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

[Hurricane]

Well, I'm going to buck the trend and say the jury is still very much out on Santner. Chandimal aside, the Sri Lankans made absolutely no attempt to put his bowling under pressure, and his stay at the crease was too short to really make any judgments. Would still really rather have Anderson back. Will leave it to the end of the summer before I make up my mind about whether he belongs.

Nice post.

I hinted at the same in my mine without explicitly saying so. I expect the decision of which all rounder to play will be abundantly clear at the end of the test match summer.

Ideally Santner needs to ton up at some stage from a batting perspective. And survive an Aussie attempt to hit him out of the game from a bowling POV.

 

[hendrix]

"I was hoping someone would ask me about the 100 sixes. It's the only record I actually care about. It's the only record that Kane Williamson or Ross Taylor aren't going to break as well, so I should be able to hold on to that one." - McCullum

He won't hold it though. Southee will probably break it.

 

[Prince EWS]

Well, I'm going to buck the trend and say the jury is still very much out on Santner. Chandimal aside, the Sri Lankans made absolutely no attempt to put his bowling under pressure, and his stay at the crease was too short to really make any judgments. Would still really rather have Anderson back. Will leave it to the end of the summer before I make up my mind about whether he belongs.

Yeah Anderson's a much more convincing cricketer than Santner at this stage, but I don't think it's worth what you give up if you then have to drop Bracewell for Craig, tbh.

 

[Bahnz]

Yeah, fair point, but then again on the occasions when Southee, Boult and Wagner are all fit and firing we've never had too many issues taking 20 wickets. In that situation I just feel that Bracewell is kinda surplus to requirements.

 

[Hurricane]

Can someone please post he link to gif web site for cricket?

I want that gif badly where Mathews is bowled.

 

[Prince EWS]

Yeah, fair point, but then again on the occasions when Southee, Boult and Wagner are all fit and firing we've never had too many issues taking 20 wickets. In that situation I just feel that Bracewell is kinda surplus to requirements.

In that situation Santner and Anderson should both be playing, really.

I basically just don't think comparing Santner to Anderson directly really accomplishes much. I think there are essentially three package deals to consider:

1. Anderson+Craig
2. Anderson+Santner
3. Santner+Bracewell

If Santner v Anderson is a relevant debate when it comes to selection then Craig v Bracewell weighs in on the importance of the answer to the original debate. Anderson's the best batsman/batting allrounder and Bracewell's the best bowler/bowling allrounder, but the balance wouldn't fit with them both together as there'd be no spinner.

 

[hendrix]

Cricingif - The fastest online cricket coverage - Lets Get Cricin'

but I don't think the NZ-SL match was on there as it wasn't widely broadcast.

 

[Hurricane]

Cricingif - The fastest online cricket coverage - Lets Get Cricin'

but I don't think the NZ-SL match was on there as it wasn't widely broadcast.

Thanks Hendrix.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Yeah Anderson's a much more convincing cricketer than Santner at this stage, but I don't think it's worth what you give up if you then have to drop Bracewell for Craig, tbh.

Why can't Santner just play instead of Craig though

 

[Prince EWS]

Why can't Santner just play instead of Craig though

Playing both Anderson and Santner is one of the options, yeah. But you wouldn't need to compare Anderson to Santner in that situation.

 

[hendrix]

Why can't Santner just play instead of Craig though

cos Howsie doesn't want him developing as a number 8 batsman.

It's not an issue for me because he's still coming in behind Watling so it's not as if he's really part of the tail.

 

[YorksLanka]

Congrats to the Kiwis on a deserved victory. IMO the start your openers gave you in the match was crucial to the win because of the high scoring rate. I am not going to make if and but comments as they are irrelevant.
Whilst I am never happy when we lose, I am pleased that we showed some bottle and that as I have said before there is hope for us in the future without Sanga and Mahela. Personally,I never saw anything wrong with our opening partnership of Silva and Dimuth and hope we go back to it with mendis at 3. I am not convinced by what I have seen of Jayasundera( which tbf to him isn't too much). I am also not sure on vithanage's temperament for test cricket TBH but the lad has scored some runs so deserves another chance.I keep having to remind myself that these guys need time to adjust to the HUGE jump from our poor domestic circuit to top level international cricket. Anyways well done to the Kiwis and hopefully we come back strong Friday..

 

[Days of Grace]

I think we're missing the bigger picture. Namely, who bats number 5 after McCullum goes?

Could Anderson bat no.5 and we keep the same team below him? Of course, Milne for Bracewell would be very tempting.

 

[Hurricane]

Congrats to the Kiwis on a deserved victory. IMO the start your openers gave you in the match was crucial to the win because of the high scoring rate. I am not going to make and if and but comments as they are irrelevant. I am never happy when we lose but I am pleased that we showed some bottle and that as I have said before there is hope for us in the future without Sanga and Mahela. Personally,I never saw anything wrong with our opening partnership of Silva and Dimuth and hope we go back to it with mendis at 3. I am not convinced by what I have seen of Jayasundera( which tbf to him isn't too much). I am also not sure on vithanage's temperament for test cricket TBH but the lad has scored some runs so deserves another chance. Keep having to remind myself that these guys need time to adjust to the HUGE hi.p from our poor do estimate circuit to top level international cricket. Anyways well done to the Kiwis and hopefully we come back strong Friday..

Thanks for contributing to the thread, feel free to post more we welcome hearing Sri Lankan team news, or just views from your perspective.

 

[hendrix]

I think we're missing the bigger picture. Namely, who bats number 5 after McCullum goes?

Could Anderson bat no.5 and we keep the same team below him? Of course, Milne for Bracewell would be very tempting.

Oh true, true.

Will have to be either Corey, Neesh or Brownlie as noone else is in the picture right now.

 

[Days of Grace]

Looks like Brownlie zigged when he should have zagged re: going for the opener's spot.

 

[Prince EWS]

When McCullum retires I think I'll have another early mid-life crisis. I already freaked out enough when Strauss retired.

 

[Hurricane]

Yeah - I think this FC season is crucial for a number of contenders to put their hands up for the number 5 spot.

 

[Bahnz]

Yeah it'll feel like the end of an era in more ways then one, given that McCullum is the last survivor of Fleming's team

 

[vandem]

I think we're missing the bigger picture. Namely, who bats number 5 after McCullum goes?...

Will Young. 22yr old with good technique and FC average 40 (average 53 last FC season). Outside chances for Nicholls (less technique but a bucket load of runs), or Brownlie for a season or two until the 23-24 yr olds sort out their pecking order.