***Official**** Sri Lanka in New Zealand 2014/2015

[Blocky]

Declaration bowling on.

 

[Flem274*]

Nah not declaration bowling yet. Mathews is just trying to troll Watling into going hard for his ton.

 

[cnerd123]

I think Baz in cbf mode can take them on. Williamson is a gem, Latham looks good, and BJ will be great to have when the English quicks are tiring.

Plus Southee and Boult should be able to tear their top order to shreds.

Should be interesting tstl.

 

[Cabinet96]

Anderson and Broad on their own turf will be too much for our batsmen imo. Taylor, Baz and Watling are poor starters, Neesham has a leaky defence and Rutherford is mud. You can't have that against world class bowlers with a duke.

We're all talking in hypotheticals like something has changed since you were here 18 months ago.

Will be the summer of the opening bowlers.

 

[Blocky]

I think once Watling gets his tonne he'll put the foot down, Williamson will bat sensibly to 200.

Rusty has it right - 350 runs, 100-110 overs to get them. That's what I like.

 

[hendrix]

We're all talking in hypotheticals like something has changed since you were here 18 months ago.

Will be the summer of the opening bowlers.

A lot has changed, tbf.

 

[Flem274*]

We're all talking in hypotheticals like something has changed since you were here 18 months ago.

Will be the summer of the opening bowlers.

yup

 

[Pothas]

Don't really know how good England are anyway. Should be good though, wish it was a 4 test series. Not ready for another ashes yet.

 

[Blocky]

Rigor just got it wrong on TV - series wins aren't considered points, game results are.

 

[morgieb]

Will be a draw IMO. Anderson/Broad will win them one game but their lack of backup will hurt if they don't fire. Plus also New Zealand's attack should gun it in England.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

the slower prasad bowls the louder he grunts. He's truly ****ed atm.

 

[Blocky]

As for England, will depend on can our batsmen resist Anderson, Broad vs can their batsmen resist Southee and Boult. Spin options aren't really a factor for either side, although Moeen might fluke some wickets against us.

 

[Athlai]

Hopefully Kane can get his first 2000kg.

 

[Cabinet96]

A lot has changed, tbf.

Your batsman have shown to be a bit better I guess. I'm certainly not expecting another 50 all out or whatever.

You'll probably say England are a lot worse but I think they're about the same now as they were then. That summer papered over a lot of cracks that were evident well before the debacles in Australia and v Sri Lanka.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Cmon mate, you're comparing spin against pace there.

I realise that. Interestingly, the batsman with the most open setup versus spin in 2008 was Brendon McCullum (vs. Panesar @ Manchester in 2008). Taylor's setup was only marginally more open than that shown in the screenshot above.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

I'm certainly not expecting another 50 all out or whatever.

I'm not so sure about that. What we've shown is a much improved ability to cash in against average-poor attacks, but we're still as capable as ever of totally capitulating against a quality quick on a rampage like Broad.

 

[Jono]

Hopefully Kane can get his first 2000kg.

 

[Pothas]

the slower prasad bowls the louder he grunts. He's truly ****ed atm.

Shahadat Hossain syndrome.

 

[Flem274*]

I'm not so sure about that. What we've shown is a much improved ability to cash in against average-poor attacks, but we're still as capable as ever of totally capitulating against a quality quick on a rampage like Broad.

Not to mention we're making a habit of getting jumped by average and poor attacks whenever we're thick enough to provide a green top.

 

[Blocky]

I realise that. Interestingly, the batsman with the most open setup versus spin in 2008 was Brendon McCullum (vs. Panesar @ Manchester in 2008). Taylor's setup was only marginally more open than that shown in the screenshot above.

Spin bowlers invariably, especially around the wicket ones - most batsmen will setup with a squarer stance. I know I did.

It's the slouching over his bat that is the most problematic, he's dragging his bat away from himself, then up, then down again. To do that, he has to play the ball very early and that's where his issues have been. Not such an issue with aggressive strokes, because he has to play those early anyway.