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***Official*** England vs Sri Lanka 21st August-10th September 2024

Chin Music

State Vice-Captain
Could well be a bowl first day, especially as Day 2 looks better for batting.
Heaving it down currently. I doubt the groundstaff will leave as much grass on the pitch as I have seen on a couple of days that I have been to the Oval for County Championship games (I work really local), but there might be plenty of sense for bowling first tomorrow.
 

govinda indian fan

First Class Debutant
Heaving it down currently. I doubt the groundstaff will leave as much grass on the pitch as I have seen on a couple of days that I have been to the Oval for County Championship games (I work really local), but there might be plenty of sense for bowling first tomorrow.
Then hopefully sl wins the toss otherwise if eng win toss then this would end in 3 days
 

Molehill

Cricketer Of The Year
Heaving it down currently. I doubt the groundstaff will leave as much grass on the pitch as I have seen on a couple of days that I have been to the Oval for County Championship games (I work really local), but there might be plenty of sense for bowling first tomorrow.
Likewise where I am, some serious rain in the South of England today.
 

govinda indian fan

First Class Debutant
Maybe rehan Ahmed can play🤔 considering he is a leggie and can be back up in Australia in case of injury to bashir and as leggies perform well over there
 

Chin Music

State Vice-Captain
It’s hardly Hyderabad tbf, and Root and Lawrence are perfectly adequate part-timers
I said in a previous post that Oval has had more than a tinge of green on the occasions I have been across there for County matches this year. I doubt the ground staff will try to leave too much grass on for a test match - I'm pretty sure that they want 4 days at least. However, it has been a fair while since it has been anything close to the spin friendly surface that it has been in the past.
 

govinda indian fan

First Class Debutant
I said in a previous post that Oval has had more than a tinge of green on the occasions I have been across there for County matches this year. I doubt the ground staff will try to leave too much grass on for a test match - I'm pretty sure that they want 4 days at least. However, it has been a fair while since it has been anything close to the spin friendly surface that it has been in the past.
If am not wrong oval used to be famous for being spin friendly with likes of chandra musthaq ahmed and murali all won matches on their own
 

Chin Music

State Vice-Captain
If am not wrong oval used to be famous for being spin friendly with likes of chandra musthaq ahmed and murali all won matches on their own
Yes, there have been plenty of spinners who will have enjoyed the Oval, and Phil Tufnell certainly had a few successful tests from an English perspective. There will still be help on the 4th and 5th day, but it certainly isn't the haven it was for spinners say 20 years ago.
 

mackembhoy

International Regular
Played at 4 this season domestically, has he opened before? If not, we’re really running the risk of the same issues as we’ve had with Lawrence and Pope (there are some promising top order players around in the CC right now, but they seem a way off, and I think batting, especially at the top of the order, is a bit different to bowling whereby technique is key regardless of your attributes)
Cox used to open for Kent he's more experienced than Lawrence who I'm not sure has played a FC game batting in the top 3 let alone opening.
 

Hungry Llama

U19 Debutant
They might need all the 5 days if the forcast is correct. SL have left out Prabath so clearly they dont think it will help spin much.
 

Himannv

Hall of Fame Member
Weird decision. I feel Jayasuriya is a good enough bowler to pick up as many wickets as the extra pacer. He'll also get a good number of overs in while the pacers take turns resting up.
 

Himannv

Hall of Fame Member
After thinking about, maybe it's a good decision. This gives some experience to the seamers in these conditions in what is essentially a dead rubber.
 

Howe_zat

Audio File
All they've done here is unbalanced their attack really, it's going to take some pretty special circumstances to justify Sri Lanka playing four seamers and this probably isn't it
 

Howe_zat

Audio File
As for the weather, it looks a bit grim this morning so probably a delayed start unitl after lunch. Once they get going they should be alright, with probably a handful of short breaks across the whole test.
 

Bahseph

International Debutant
After thinking about, maybe it's a good decision. This gives some experience to the seamers in these conditions in what is essentially a dead rubber.
I thought the whole purpose of the WTC was to give every match some context? Dead in the context of the series but still points to be won right?
 

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