*Official* Sri Lanka in South Africa 2011/12

[Howe_zat]

Maybe, just don't play Duminy as he can't play spin at all.

Thinking of Prince?

 

[Jono]

Nah Duminy is horrible against spin. Much worse than Prince.

Refer to SA in India 2010.

 

[Xuhaib]

lol SL is getting a lot of stick here an inform batting line up of Dil,Sanga, MJ,Samara and Angelo is still one of the most formidable in the world good enough to draw atleast two tests. I do fear for there bowling Kallis might end up having a crazy series something like 550 runs getting out only once or twice.

 

[Jono]

lol SL is getting a lot of stick here an inform batting line up of Dil,Sanga, MJ,Samara and Angelo is still one of the most formidable in the world

Well since there are only 8 proper test teams, let's see which teams have better batting:

England? Yes. South Africa? Yes. India? Yes.

So they are definitely not in the top 3.

I rate Australia's higher for sure, despite their recent sucktitude.

So imo at best they have the 5th best batting lineup in the world. Out of 8 teams...

Add that with absolutely horrid bowling, and you don't really have that good a team tbh

 

[Nomanculture]

lol SL is getting a lot of stick here an inform batting line up of Dil,Sanga, MJ,Samara and Angelo is still one of the most formidable in the world good enough to draw atleast two tests. I do fear for there bowling Kallis might end up having a crazy series something like 550 runs getting out only once or twice.

He might really want to do that because his current Test record against SL is horrible, both home and away. No centuries against them too. Now that Murali isn't there things will be easy.

 

[Xuhaib]

Well since there are only 8 proper test teams, let's see which teams have better batting:

England? Yes. South Africa? Yes. India? Yes.

So they are definitely not in the top 3.

I rate Australia's higher for sure, despite their recent sucktitude.

So imo at best they have the 5th best batting lineup in the world. Out of 8 teams...

Add that with absolutely horrid bowling, and you don't really have that good a team tbh

Apart from India don't think any other batting line up is comfortably better then Lanka maybe England but thats mainly due to current form rather then class. I back SL to out perform both Aus and Sa in sub cont conditions provided both are facing comparable bowling line ups. Also when your weaker discipline is as horrible as SL bowling it puts additional pressure on your stronger discipline to perform every time.

 

[Jono]

But they're playing in SA. That is why there are so many predictions of them getting owned.

 

[Xuhaib]

yeah they are clearly inferior to SAand should lose but I see a repeat of their English series where there batting will hold up well for atleast2 of the 3 games. I feel it will be a 1-0 series loss which imo is not the defination of getting "owned"

 

[Jono]

I agree that if they lose 1-0 it will not be getting owned. But I'd be surprised at that result.

Then again, I've always said that South Africa don't win matches they should.

Time will tell.

 

[Briony]

SA players are again going to be short of first class practice before the tests while the SL players get a warm-up match so it might not be as emphatic as one thinks. Their admin. doesn't seem to do their players too many favours in terms of preparation.

 

[Howe_zat]

I agree that if they lose 1-0 it will not be getting owned. But I'd be surprised at that result.

Then again, I've always said that South Africa don't win matches they should.

Time will tell.

Sri Lanka's last three series have all been 1-0 losses. Good enough for me, really.

What's interesting is that SL have made the scorelines look closer than they actually are, because I'd say they've been owned in all of them. One game to get owned, one game their batting will save them and one game to be rained off, and at no point will they look like winning one. They've all been 1-0 but they haven't been close.

 

[Furball]

Yeah, seriously struggling to remember when they beat a decent team at home (I guess even if they beat SL, its not really a decent team anymore but that's another story...).

Surely if SA somehow manage to fail to win this series again Smith as skipper is gone.

2011/12 v Australia D 1-1 (2)
2010/11 v India D 1-1 (3)
2009/10 v England D 1-1 (4)
2008/09 v Australia L 1-2 (3)
2008/09 v Bangladesh W 2-0 (2)
2007/08 v West Indies W 2-1 (3)
2007/08 v New Zealand W 2-0 (2)
2006/07 v Pakistan W 2-1 (3)
2006/07 v India W 2-1 (3)

Depends what you consider to be decent opposition out of that lot.

 

[Cabinet96]

Yeah, seriously struggling to remember when they beat a decent team at home (I guess even if they beat SL, its not really a decent team anymore but that's another story...).

Surely if SA somehow manage to fail to win this series again Smith as skipper is gone.

Possibly, but I think it would be too soon. I mean de Villiers is next in line but he hasn't actually captained a game yet due to injury. I would give Smith at least another year, even if they don't win this series.

lol SL is getting a lot of stick here an inform batting line up of Dil,Sanga, MJ,Samara and Angelo is still one of the most formidable in the world good enough to draw atleast two tests. I do fear for there bowling Kallis might end up having a crazy series something like 550 runs getting out only once or twice.

Just like Ian Bell did in May/June

yeah they are clearly inferior to SAand should lose but I see a repeat of their English series where there batting will hold up well for atleast2 of the 3 games. I feel it will be a 1-0 series loss which imo is not the defination of getting "owned"

England didn't bowl half as well in that series as they did in the India series. Tremlett was great but Broad was terrible and Anderson missed the 2nd test. All 3 tests were badly effected by rain as well, and you got the feeling if there was more time, England would've won both matches.

 

[NasserFan207]

yeah they are clearly inferior to SAand should lose but I see a repeat of their English series where there batting will hold up well for atleast2 of the 3 games. I feel it will be a 1-0 series loss which imo is not the defination of getting "owned"

I think this is a possibility, but you have to remember that draws in SA are rarer than in England, you will get flat pitches during an England tour. I can definitely see SL's batting putting up a good fight, they've done it many times before. But it could still easily be a SA whitewash regardless.

Ironically I believe that SL's best chance of winning a test for the time being may be in SA. You never know when a bowler plucked from obscurity will turn up and run through a highclass batting order over there.

 

[Cabinet96]

Sri Lanka definitely have a chance of winning a test. I can easily see the series ending 1-1.

 

[Himannv]

Sri Lanka definitely have a chance of winning a test.

 

[Howe_zat]

Given South Africa's habits of under-performing at home and their middle order collapsing (especially against spin), it's really not that far out.

 

[Nomanculture]

South African Invitation XI for the tour match:

Thami Tsolekile (c/wk), Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Dean Elgar, Paul Harris, Reeza Hendricks, Pumelela Matshikwe, Rilee Rossouw, Stiaan van Zyl, Hardus Viljoen, David Wiese.

 

[Migara]

Is that a good side?

 

[hang on]

lol SL is getting a lot of stick here an inform batting line up of Dil,Sanga, MJ,Samara and Angelo is still one of the most formidable in the world good enough to draw atleast two tests. I do fear for there bowling Kallis might end up having a crazy series something like 550 runs getting out only once or twice.

quite true. but that batting lineup has been out of form for quite a while. even in less inimical or unfamiliar conditions.