*Official* Sri Lanka in New Zealand 2022/23

[straw man]

Was a good ball from Bracewell, tbf

 

[Flem274*]

This is a very good pull back here. Nice bowling from Macewell, classic end of day try some spin wicket.

 

[Flem274*]

Southee and Henry should come back on. They deserve 5fer and 4fer.

 

[straw man]

Interesting Fleming talking about the hour before lunch like that put SL ahead of the match and that 300ish is a good score. It was important no doubt, but I think the story of the day is more that SL were ahead but couldn't make it count.

Key wicket was Karunaratne imo, was a bit of a gift when SL should have just seen off Henry and Southee at that time and then cashed in vs the others.

This pitch has something in it, but imo if SL score 320 that's still under par.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Southee and Henry should come back on. They deserve 5fer and 4fer.

They've already bowled 18 and 20 overs respectively. Give them a rest unless SL lasts until new ball.

 

[_Ed_]

New highest test score for Rajitha. Sigh.

 

[Zinzan]

Just fast fwded the replay & decent effort by SL vs. an ordinary bowling attack, although you get the feeling they'll need at least 350. Pitch looks like it will be great for batting days 2-3 if the sun is out and NZ should be able to get 450+.

Said it at the time and I'll say it again, Waggers would have done very well to retire last week to go out on the high he deserves. I fear these last 2 Tests will not be pretty for him.

Beyond a joke we have FC bowlers averaging <30 in NZ conditions & we pick the big tache averaging 36.
Hardly surprising given our inspiring and astute coach and selectors.

 

[Skyliner]

Hagley. Sri Lanka. Tom Latham lives for these tests. He will be like a kid on Xmas Eve awaiting his chance to get out there and bat.

 

[vandem]

... Beyond a joke we have FC bowlers averaging <30 in NZ conditions & we pick the big tache averaging 36.
Hardly surprising given our inspiring and astute coach and selectors.

Tickner's FC stats look worse than some alternatives due to a poor start to his career.

First 4 FC seasons 74 wickets @ 43.95
Last 4 NZ FC seasons 93 wickets @ 28.16

For comparison, last 4 NZ FC seasons:
Kuggeleijn 59 wickets @ 32.07
Duffy 82 wickets @ 31.85
Doug Bracewell 70 wickets @ 27.61

(Yes, I know there are some 125 - 130 kph seamers with < 30 average, but I assume selectors want test newcomers 135+ or have unsettling bounce)

 

[Migara]

Interesting Fleming talking about the hour before lunch like that put SL ahead of the match and that 300ish is a good score. It was important no doubt, but I think the story of the day is more that SL were ahead but couldn't make it count.

Key wicket was Karunaratne imo, was a bit of a gift when SL should have just seen off Henry and Southee at that time and then cashed in vs the others.

This pitch has something in it, but imo if SL score 320 that's still under par.

Key wickets were Dimuth and Chandimal. Latter was playing with ridiculous ease, and finally got ahead of himself.

Mathews was a pain to see. Lost all his reflexes, struggling against 135k bouncers from Henry. Wagner had a bad day or is he also done? It looked as him and Mathews like two old men playing against each other and predicting other's tactics with precision.

This is a 400 track. SL squashed the opportunity given to them by Mendis.

 

[Bahnz]

Key wickets were Dimuth and Chandimal. Latter was playing with ridiculous ease, and finally got ahead of himself.

Mathews was a pain to see. Lost all his reflexes, struggling against 135k bouncers from Henry. Wagner had a bad day or is he also done? It looked as him and Mathews like two old men playing against each other and predicting other's tactics with precision.

This is a 400 track. SL squashed the opportunity given to them by Mendis.

Yeah Wagner’s so well done he’s basically burnt rubber at this point. Started out his spell today at barely 120 kmh. Tbf, he’s earnt this test with his spell at the Basin last week, and as much as I and many others think he should’ve taken the opportunity to retire on a glorious note, I understand why he’s soldiering on. Dude’s earning probably close to a quarter of a million dollars on his current nzc contract, and once he retires he’s unlikely to earn anything close to that for the rest of his life.

 

[andruid]

This has snuck up on me.

 

[Burgey]

Were the NZ change bowlers operating on the same pitch as the new ball bowlers? The difference in the economy rates is massive

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

Kusal Mendis..More like Kusal Magician !, what a knock

 

[SteveNZ]

Yeah Wagner’s so well done he’s basically burnt rubber at this point. Started out his spell today at barely 120 kmh. Tbf, he’s earnt this test with his spell at the Basin last week, and as much as I and many others think he should’ve taken the opportunity to retire on a glorious note, I understand why he’s soldiering on. Dude’s earning probably close to a quarter of a million dollars on his current nzc contract, and once he retires he’s unlikely to earn anything close to that for the rest of his life.

I don't think the issue is so much that Wagner can't earn what he is now, because he'll be in demand by companies, as a corporate speaker etc. He's an icon. The issue is he won't be able to replicate the adrenaline of game day, which is what he lives for. That's what's keeping him in it. And maybe he genuinely doesn't know he's broken. Didn't the other day he say he wanted to be like Anderson and play until 40? He shouldn't be playing Tests in 40 days' time, he's gone from a paceman to a pedestrian. The opening spell today was club bowling like. And I take zero pleasure in saying that about one of our greats.

I'm going to be a bit lenient on Tickner. He got his radar working towards the end of the Mount Test, then got dropped, and is now trying to find it again. But boy, his inability to hit a length yesterday....

 

[Howsie]

Yeah you can’t blame Wagner or anyone for the matter who wants to continue on with their sporting career. You can blame management, coaching staffs etc who can’t, or refuse to see when someone is done though.

We are all dreaming if we actually expect Stead to tap him on the shoulder and tell him time is up

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

Wagner is reminding me of Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon , he lives for the job but he can't accept that he's getting old and has to ease his way to retirement like his buddy Murtagh. But the old dog still has a bit of bite as England (Jet Lee) found out .

 

[NZTailender]

I don't think the issue is so much that Wagner can't earn what he is now, because he'll be in demand by companies, as a corporate speaker etc. He's an icon. The issue is he won't be able to replicate the adrenaline of game day, which is what he lives for. That's what's keeping him in it. And maybe he genuinely doesn't know he's broken. Didn't the other day he say he wanted to be like Anderson and play until 40? He shouldn't be playing Tests in 40 days' time, he's gone from a paceman to a pedestrian. The opening spell today was club bowling like. And I take zero pleasure in saying that about one of our greats.

I'm going to be a bit lenient on Tickner. He got his radar working towards the end of the Mount Test, then got dropped, and is now trying to find it again. But boy, his inability to hit a length yesterday....

I haven't seen all news outlets but Wagner said he took inspiration from Anderson playing until 40, not that he wants to play until 40 in the interview I saw.

 

[straw man]

New ball five overs away and want Southee and Henry to take it, but I hope we're not going to start with pish from both ends until that time. Need one of them on immediately, otherwise it's like five overs of throwdowns to get the SL batsmen in.

 

[Prince EWS]

Didn't see a ball of this yesterday but the bowling card is thoroughly unsurprising. Seeing off the opening bowlers of the this attack and then flogging the far inferior change bowlers isn't just a Bazball thing.

This could be over really quickly though - it's a really disgusting tail.