Wow, just wow Burgey, only read all this **** just now. I will respond to your original post. I know it probably isn't worth it, but I can't read something like that, then some of the **** that followed it up and not respond.
Sri Lanka is a joke cricketing nation. Everyone knows it, you're all just too polite to say it.
Too reasonable
You've got FTB batsmen who are a sad parody outside the SC; spinners who are only playing because they missed the pre-season cut for the NY Yankees; and one quick of any note who's too lazy to even have a crack at test cricket. Honestly, even if SL went on to win this, so what? Call us when you've won a test (not a series, a single, miserable test) in Australia. They're a joke.
Sri Lanka are a small island nation, they have produced a remarkable number of players of international quality for their size, not only that, but insufficient funds due to corruption in the board has hindered their ability to expand cricket properly outside Colombo, this is particularly apparent in domestic cricket, where games are all played in Colombo on dustbowls. The fact that players of the calibre of Vaas and Sanga have managed to develop under this system is quite remarkable, while a population comparison with Australia for example might reveal similarities there is a lot more to it. And while we are on the topic of Sanga, it's an absolute joke to call him a ftb when he scores heavily on dustbowls, averages 60 in Oceania and has scored hundreds in SA and England. Sri Lanka have always produced cricketers that excel in the shorter forms of the game, so you can bring up overseas tests all you like but the fact is that they play way more cricket in the SC, particularly LO cricket, so it makes much more sense for them to get good at that sort of cricket then to put everything into the 2 tests per year they play outside the SC. While the spinners jibe made me laugh as I've said multiple times in my time here on the forum I won't hear any of it in a legitimate debate.
The rest of the cricketing world only tolerates them because they need the numbers when it comes to test playing countires. They got elevated to full international status too early, and frankly they've done very little to prove they're worthy of it since. Sure they won an ODI WC, but even that developmentally challenged kid in the US shot a few three pointers to win a basketball game for his school. It proves SFA. They're nothing. Nada. Niente.
To win an ODI WC and now a t20 WC is quite an achievement for a small island nation I'd have thought
Wacko, they've had one good bowler in 30 plus years, and two decent batsmen. You had that Chaminda Vaas bloke open the bowling for them. FMD he'd play second grade here - basically a 1990s version of that numpty who opened the bowling for WI last night. Just awful. Imagine the excitement: "Here's Vaas to start the Test here at the WACA - three short mid wickets and a short cover because he isn't fast enough to have an edge carry to slip". How good would it be to face him for a living? You'd retire a millionaire in 18 months. Give the Netherlands or Ireland a shot, they'd do no worse over the same time frame. It actually makes a mockery of international cricket that a team as low as SL is a part of the pre-eminent international competition in the sport.
Bangladesh is the better comparison to make with Sri Lanka - and look where they are, Zimbabwe too, Sri Lanka is doing all right from where they were, they have climbed close to the top of the test rankings in their time and are now the world no 1 t20 side.
Vaas was a fine exponent of swing bowling, probably one of the finest produced in the SC over the last 20 years, just because fast bowlers don't knock people's heads off doesn't mean they aren't worth their salt. Your shameless bias towards fast pitches, fast bowlers and batsman who can competently play said bowling drains you of all credibility when you talk about countries like Sri Lanka. The beauty of cricket is that different conditions can provide a completely different challenge, the fact that you completely write off a region where half the world's cricket gets played is a joke. I have no problem with the fact that you like watching this kind of bowling and batting but the way you try and force this ideal on everybody and simply cannot accept the opinions of others on the matter is really annoying.
At least SA is the number one side over a meaningful period at one format of the game. SL are like Pakistan - they were the best ODI side in the world for a random three week period which coincided with a WC. You'd rather watch grass grow than watch SL. In fact, as much as I love cricket, let's be honest. While ever there's SL playing at the top level, you'll always be able to put your feet up as an opposing fan and not really worry one iota that they'll do anything of any importance against your team. If they were an elderly canine they'd have been put down out of mercy by now. They're the failed experiment of world cricket - we always knew the outcome and it was worth a look in the hope we'd turn a heavy sack of useless lead into gold despite years of evidence to the contrary. But at the end of the day they tell us nothing more than we knew about them 30 odd years ago. Just a low outfit. A minnow dressed up as something worthwhile. Honestly, end them as a full international side. They're just a sad postscript to an otherwise interesting international cricketing contest.
What nonsense
