*Official* Sri Lanka in Australia 2010

[Jono]

Pretty **** scheduling though.

 

[Sylvester]

Dunno. Don't really mind; it's a coin flip for me personally. Khawaja's been a bit better, but for a less sustained period. Khawaja has more time on his side, but he's less experienced. He's technically better, but White adds slips catching and part-time bowling.. etc etc.

Both would be good options at this point. I'd probably lean towards Khawaja I suppose, because I get the feeling he'd be less inclined to get out early and contribute to a collapse with North and Haddin also vulnerable early.

I would say White's part time bowling option is out the window now that he hardly bowls. Khawaja bowled a bit in Grade cricket and has a wicket this season.

 

[robelinda]

Just watching the highlights. Fair to say the MCG a wee bit underpopulated for the early exchanges? Obv the main event of the summer just round the corner, but surprised tbh.

Cup week doesnt help.

 

[Murtini]

Australia must properly HATE 9th wicket partnerships. Laxman and Ishant, Malinga and Mathews. Anderson and Broad next?

I never counted Sri Lanka out, we all know how lacklustre Australia are at the moment, and Sri Lanka are a class side, my favourites for the world cup.

 

[Top_Cat]

Hussey doesn't necessarily play as straight as what he once did. He's always been a great cover driver, but where the ball is asking to be driven to mid-off, he still tends to play with an angled blade. Again, he's never been a big driver of the ball down the ground, but he'd still play straight, let ball hit bat and take a single.

Now he thrusts his leg down the line of off stump too often, which means that he has to play around his pad fairly often.

Nicking out an awful lot these days too, though. Maintain his tracking of the ball and subsequent awareness of off-stump is going downhill fast.

 

[howardj]

It wouldn't surprise me if CA rested our best players from the remainder of the Series

There really is a mental malaise in Australian cricket at the moment – typified when Ponting was ‘rested’ from the ODIs in India just recently after:

(a) We’d been back playing only for a month (do you need a rest after a month?) and
(b) After we’d been white-washed in the Test series.

Isn’t that a time, when you’ve slipped to number five in the rankings and you’ve just been whitewashed, for all hands to be on deck?

Who knows what the brains trust has in store for the balance of the Series.

...I need a lie down

 

[GotSpin]

It wouldn't surprise me if CA rested our best players from the remainder of the Series

There really is a mental malaise in Australian cricket at the moment – typified when Ponting was ‘rested’ from the ODIs in India just recently after:

(a) We’d been back playing only for a month (do you need a rest after a month?) and
(b) After we’d been white-washed in the Test series.

Isn’t that a time, when you’ve slipped to number five in the rankings and you’ve just been whitewashed, for all hands to be on deck?

Who knows what the brains trust has in store for the balance of the Series.

...I need a lie down

Depends what they're rested for. If they can go play a tour match or some FC cricket I'm all for it.

 

[Spark]

I'd like us to win sometime soon though. It would be really nice.

 

[robelinda]

I'd like us to win sometime soon though. It would be really nice.

Sure is weird to be losing so many matches, especially with the talent in the side.

 

[Spark]

Well I'll be honest and say that probably us losing the last three matches has been a reasonable expectation given the team matchups. Our bowling attack is pretty average once you take out Bollinger, Harris, Tait, Lee, Bracken (when he was in form) etc.

For one thing, no one in our team seems to know how to bowl a yorker. That's a real issue, especially yesterday when you see how well SL bowled during the powerplay.

 

[Prince EWS]

Well I'll be honest and say that probably us losing the last three matches has been a reasonable expectation given the team matchups. Our bowling attack is pretty average once you take out Bollinger, Harris, Tait, Lee, Bracken (when he was in form) etc.

For one thing, no one in our team seems to know how to bowl a yorker. That's a real issue, especially yesterday when you see how well SL bowled during the powerplay.

That batting lineup really should have scored a lot more runs though, particularly at home. It was full strength apart from Ponting's absence. I know I've harped on about it a bit but Perera is a batting allrounder who bowls medium pace pies - he wouldn't be cited within the best three quicks of your typical Sydney first grade team - and he not only took five wickets but he blew away the top order with genuine dismissals... caught behinds and bowleds. That batting lineup is really strong on paper, and it shouldn't have happened. There are problems there.

As for the bowling - well they actually went better than I expected. Johnson and Siddle aren't ODI bowlers, Hastings should not be playing as a specialist bowler, Doherty was on debut and Watson's not the bowler he was. It was all going really well defending a below par score until that freak partnership. Hopefully we won't field a bowling lineup looking anything like that at full strength.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I think you underplay Hastings bowling a fair bit, the guy does play as a specialist bowler for Victoria and has been super successful in the shortened formats.

Always thought of Perera as more of a bowler, maybe his stats don't show that but it's how I've seen him used more for SL (batting around 7), and was used for SL in the U/19 WC.

 

[Prince EWS]

I think you underplay Hastings bowling a fair bit, the guy does play as a specialist bowler for Victoria and has been super successful in the shortened formats.

He goes at over 5.3 runs per over. He's taken wickets, but I think it's been a bit of golden-arm syndrome more than anything. He's Hopes with more bounce and less batting, and Hopes shouldn't playing as a specialist bowler either. If he's going to bat eight and play as a frontline bowler I can deal with his selection (even though I still personally wouldn't pick him) as his batting's then obviously playing a part in his selection as a bowling allrounder, but if he's down at nine there are other bowlers who should be in front of him IMO.

Always thought of Perera as more of a bowler, maybe his stats don't show that but it's how I've seen him used more for SL (batting around 7),

Yeah, he does bat around seven, but his main utility is to come in and finish off the innings with the bat. He does a bit of bowling too but it's not the primary reason for his selection, IMO. The closest comparison would be Lance Klusener I reckon, although obviously the quality isn't the same. Even if he does think of himself as a bowler primarily, he isn't a very good one and we shouldn't be having our top order skittled by the guy. Even if he has taken thirteen wickets in his last three games now.

 

[howardj]

Depends what they're rested for. If they can go play a tour match or some FC cricket I'm all for it.

In Ponting's case, he was just going home for a nap.

He didn't play any cricket at all when he got back home.

I think it's time CA and the selectors got back to basics - let's just play our best team and stop meddling with things, stop trying to outsmart ourselves with theories etc.

 

[Spark]

That batting lineup really should have scored a lot more runs though, particularly at home. It was full strength apart from Ponting's absence. I know I've harped on about it a bit but Perera is a batting allrounder who bowls medium pace pies - he wouldn't be cited within the best three quicks of your typical Sydney first grade team - and he not only took five wickets but he blew away the top order with genuine dismissals... caught behinds and bowleds. That batting lineup is really strong on paper, and it shouldn't have happened. There are problems there.

Well, yeah, but if you start batting like a fool then it doesn't really matter who's bowling...

As for the bowling - well they actually went better than I expected. Johnson and Siddle aren't ODI bowlers, Hastings should not be playing as a specialist bowler, Doherty was on debut and Watson's not the bowler he was. It was all going really well defending a below par score until that freak partnership. Hopefully we won't field a bowling lineup looking anything like that at full strength.

True but on paper it's a weak lineup. As you say, hopefully our full strength lineup should be better.

 

[Johnners]

In Ponting's case, he was just going home for a nap.

He didn't play any cricket at all when he got back home.

I think it's time CA and the selectors got back to basics - let's just play our best team and stop meddling with things, stop trying to outsmart ourselves with theories etc.

Think it's quite obvious that the Idea behind "resting" Ponting is to give less experience players more exposure in the lead-up to the World Cup, and to continue to give Clarke a chance to develop as a captain. It's not about trying to outsmart anyone with theories etc. but obviously a decision made with an eye on the World Cup, and the upcoming ashes series. Selection policy for ODI's is rightfully different from that in tests.

 

[howardj]

Clarke's lead the team plenty of times, plus he is the T20 captain.

It's not good in my view, after you've been whitewashed in the Tests, to send the captain home after having only been back for a month.

We're not the dominant force we were, we are now 5th in the world.

All hands should be on deck.

 

[outbreak]

Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, Sydney: Callum Ferguson replaces injured Shaun Marsh in ODI squad | Cricket News | Australia v Sri Lanka | Cricinfo.com

 

[vic_orthdox]

Waiting for them to pick Khawaja next for the ODIs, having just been dropped from the NSW side...

 

[Johnners]

Clarke's lead the team plenty of times, plus he is the T20 captain.

It's not good in my view, after you've been whitewashed in the Tests, to send the captain home after having only been back for a month.

We're not the dominant force we were, we are now 5th in the world.

All hands should be on deck.

What does a teams test ranking have to do with ODI selection policy? Australia is the #1 ranked ODI team, I think we can afford to make ODI selection decisions with an eye on the World Cup squad in a rather meaningless ODI series.