***Official*** Sri Lanka in England and Ireland 2014

[Cabinet96]

This is why Eng need Hales in the batting line-up imo.. or at least don't bat like it's a test match for 20 overs..

Four high class finishers in the side and we need a less reliable opener? No thanks.

 

[Jarquis]

Four high class finishers in the side and we need a less reliable opener? No thanks.

Hmm, I do think that Ballance/Root is something to be looked at. Hales in for Root with a reshuffle wouldn't be something I'd hugely oppose right now.

 

[91Jmay]

Root/Ballance innings today were worse than useless. Dog**** slow 40s when you are chasing are worst then getting out cheaply/quickly.

You can maybe have one guy playing like that but to have both is idiotic. Vince in for Root if he doesn't score runs by the 3rd Indian ODI.

 

[grecian]

Hmm, I do think that Ballance/Root is something to be looked at. Hales in for Root with a reshuffle wouldn't be something I'd hugely oppose right now.

Ballance is fine, Root OTOH, needs to be replaced by the beard as soon as possible, better bowler by far, and won't do much worse with the bat.

Guess they'll keep the same side through the series now though.

 

[grecian]

Root/Ballance innings today were worse than useless. Dog**** slow 40s when you are chasing are worst then getting out cheaply/quickly.

You can maybe have one guy playing like that but to have both is idiotic. Vince in for Root if he doesn't score runs by the 3rd Indian ODI.

and if they'd got out early it could have been Durham all over again.

 

[Cabinet96]

Root is fine at the end. Isn't a top order ODI's batsman's arsehole though.

 

[91Jmay]

Or they could have scored quick fifties and Jos would have finished it. Its one day cricket, openers go cheaply sometimes. If you don't have the ability to score runs fairly quickly GTFO.

 

[Maximas]

Both Root and Ballance rotated the strike well but neither seemed to realise there was a need to take the odd risk and look for a few boundaries, the way they let Mendis, Matthews and Priyanjan bowl cheap overs just wasn't quite good enough, both openers deserve plenty of blame though, quick wickets early in a big chase are an absolute killer

 

[Maximas]

Or they could have scored quick fifties and Jos would have finished it. Its one day cricket, openers go cheaply sometimes. If you don't have the ability to score runs fairly quickly GTFO.

Yeah but they could have been 4/40 after 10 and Jos would've had pretty much no chance

 

[Jarquis]

Ballance is fine, Root OTOH, needs to be replaced by the beard as soon as possible, better bowler by far, and won't do much worse with the bat.

Guess they'll keep the same side through the series now though.

Oh yeah, I meant more the pair of them batting at 3 and 4 together. I really like Ballance and thing he needs a good run at three. Root is the one I'd be shifting, as I said.

 

[Jarquis]

Root is fine at the end. Isn't a top order ODI's batsman's arsehole though.

Kinda need both from your number 4 though. We can't just bat the first 30 overs on autopilot and look to make it all up in the last 20. We went 20 overs without a boundary. I know it's not all about boundaries but when you're not scoring more than 6 off a single over between overs 10-30 then the ones that go for 0/1/2 really start to add up - or rather they don't.

 

[viriya]

Hales for Root would do Eng good imo - Root needs work on how to build an ODI innings. That would mean Bell moving to #3 and everyone shifting 1 spot down.

 

[91Jmay]

Yeah but they could have been 4/40 after 10 and Jos would've had pretty much no chance

Again, its one day cricket. If you don't have the ability to hit a boundary in 20 overs because you are scared of collapsing then you don't belong in an international side. Priyanjan's 3 overs were inexcusable.

 

[Migara]

The SL spinners ar possibly the worst in their history. The wicket taking ability has gone out of the window. PHT Kaushal ASAP in the side, the only genuin ely attacking spin bowler in SL ranks.

 

[Maximas]

Bit too soon for him with a WC in nine months don't you think?

 

[Migara]

That doen't mean he has to play the WC. Now is the time and England have been a good team to start with especially the way they play spin.

 

[Maximas]

These are the last ODIs we play until the WC in non-SC conditions, now isn't really the time to be experimenting and giving guys a few games here and there

 

[karan316]

The SL spinners ar possibly the worst in their history. The wicket taking ability has gone out of the window. PHT Kaushal ASAP in the side, the only genuin ely attacking spin bowler in SL ranks.

Mendis is picking regular wickets in ODIs. But he is not able to keep the run rate down. Also has to do with the fact that he also bowls a few overs towards the end of the innings.Herath is not a good option for ODIs like I had said before, but he is awesome in tests. And I don't understand the constant changes made in the bowling line-up. I mean I liked the fact that Mendis got a game but don't think it was fair on Herath to be dropped after just one bad game. Decide who your top spinners are and stick with them. If you wan't some one to keep things tight in the middle overs than go with Herath, if you want to look for wickets go with Mendis. Sachi is doing a good job as the lead spinner, very useful LO cricketer.

 

[Maximas]

Why wouldn't Herath be a good option for ODIs? He doesn't have the fancy tricks but he's very accurate and his subtle variations make him difficult to get away, his ability to bowl to plans allows him to take wickets too

 

[karan316]

Why wouldn't Herath be a good option for ODIs? He doesn't have the fancy tricks but he's very accurate and his subtle variations make him difficult to get away, his ability to bowl to plans allows him to take wickets too

It depends on the team combination,Herath hasn't been a very effective ODI bowler so far. But like I said, if SL are looking for someone to keep things tight in the middle overs and bowl steadily then he is the man for it. But they need to stick with him and provide him plenty of opportunities if he fits in the plans. No need to constantly shuffle guys.

Overall, after Sachi, I would back Mendis because of his knack of picking wickets out of nowhere. SL bowling lineup is a hit or miss, if they are not able to pick wickets at the start of the innings, it becomes a lot more difficult for them, in that case you can't just keep going with the flow even in the middle overs. You need someone to take wickets and put the brakes on.