Sri Lanka Thread

[Flem274*]

nah his time is gone and it will be a huge mistake if the likes of Lakmal / Eranga/ Prasad lose a spot to him..He has been a great servant to our cricket but his time is finished and we should look to the future..our domestic circuit is so weak that perfomances there can appear flattering

Kula at his best is head and shoulders above those blokes.

 

[Niall]

isn't it seven ODIS in NZ? Normally that would be to many especially at only 2 tests, but that gives Lanka plenty of time to choose the frontline bowling options in thee world cup. Nuwan deserves a chance in NZ at least, if he fails, don't pick him and he can have no complaints. However if he does well, he deserves to be in the side. Brings a lot to the table and while Lakmal was gun against England, as it was pointed out in the match thread, he bowled with wickets down and a huge total to defend. He ain't the finished article just yet.

 

[YorksLanka]

Kula at his best is head and shoulders above those blokes.

Yes you're right BUT he hasn't been at his best for at least a year now,he has been trundling at 120k's and not scoring with the bat either.. At least the other bowlers can get decent pace and swing-not to mention they are our future. I agree they can't bat but with Satchi back and Prasad included,we should have batting to nine (provided thisara fires)

 

[Maximas]

Well he should get a couple of NZ ODIs and maybe even a group stage WC game or two to find out if he's back, because really, if we want to give this thing a tilt we need guys like Kula with experience and skill, especially in big games

 

[YorksLanka]

Well he should get a couple of NZ ODIs and maybe even a group stage WC game or two to find out if he's back, because really, if we want to give this thing a tilt we need guys like Kula with experience and skill, especially in big games

Yeah suppose ur right in retrospect.. I am happy to be proved wrong if it means we do better!!i think a couple of games in the NZ odis are a fair chance for him to prove his worth and hopefully I will be getting a slice if humble pie when he gets a 5fer ;-)

 

[Maximas]

Kusal Perera left out for NZ tour; Nuwan Kulasekara recalled | Cricket News | New Zealand v Sri Lanka | ESPN Cricinfo

Dimuth is the latest contender for the opening spot, and probably the final one, Kula and Malinga set to return as well.

Angelo Mathews (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga (subject to fitness), Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Shaminda Eranga

This squad needs to be trimmed down from 16 to 15 for the WC and it needs to be named before this series starts, I'd imagine anyone not in this squad is in contention and it's just a matter of shedding one last player. So it looks like Seekkuge and Ajantha Mendis (thank ****) are out, I'm wondering who misses out from this squad though, probably Eranga, Prasad or perhaps even Jeevan Mendis

 

[YorksLanka]

I guess you must be happy Maximas to see Kula back in, hope he comes back to his best for us- i know i have advocated him being dropped for a long time but am happy to be proved wrong lol..From the players mentioned, i reckon it will be between Eranga and Prasad as to who loses out for the WC unless kula has a shocker / malinga isnt fit enough..i am a fan of Jeevan for his fielding, tight bowling and he can bat a bit but cant see him getting in ahead of Herath and Satchi into the playing XI and so maybe he will lose out...

 

[Maximas]

I am happy to see him back, I have no idea if he'll be any good but we'll really miss his class and utility as a player if he's not there in the WC, so we may as well give him one last shot

 

[vic_orthdox]

Kaushal Silva playing district cricket in January in Melbourne for Dandenong, keeping himself available in case of any injuries etc.

 

[Maximas]

Probably getting some decent experience too one hopes, never particularly thought he'd be a suitable ODI opener but could at least help us get off to a solid start regularly if he found his way into the team

 

[anil1405]

Squad:

Angelo Mathews (capt)
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Kumar Sangakkara
Mahela Jayawardene
Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt)
Dinesh Chandimal
Dimuth Karunaratne
Jeevan Mendis
Thisara Perera
Suranga Lakmal
Lasith Malinga (subject to fitness)
Dhammika Prasad
Nuwan Kulasekara
Rangana Herath
Sachithra Senanayake

Lasith Malinga provisionally picked in Sri Lanka's 15 | Cricket News | ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Maximas]

As I suspected Eranga was the one to miss out, although he'll be injury cover for Malinga should he have to pull out at any stage, good looking squad, batting looks excellent, spinners are both world class and the final XI will be well balanced with all-rounders, fast bowling is of course the problem, hopefully Kula and Malinga remain fit and firing, if the rest of the team clicks and those two are in decent form Sri Lanka has a serious shot

 

[YorksLanka]

it would have been nice to have had the odi'sin NZ before the tests so we could have seen how Kula went and then decided between him and Eranga..tbh, i am not convinced that Malinga will make it through the tournament as playing games is a world away from a fitness test so i reckon Eranga will get theree anyway..Agree, well balanced side but we need Thisara to stand up and be counted..

 

[Maximas]

Did you get a look at Kula today YorksLanka? He looked back to his usual self for mine

 

[YorksLanka]

Hi Maximas, No i didnt bro, i put a reply to one of your comments about him in the NZ odi thread asking you about how he actually bowled- i saw the scorecard and saw he got a couple but was he back to what he is capable of? I got lumbered having to go to a family wedding in London so didnt see any of the match..

 

[Maximas]

Hi Maximas, No i didnt bro, i put a reply to one of your comments about him in the NZ odi thread asking you about how he actually bowled- i saw the scorecard and saw he got a couple but was he back to what he is capable of? I got lumbered having to go to a family wedding in London so didnt see any of the match..

Haha fair enough, well I thought he bowled rather well, was swinging the ball throughout the innings, got his straighter one going too, I'd say his line wasn't as tight as when he is at his best, and he still looked a bit hit-able, but he looked way more dangerous than in the recent past, several NZ posters commented that it was a good thing for them Kula didn't play the test matches

 

[YorksLanka]

follow up - yes i managed to catch some highlights of the match earlier today and he seemed to be getting a decent bit of swing. His pace hasnt improved but i suppose at his stage of career, it probably wont but his swing is what will make him dangerous..I am so pleased to say maybe i was wrong(or a bit early) to call for his removal, and hopefully he will continue to get better and better before the WC. What do you think on my suggestions about opening with Thirri and then bringing Chandi into the middle order at #6? Satchi seemed to bowl very well again and he will be a handful for his ten overs..

 

[Maximas]

He definately deserved to be dropped in the first place, was bowling awfully for a while, but if he maintains this form he deserves to stay in the side for sure.

As for your suggestion I think Mahela should move up to open, Chandimal slots in at 4 and Thirimanne remains at 6, that way everyone in the top 6 is a good bat and they should feel settled in their position, I think Thirimanne will move up the order after the WC at some point but for now he is comfortable at 6 and we've messed him around a bit over the years shoving him around the order so I'd like to see him stay there for now. MJ is the only viable opening partner to Dilshan in the squad IMO and Chandimal is a gun who can handle the conditions as well as anyone and a role at 4 should suit him

 

[YorksLanka]

I do like your idea of a Mahela opening( as he has done in the past) but it would leave us with a void again after the WC, I suppose we would trade that for the cup tho...I have to say I would prefer chandi at 6 and thirri at four simply because thirri needs more time to score IMO and he tends to get himself out trying to force the pace. If he batted at 4 then he would have plenty of time..the only other reason I have for thirri opening is otherwise if we have Mahela,dilly and Sanga out cheaply, there is huge pressure on the youngsters below...

 

[Maximas]

eh, not too worried about the post WC future at this stage, just think we ought to give this one a damn good shot and see if we can get our hands on something to show for the MJ/Sanga era, of which we only have a world t20 and some near misses to show for. I also don't buy the whole 'top-heavy' experience risk with our main batsmen coming in upfront, clearly our batting has suffered from bad starts since the Asia Cup and the disease has spread through the order on too many occasions, if our main guys don't deliver then we're pretty ****ed anyway aha. Thirri at 6 seems like a bad idea in theory but he's been doing the job, played some nice finishing innings' and some good rearguards lately, I wouldn't want to change that tbh, he can always be shunted down the order if we need someone to force the pace early or whatever. I think Chandiguns is a better ODI batsmen on the whole, hence I want him at 4 so he can spend more time at the crease, he did it beautifully in 2012 so I'm backing him to do it again