***Official*** Sri Lanka in Australia

[pasag]

How does he have it wrapped up if he is making runs when the pressure is slightly of? Would be different if Australia were 4/136 for example when he strides to the crease, not when he comes in at 4/442 after Hussey and Clarke have made a massive stand in between.

Mind you with Shane Watson more injury prone then a New Zealand cricketer I can see otherwise.

Craig, Symonds spot isn't under question at the moment. Whether that's right or wrong, it's fact.

For the next Test I'd either have Hogg or four pacers, not too fussed either way as long as it's not MacGill.

 

[Nate]

84/5 Iirc.

 

[pup11]

I tell you, the selectors are really putting pressure on themselves by continuing to select him. He bowled decidedly average in Brisbane overall and was pretty awful in Tassie so he's not exactly in form. People are saying he should lose his place. So they offer up that he's carrying a knee injury. All that really does is intensify the feeling he shouldn't be in the side. And rightly so.

At his best, MacGill is a real handful but he's not at his best in terms of form or fitness right now. Couple that with bunny-like batting powers and slug-ness in the field and the Aussie team is carrying a real liability right now. His knee problems have been well-known for a while now so you have to wonder why he was selected when not fit.

Frankly speaking we should go a bit easy on MacGill, he is replacing the best spinner in test cricket history and he has a lot of pressure of expectations, he is playing test cricket after a long time and he is also suffering from knee problems, that's no excuse for his performances in the last 2 test matches but he should be given a fair run before he is dropped.

 

[Nate]

As TC is saying, it's going to get to the point where we lose a Test Match against India because of it. Prevention is better than cure.

 

[social]

See, this I don't understand, to be honest. How is picking an unfit (injury and fitness-wise) out-of-form player who is below-standard with the bat and in the field safer than picking a bloke who is super-fit, bowling and batting well? There's little doubt MacGill is a more talented spinner than Hogg but right now, it means squat when he's performing so poorly for state and country. Every other player in the side had strong domestic form behind them, runs on the board, wickets in the bag, etc. Bricks-and-mortar stuff. How many more excuses for his poor form do the selectors need to hear before they get sick of them? Maybe when it costs them the series against India perhaps? "But he's more talented" is starting to wear thin after he didn't even reach par against players who (Sangkkara excluded) aren't exactly known for their ability to play wrist-spin well.

Continuing to select MacGill just strikes me as one of those decisions which, once the India series is over, everyone is going to be saying "Hmmmm yeah, we shouldn't have done that in hindsight."

Absolutely spot on.

MacGill has been unfit AND out of form for 2 years

It was almost as though the selectors felt an obligation to pick him because their treatment of him over the years has been so bad

Sad to say but MacGill's time has probably passed and they should pick a fit, in form player that adds substantial benefits to the team with his batting and fielding

 

[Perm]

Agreed, but I'd play Tait instead. Can't see the Indians enjoying his pace.

Forgot about Tait. I suppose it depends on who is in better form when the squad is picked. Hilfenhaus can put it through at a decent clip, and his swing could be very useful at Test level.

 

[Perm]

Well Australia won the match with adequate time and runs in hand, so I don't see how you can call it a poor declaration. Seems to me as if he was waiting til a certain time before lunch before declaring. Half an hour or something.

They did eventually, but there was a time when they were looking a bit shaky and Sangakkara was in with a real chance of bringing Sri Lanka home. I just thought Ponting could have batted faster before making his declaration, as that would have made more sense. Imagine if Jacques Kallis had batted at that pace when South Africa were trying to force a declaration, he almost certainly would've been criticised for playing for his average.

 

[Perm]

How does he have it wrapped up if he is making runs when the pressure is slightly of? Would be different if Australia were 4/136 for example when he strides to the crease, not when he comes in at 4/442 after Hussey and Clarke have made a massive stand in between.

Mind you with Shane Watson more injury prone then a New Zealand cricketer I can see otherwise.

Symonds has played well in this series, 103 unbeaten runs and two wickets @ 15.50, so I don't think his spot is under any sort of pressure. However I think I understand what you are saying and I noticed it when watching Symonds bat. The context in which he has batted in this series has been very similar to an ODI, where Australia are cruising and he has a license to play his strokes. I think it'll be very interesting to see how he handles the pressure when Australia are under the pump, and he has to bat in a situation that is more reflective of Test cricket.

 

[adharcric]

Agreed, but I'd play Tait instead. Can't see the Indians enjoying his pace.

Quality swing bowling would be a greater threat to the Indian batsmen IMO.

 

[Craig]

Craig, Symonds spot isn't under question at the moment. Whether that's right or wrong, it's fact.

For the next Test I'd either have Hogg or four pacers, not too fussed either way as long as it's not MacGill.

For the time being, for the next couple of Tests, but what if he doesn't in the next series?

Symonds has played well in this series, 103 unbeaten runs and two wickets @ 15.50, so I don't think his spot is under any sort of pressure. However I think I understand what you are saying and I noticed it when watching Symonds bat. The context in which he has batted in this series has been very similar to an ODI, where Australia are cruising and he has a license to play his strokes. I think it'll be very interesting to see how he handles the pressure when Australia are under the pump, and he has to bat in a situation that is more reflective of Test cricket.

I think you said it the best way possible.

 

[JASON]

A good series win by the Aussies.

Sri Lanka really were struggling from the time they arrived in Australia and the Sri Lankan psyche struggles to come to terms with the Aussie Juggernaut ...

I look forward to India really taking the attack to the Aussies and stopping the continuous run of victories..

BTW can someone tell me how many of those(14 wins) were at home ?

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

9 were at home. 2 vs. SAF, 5 vs. ENG, 2 vs. SRL.

5 away were 3 vs. SAF, 2 vs. BAN

 

[sideshowtim]

9 were at home. 2 vs. SAF, 5 vs. ENG, 2 vs. SRL.

5 away were 3 vs. SAF, 2 vs. BAN

3 vs SAF in SAF was a pretty massive achievement that hasn't been made a big enough deal of. I believe it was the first sweep of the Saffers at home since the early 20th century...And to do it without McGrath was superb. A couple of great matches in that series too.

 

[JASON]

As far as Sri Lanka were concerned, their poor overseas record continues...and particularly in Australia..They were really gutless in 3 out of 4 innings batting wise bar a few exceptions and even on this 4th innings apart from Sangakkara and Marvan, no one else really can claim to have made a serious contribution..

The absolutely rubbish bowling attack that took 12 Australian wickets as opposed to losing 40 wickets shows an absolute gulf between the 2 sides, and all the bowlers were pretty ordinary bar Murali and even he struggled to make a definite contribution with just 4 wickets in the 2 tests. The selectors were called Muppets and IMO they deserved to be called far worse for selecting Maharoof over Vaas and Maharoof over Malinga in the 2 tests...The trouble in Sri Lanka Cricket is selections are controlled by Politicians and Maharoof obviously has few influential people backing him...

In this Test Sangakkara deserved a Century but was cut short by Rudi. Rudi has been found wanting on numerous occasions in the past few years, but he will continue on no doubt ....

Jayasuriya really needs to consider retirement now like Marvan who has jumped before the Muppets could get at him...

There's just 2 weeks before the England series and if they cannot thump England at home Sri Lanka Cricket will be in for a tumultuous period with lot of questions being asked with regard to selections , coaching staff and administrators.

 

[JASON]

9 were at home. 2 vs. SAF, 5 vs. ENG, 2 vs. SRL.

5 away were 3 vs. SAF, 2 vs. BAN

In South Africa's current form, and without McGrath and Warne I will bet a million dollars that result in SA will never be repeated and if anything it could be 3-0 the other way or at least 2-1 to SA if it were played today.

 

[JASON]

This current Australian side will have no difficulty winning series after series at home (although India will really challenge them IMO much more than the meek weak Sri Lankan effort), but they will struggle overseas...and I look forward to their next few series in the subcontinent earnestly...

 

[Joe Ninety]

Solid series win to Australia, but I thought it a bit rude that they did not include the 12th man(Rhett Lockyear) during the presentation. I mean he only took one catch,performed two run-outs and fielded well for four of the five days.Good work fella!! I imagine he'll remember these last couple of days forever.

 

[Son Of Coco]

As far as Sri Lanka were concerned, their poor overseas record continues...and particularly in Australia..They were really gutless in 3 out of 4 innings batting wise bar a few exceptions and even on this 4th innings apart from Sangakkara and Marvan, no one else really can claim to have made a serious contribution..

The absolutely rubbish bowling attack that took 12 Australian wickets as opposed to losing 40 wickets shows an absolute gulf between the 2 sides, and all the bowlers were pretty ordinary bar Murali and even he struggled to make a definite contribution with just 4 wickets in the 2 tests. The selectors were called Muppets and IMO they deserved to be called far worse for selecting Maharoof over Vaas and Maharoof over Malinga in the 2 tests...The trouble in Sri Lanka Cricket is selections are controlled by Politicians and Maharoof obviously has few influential people backing him...

In this Test Sangakkara deserved a Century but was cut short by Rudi. Rudi has been found wanting on numerous occasions in the past few years, but he will continue on no doubt ....

Jayasuriya really needs to consider retirement now like Marvan who has jumped before the Muppets could get at him...

There's just 2 weeks before the England series and if they cannot thump England at home Sri Lanka Cricket will be in for a tumultuous period with lot of questions being asked with regard to selections , coaching staff and administrators.

What about Fernando? At least Maharoof bowled well in the Second Test...from what I can see Fernando is being given a thousand opportunities to prove he isn't rubbish and isn't intent on taking them at the moment.

 

[JASON]

And I am glad I didn't waste 4000 odd dollars in travel and accomodation in Brisbane and Hobart over 2 weeks by cancelling my travel after the Sangakkara injury ...apart from lost income from loss of 3 working days I am ok...

 

[jeevan]

All 5 of Sri Lanka's bowlers (Vaas, Malinga, Murali, Fernando, Maharoof) averaged over 100! Only Sanath was at 48 with his part time spin.

Is this also some sort of a record? Reads like it.

Wonder how (Kumble, Zaheer, Sreesanth, RP, Pathan, Harbhajan) will fare next month!