***Official*** Sri Lanka in Australia

[Nate]

Mahela elects to bowl! Jaques to bat in thirty minutes! Malinga not selected! GAAAAHHHHHHHH

 

[pasag]

Lol, did Mahela just say they've left Malinga out?

 

[Burgey]

Another visiting captain wins the toss in Brisbane and bowls.

We'll have to wait and see of course, but it somewhat brings back memories of Nasser in 2002-03.

 

[sideshowtim]

Lol, did Mahela just say they've left Malinga out?

Yep. Incredibly strange decision. He'd have done a fair bit in these conditions too.

 

[Richard]

Laasith Maalinga left out? WTF?

 

[White Lightning]

leaving out Malinga is an interesting decision...

I would've thought the overcast conditions up there would've helped his inswing bowling...

Also an interesting decision to bowl given that teams who have done that over the years have not reaped too many benefits despite the conditions.

 

[pasag]

Yep. Incredibly strange decision. He'd have done a fair bit in these conditions too.

Laasith Maalinga left out? WTF?

Smacks of over-analysis for mine.

 

[andyc]

Hahaha, wtf? Why the hell would you leave out Malinga?

'Yeah, the pitch is looking good for seamers, why don't we leave Murali out too'

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Pretty excited about today ITBT. Murali vs Ponting, Jaques in his first test as a non-fill in, Johnson to bowl sometime in the next day or two as well. Oh, and Lee to prove his critics wrong... again.

 

[Nate]

LOL @ Ponting's advertisment.

"Because they are clinically proven."

Ah dear. I'm not against leaving Malinga out tbh. Reckon Maharoof could do a bit of damage.

 

[sideshowtim]

LOL @ Ponting's advertisment.

"Because they are clinically proven."

Ah dear. I'm not against leaving Malinga out tbh. Reckon Maharoof could do a bit of damage.

Hahaha such a crap actor.

Such a god damn legend though. Love ya Punt.

 

[pasag]

LOL @ Ponting's advertisment.

"Because they are clinically proven."

Haha yeah, was woeful and hilarious at the same time.

 

[stephen]

Pretty excited about today ITBT. Murali vs Ponting, Jaques in his first test as a non-fill in, Johnson to bowl sometime in the next day or two as well. Oh, and Lee to prove his critics wrong... again.

When has Lee ever proven his critics wrong (in test matches that is)?

 

[andyc]

Wow, either Sri Lanka just have a really bad anthem, or this guy can not sing

 

[Nate]

LOL @ Sri Lankan anthem guy. So many funny things amidst the nerves.

Best of luck to Sri Lanka though. Quality cricket ahead.

 

[haroon510]

why did they leave malinga out? i thought Aus pitches suits his bowling..

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

When has Lee ever proven his critics wrong (in test matches that is)?

Since the 2005 Ashes he's been pretty consistently good in test matches. He had a bad series in Bangladesh, and a shocker in Brisbane last summer, but other than that his performances have been good (average of 26), and he's had a big hand in winning Australia some key matches, and people are still calling for him to be dropped. If he has another good summer, people will still be calling for him to be dropped at the end of it.

 

[Top_Cat]

Hmmmmmm........ first off, bowling first on the 'Gabba is fraught with danger no matter how appealing the conditions look. The deck flattens out and is perfect for batting after the first session and even with all of the poor weather, this should happen too.

Second, leaving out Malinga? They've gone and picked three seam-up steady pacers and left out their strike weapon? History has shown over and over that this is the best way to lose to the Aussies, especially at home. The Aussies seem to much prefer facing Fernando to Malinga. I'm actually quite shocked at such a conservative selection, very defensive move and smacks of worrying more about restricting scoring than taking wickets.

 

[silentstriker]

Malinga has to be hurt - otherwise it makes no sense.

 

[Clarence]

Oh dear, only recently moved to brisbane! Totally was not expecting the tv coverage to start at 2.30 pm. Lucky I have my tickets for tomorrow.