***Official*** England in Sri Lanka 2014

[YorksLanka]

Well played England, deserved to win this game..we'll let you have one

 

[viriya]

If Mahela opens you are faced with a situation where Dilshan and him retire within a year and you are stuck with two inexperienced openers. So it makes sense not doing it now.
Have they totally ruled out the possibility that it can be done as a stop-gap solution just for the WC?

Of course it's stop-gap.. and what happens after the WC shouldn't matter - what matters is maximizing the odds of winning it. And atm that means Mahela opening over Kusal.

 

[weldone]

If SL dreams of reaching World up semis, it needs a Malinga back on full steam for the death overs.

 

[Prince EWS]

So yeah, just to emphasise how silly this lineup is, 8 of our lineup have batted as high as six in test matches (excluding night watchmen duties) plus we have Hales who hasn't played a test.

I agree that it's a silly balance but I don't think the selectors are really trying to pick teams to win as such. Broad and Anderson are going to play in the World Cup, so it makes sense in a way to give the bowling allrounders more bowling responsibility here to see which one(s) are worth including in the squad than it would to pick two spinners or the sixth-in-line fast bowler.

 

[grecian]

Jos or the beard for MOTM, it's like a great version of Sophie's Choice?

 

[Cabinet96]

KP's world cup team is basically the same as the current one bar Bell for Cook. Which is probably the most meh thing ever. Not sure how you can justify Stokes though.

 

[Howe_zat]

I agree that it's a silly balance but I don't think the selectors are really trying to pick teams to win as such. Broad and Anderson are going to play in the World Cup, so it makes sense in a way to give the bowling allrounders more bowling responsibility here to see which one(s) are worth including in the squad than it would to pick two spinners or the sixth-in-line fast bowler.

They seem to be trying out Stokes in the textbook norounder role. Bowls after Ravi for two one-over spells, then bats below the keeper.

I had him in the world cup XI as I think he's better suited to Australia than most of our players, but he's doing well to convince me otherwise.

 

[Cabinet96]

Tbf, I think Stokes would probably be bowling more if he weren't going for 14 an over. I wasn't watching the first innings though.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Nice to win but on a day like this it means very little.

 

[viriya]

If SL dreams of reaching World up semis, it needs a Malinga back on full steam for the death overs.

Malinga likes food too much for that..

 

[ImpatientLime]

jos, moeen y u so based?

 

[WalkingWicket]

TIL That Jos Buttler's nickname is Jose...

Also, it'd be a godsend if Cook misses the next game because of a slow over-rate.

 

[grecian]

I'm ha\ppy for Jos getting it but it's clearly the wrong decision.

Highest-scoring bat, and most economical bowler for the winning team, should have won.

 

[Spark]

buttler surely has to bat higher than 7? seems wasted that low.

 

[Howe_zat]

Buttler is the fastest scoring wicketkeeper ever by a sizeable margin

 

[theother099]

The problem with England is not a lack of ability- it is an over reliance on 'plans' ans 'structure'. The one-day game is always in flux and players need to adapt and think for themselves.

 

[theother099]

I am not a fan of Ben Stokes -good county pro etc, and add to that list Joe Root . We seem to have found an opener in Moeen, now what we need is 'street-smart' cricketers

 

[wpdavid]

Well played England, deserved to win this game..we'll let you have one

Thank you, it was very kind of your boys. Especially the lad who bowled that no-ball.
Yup, it's nice not to be staring at 0-7, so really well played Jos and Root. And a good come back from that silly spell of losing four wickets for hardly any with varying degrees of daftness.

How this affects out WC team is anyone's guess.

 

[viriya]

SL need Mendis in the ODI team - he's the only consistent wicket taker.. since 2011 the only match where he didn't get a wicket was the one where Rohit went ape****.

Well now it's two matches..

 

[marc71178]

perhaps england should be demoted to minnow status in odis.

ok....