***Official*** England in Sri Lanka

[JASON]

you are enjoying this Jason.......... after the Aus series

Of course, wouldn't you after getting thumped liked Dogs by the Aussies...

I mean in both those tests it was like 5 wickets Australia > 20 Wickets for Sri Lanka...so this is really gratifying .... until England come back and thump us in the next Test

 

[Richard]

Prior.

Hopefully he sticks around long enough for Malinga to get his wicket (along with a few others) deserves them IMO.

Vaas FTW. Wouldn't it be amusing if Murali only got 1 or 2 in the second-innings.

 

[JASON]

Sounded worse with Nick Knight, though - commenting just seconds before that delivery that he was looking good. And he's on to everyone watching this game, not just the millions of CW.

SL have bowled superbly so far today, though obviously you can't plan deliveries like the Fernando one else everyone would bowl them every ball. Every wicket has been a genuine one. Should be 1-0 come midday (over here) at the latest.

I am not watching this live ...but Cricinfo commentary by Will Luke and Martin Williamson suggests that ball kept very low....unusually low ...so KP wouldn't have been able to do much...

 

[Richard]

until England come back and thump us in the next Test

Doubt it TBH, can't see our bowling-attack causing great problems to Sangakkara (though obviously he can't keep scoring runs forever) et al if we get the usual SSC concrete runway.

Draw FTW, or maybe another collapse like the ones we saw in 2003\04.

 

[Athlai]

Sanga to keep on scoring runs forever IMO.

 

[Richard]

I am not watching this live ...but Cricinfo commentary by Will Luke and Martin Williamson suggests that ball kept very low....unusually low ...so KP wouldn't have been able to do much...

Oh, yeah, it did - he had no realistic chance whatsoever. It kept almost as low as anything I've ever seen. Should probably have bounced over the stumps and it didn't even get halfway up.

 

[Athlai]

Vaas FTW. Wouldn't it be amusing if Murali only got 1 or 2 in the second-innings.

Yeah it's looking that way but it's unbelievable how unlucky Malinga has been in these last two Tests.

Deserves many more wickets than he's been getting.

 

[Richard]

No more than Vaas TBH. Or even Maharoof.

 

[JASON]

Vaas FTW. Wouldn't it be amusing if Murali only got 1 or 2 in the second-innings.

That would put Monty's bowling in perspective....Sangakkara looks to be the Man of the Match without a doubt , Murali's 709 aside...

The perfect end for this Test from a SL perspective would be if Vaas took 2 of the remaining 5 for 5 'fer in his 100th Test and Sanath the other 3 to go to100 Test wickets in his last Test..

 

[Richard]

Oooh, yeah, did anyone notice - of Vaas' 100 Tests, 50 were at home and 50 away. What an astonishing coincidence.

 

[Athlai]

Read somewhere that Malinga wants to be the next SL'n to get 100 Test wickets, no love for Sanath?

Read his story the other day, amazing stuff.

 

[JASON]

Doubt it TBH, can't see our bowling-attack causing great problems to Sangakkara (though obviously he can't keep scoring runs forever) et al if we get the usual SSC concrete runway.

Draw FTW, or maybe another collapse like the ones we saw in 2003\04.

Monty to raise England's spirits with a matchwinning haul in Colombo to level the series...

 

[Richard]

You reckon we might get a turner at SSC then?

 

[Dissector]

Bumble mentioned something about reading cricket forums. Wonder if he has read this thread.

 

[JASON]

if Murali took the remainder...his Australian critics will no doubt be blowing their trumpets re- Tailenders wickets and cleaning out ....no doubt

This despite stats showing him having more Frontline wickets than his outspoken former holder of the record...As someone has pointed out is Mcgraths wicket more valuable than Ashraful's or Hoggard's greater than Taibu or Chibhbhaba ...(I hope I got that correctly )

 

[JASON]

You reckon we might get a turner at SSC then?

Jokes aside England's best chance is to play Swan and Monty, Just Hoggard and Sidebottom with Bopara ....Try and win the Toss and bat first (as that reduces the prospect of batting last on a 'Muralis delight' pitch ). Although that means they lose their opportunity of using the assistance SL pitches give on the opening morning...which in this Test helped dismiss SL for 187.....When Australia played in SL and won 3-0 besides Shane Warne , the other key factor was, they were never batting on the last innings of any of those Tests...there's a message there...

 

[gettingbetter]

Oooh, yeah, did anyone notice - of Vaas' 100 Tests, 50 were at home and 50 away. What an astonishing coincidence.

I know Jayasuriya is calling it quits after this Test, Vass, being your favourite bowler, do you know if he is following suit?

 

[Richard]

Bumble mentioned something about reading cricket forums. Wonder if he has read this thread.

Did he? Missed that, would have been ITSTL.

 

[Richard]

I know Jayasuriya is calling it quits after this Test, Vass, being your favourite bowler, do you know if he is following suit?

Nah, he said he plans to go on until sometime next year. Might be retiring at the end of this season. Or possibly, if SL are playing in the (NH) summer, at the end of that.

 

[Athlai]

Bangladesh only needs to hold on to their wickets IMO.

In Tests they go at 3.45 an over, which is the 5th highest among Test playing nations (Aus, SA, NZ, Eng are higher) yet the average balls per wicket is 36.18, if the players could manage to stick around for just 14 more balls on average than they would be equal to WI and NZ (lofty heights indeed).

I expect that in just a few years time not many would have much of a problem considering them Test standard wickets.

Looking at all these stats also makes me appreciate how gun Saleh is 83 balls per dismissal and an average of 31.72, just what his team needs.