia. The other pacers in this series took 13 wicket at an average of 38.61.24 Wickets taken by Mitchell Starc in this series, 11 more than other pacers in the series combined. This is the highest ever lead by a fast bowler over others in terms of wickets in any Test series. The previous best was by Richard Hadlee. He took 33 wickets in the Trans-Tasman Trophy in Australia in 1985-86 while other pacers from either side together took six wickets fewer.25.8 Starcs strike rate in this series - the best for any bowler to take at least 20 wickets in any series in Asia. Muttiah Muralitharans strike rate of 26.0 in a series against Bangladesh at home in 2007 was the previous best. Including Muralitharans figures, the next three instances in this list are by spinners. Waqar Younis strike rate of 29.0 in a series against Zimbabwe in 1993-94 is the next best by a pacer.Australias batsmen found wanting19.08 Average of Australia batsmen in the series - their lowest ever in any series involving two or more Tests in Asia. Their lowest before this had also come in Sri Lanka, in 1999, when their batsmen averaged 22.65 per dismissal.1978-79 The last time Australia batsmen averaged lower in a series involving two more Tests - in the Ashes in Australia when they managed just 17.99 runs per dismissal. Their average of 19.08 is the third worst in any Test series involving at least two matches since 1950.18 Single-digit scores by Australias top-order (No. 1 to No.7) batsmen in the series - their most in a series since 1900 and their fourth highest in any series involving three or fewer Tests. Overall, only one visiting team had had more scores under ten runs from their top-order batsmen in a series in Sri Lanka. West Indies had 19 such scores in a three-Test series in 2001-02.Sri Lankas lower order fights, Australias doesnt885 Runs scored by Sri Lankas batsmen at No. 6 or lower in the series - the second highest in a series against Australia in Asia and only two runs fewer than in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India in 2008-09. Sri Lankas last six batsmen averaged 32.77 in the series and made two hundreds and two fifties.13.16 Runs Australias last six batsmen averaged per dismissal - their lowest in any series in Asia. Their batsmen managed to score only 395 runs from 36 innings and the only fifty came from Mitchell Marsh in the first innings of the third Test. Overall, there have been only five instances for Australia - the last of which was in the 1978-79 Ashes - when their last six batsmen have averaged lower after 30 or more innings in a series.Bunnies galore6 Number of top-order batsmen in this series from either side who got out to a bowler four or more times while averaging fewer than 20 runs against him. This equals the most such instances in a Test series since 2002. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis got out to Starc five times and Steven Smith also fell to Rangana Herath as many times. Starcs five dismissals of Karunaratne were spread over just 39 deliveries and the batsman managed to average just 3.80 runs per dismissal. The 2013 Ashes also saw six such batsmen-bowler combinations from five matches. Openers struggle, again16 Dismissals of openers for single-digits - including four ducks - in this series, which equalled the most in any series of three or fewer matches. There were 16 such instances in the series against India in Sri Lanka last year as well. Openers, of late, have been on shaky ground in Sri Lanka as illustrated in this piece by S Rajesh.11.08 Average opening stand in this series - the third poorest in any series involving 12 or more opening partnerships. The lowest average opening stand in any such series came during Indias tour of Sri Lanka last year, when teams averaged just 5.91 runs for their first wicket.Lets review10 Number of successful reviews against umpires decision in the series - equalled the second most in any Test series since 2010. Sri Lanka made six of these ten successful reviews. Angelo Mathews was more trigger-happy than Smith: Mathews made ten out of 14 reviews made by the fielding teams. Dilruwan Perera used the review three times while batting - the most by a batsman from either side - and was successful in overturning the umpires decision once. 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LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string.He can barely remember his way to the locker room but James Tamou knows exactly where he wants to end up with new NRL club Penrith next season.Week one of the Panthers pre-season hasnt even finished but the big-name signing is already talking a big game, saying only a premiership will bring success to the club in 2017.From what I saw last (season), theres only room to grow. We had a couple of video sessions and Ive been excited to watch what the boys can produce, Tamou said.A premiership - thats the number one goal and thats on everyones mind.Tamou was knee-deep in a push for back-to-back titles with North Queensland in 2016 but admitted he had kept a close eye on the Panthers since signing a lucrative deal in June.And the 27-year-old couldnt help but be enamoured with their high-octane play that fell two games short of a fairytale grand final appearance.Ive been saying for a while, Ive been very excited to come in, he said.Their last 12 weeks of the season I was very impressed. Obviously because I had signed and knew I was coming here, I was keeping an eye on them.They were definitely premiership contenders. The way they went about the Bulldogs (elimination final), who are nothing short of walkovers.Obviously a bit of bad luck against Canberra (in the semi-final, but) just goes to show how young aand resilient this side can be.ddddddddddddItll be good for the club for everyone to stick around. It adds to the dynasty they can build.Tamou met his new teammates for day one of pre-season on Monday, almost two months before the former Kangaroos representative expected to arrive at the foot of the mountains.He was a shock exclusion from Mal Meningas Australian squad for the current Four Nations tournament and while he admitted the axing hurt, was glad to help uproot the family to Sydney.I wouldve went away feeling not well leaving the wife there with the kids. Im happy to be here. We can do some really good things here and day one is where it starts, he said.I know why I missed out. It just puts a bit more fire in the belly for next time.And already hes taken confidence from the way new teammate Trent Merrin experienced a career resurgence after a similar high-profile move from Wollongong last summer.I was reading something about him, he thought he was over representative-wise. We all know the valuable player he is, Tamou said.He came here and went to another level. Thats a bit of a goal for me. But first things first, get through a good pre-season and be injury-free. ' ' '