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***Official*** England in Sri Lanka

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Much as I enjoy Richard looking like a tit in public, the ball pitched off stump at the closest.
I'm staying out of this, except to say that the commentators on TMS were pretty scathing of Vaughan's alleged misjudgement. Against that tho, they are (with the exception of CMJ who I don't think played FC cricket) bowlers to a man (Marks, Agnew, Hughes, Fraser & Selvey).
 

JBH001

International Regular
You know what. I didn't watch it but followed it closely ...and thats why I know for a fact despite all the efforts to hide it, it was pretty poor negative Cricket that failed to win SL the second Test and a resulting 2-0 series result that would've seen them at least briefly have an over inflated No.2 ranking ....Likewise I also question the delay in declaring on Day 3 in the third Test that may have given a result despite the rain interruptions....

I am smart enough to work out that this SL Captain doesn't have the drive or the enthusiasm to drive home the advantage where it matters.....take it any way you like, but the failure to Ram home the advantage even in home conditions when its there for the asking is blatantly obvious and clear as Daylight....
I must disagree with that, wholeheartedly, and this blatantly obvious difference that is as clear as daylight is seemingly only discernible to you. However, I am not going to argue about this (even thinking about it - with all due respect - is giving me a headache. But that may also be due to the after effects of a crazy weekend) only to say that the attitude and demeanour of the captain was reflected in his side, and that the scoreline is not always a true indication of the difference in sides.

And there I will leave that.

aussie said:
One thing that surprised me about this series was the lack really big spin that the surfaces, remembering England 2 previous tours & Australia's in 2004 it was pretty odd to me. Murali was spinning them as viciously as i thought, so seeing that i guess one can be a bit leninat on Panesar for not being that effective during this series. But hopefully the past two series makes him a better spinner it would be tragic if he became another Tufnell.
Yes, they were not the usual spin surfaces we have come to see in Sri Lanka. There was turn, but there was little bounce and gain off the pitch for Murali which meant that he was easier to handle and he certainly had to work hard for his wickets in this series. Tbh, I dont think he bowled at his best except for his first spell in Kandy. But this may also be down to the number of overs he has bowled since his return after injury (something like 5 tests in 5 weeks and 40 - 60 overs in each test? He deserves a rest) and in any case, he was still able to produce two crucial breakthroughs when needed - namely, the strikes with the new ball on the last day in Kandy, and the strikes in his penultimate over before lunch in Galle.
 
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JASON

Cricketer Of The Year
The Compositre XI - my selection -

Vandort
Alistair Cook
Sangakkara
Mahela
Ian Bell
TM Dilshan
Prasanna Jayawardene- Wicket keeper- only for his keeping and not batting
Chaminda Vaas
Ryan Sidebottom
Mathew Hoggard
Murali

any comments? any changes ?
 

Evermind

International Debutant
The Compositre XI - my selection -

Vandort
Alistair Cook
Sangakkara
Mahela
Ian Bell
TM Dilshan
Prasanna Jayawardene- Wicket keeper- only for his keeping and not batting
Chaminda Vaas
Ryan Sidebottom
Mathew Hoggard
Murali

any comments? any changes ?

Surely Pietersen >>> Dilshan, and Vaughan > Vandort?

The rest are pretty reasonable.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
Well if you don't believe in what you write, what was the point in writing it? :blink:
Huh?:unsure: Not sure what you're getting at? Someone suggested that Richard was a troll (presumbly in jest - as was my reply). A troll usually deliberately writes utter crap to gain a reaction from the rest of the users, they don't "believe in what they write". Richard however is not a troll because he does "believe in what he writes" even though much of it garbage. Therefore the presence of the aforementioned 48,000 posts of dubious distinction doesn't necessarily indicate a troll, just a genuine poster who doesn't know what he's talking about.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.:)
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
The Compositre XI - my selection -

Vandort
Alistair Cook
Sangakkara
Mahela
Ian Bell
TM Dilshan
Prasanna Jayawardene- Wicket keeper- only for his keeping and not batting
Chaminda Vaas
Ryan Sidebottom
Mathew Hoggard
Murali

any comments? any changes ?
Welegedara for Sidebottom and I think you're there.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Nah, Sidebottom in his 3 Tests bowled well; Welegedara in his 1 Test bowled no more than decently.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
The Compositre XI - my selection -

Vandort
Alistair Cook
Sangakkara
Mahela
Ian Bell
TM Dilshan
Prasanna Jayawardene- Wicket keeper- only for his keeping and not batting
Chaminda Vaas
Ryan Sidebottom
Mathew Hoggard
Murali

any comments? any changes ?
Can't pick Dilshan TBH, given that he batted once and scored an 84 that required 4 (yes, four) let-offs. :laugh: Would probably *shudder* have to pick Collingwood, a little better than Pietersen or Silva. EDIT: actually, nah, go for Prior as a specialist batsman. That's what I've done in my series-review.
 
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Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Must be about time for this to be un-topped? Likewise the Pakistan-India and Australia-New Zealand ones?
 

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