***Official*** Australia in Sri Lanka

[benchmark00]

Haha yeah AWTA. He does get turn and bounce though.. somehow.

Controversial opinion here, and I actually have no coaching source for this statement - however I've been looking into the art of off spin bowling over the past few seasons. I mean very closely. I've drawn inferences which basically say that the typical exaggerated pivot we've seen over time is overrated, and at best provides a better base point in which to drift a ball.

Having said that, I'd always teach young off spin bowlers to pivot in order to maximise drift, however if an accurate off spin bowler came to me and wanted coaching and he didn't pivot, I wouldn't go out of my way to teach him how to pivot.

The more important aspect of off spin bowling is varying the height at which you deliver the ball, and the angle of the seam. If you can successfully vary those two things you can do anything.

 

[four_or_six]

Are you going for the Aussie team? That'd be pretty cool.

 

[Prince EWS]

Controversial opinion here, and I actually have no coaching source for this statement - however I've been looking into the art of off spin bowling over the past few seasons. I mean very closely. I've drawn inferences which basically say that the typical exaggerated pivot we've seen over time is overrated, and at best provides a better base point in which to drift a ball.

Having said that, I'd always teach young off spin bowlers to pivot in order to maximise drift, however if an accurate off spin bowler came to me and wanted coaching and he didn't pivot, I wouldn't go out of my way to teach him how to pivot.

The more important aspect of off spin bowling is varying the height at which you deliver the ball, and the angle of the seam. If you can successfully vary those two things you can do anything.

Cliffs on Benchy's post?


Seriously though, there are more and more spinners coming through at the elite level who don't have much of a pivot so I'd say it's a line of thinking that has been gaining some prevalence. I think you're right in that the only direct impact a pivot has is to help impart drift on the ball. Its connection to turn is indirect - turn comes from revs, revs come from (among other things) explosive momentum into one's action and the easiest (or at least traditional) way to get that momentum is through the big pivot. Without that pivot a lot of bowlers would have to bowl slower through the air to get the same up and down dip and the same total revolutions before pitching, and what every young spinner aims to do it to get the ball above the batsman's eyeline and back down again as quickly as possible, giving the batsman less time to react to essentially the same delivery.

There are other ways to get momentum into your action though, particularly if you're more chest-on, so a pivot isn't exactly a requisite for turn. Bounce comes from overspin and height, so the same thing applies there.

What surprises me about Randiv is that he doesn't really seem to have momentum or explosiveness at all - pivot or not - and still manages to get decent revs on the ball and extract both over- and side-spin from the pitch.

 

[MW1304]

Quick fingers?

 

[smash84]

dear pews,

please mail me the details of what you're smoking at the moment.

thanks,

bun

.....

SL's day but there's enough there for the bowlers if they hit the towel. Watto potentially dangerous with his stump-to-stump ***iness.

Edit: three consecutive posts lauding Watto guarantees 0-108 (15)

btw what are people's thoughts on Khwaja. Looked terrible out there I thought or at least very far from what I had seen in some of the LO matches in Aussie domestic cricket. Looked to be very late on the shot whenever the ball was pitched very full. Thoughts?

 

[Prince EWS]

.....





btw what are people's thoughts on Khwaja. Looked terrible out there I thought or at least very far from what I had seen in some of the LO matches in Aussie domestic cricket. Looked to be very late on the shot whenever the ball was pitched very full. Thoughts?

He has known issues with his front footwork; it's nothing new. Something that's been pointed out numerous times on CW actually. He's definitely a back foot player primarily.

 

[SamSawnoff]

He has known issues with his front footwork; it's nothing new. Something that's been pointed up numerous times on CW actually. He's definitely a back foot player primarily.

He does look clumsy at times. More so than I expected. But I'll bet he's a fast learner.

 

[Himannv]

Well bowled boys. Got to bat well now.

 

[smash84]

easier said than done Himannv

 

[centurymaker]

Well bowled boys. Got to bat well now.

my only concern with lankan batsmen is that they don't seem to play the genuine fast bowlers that well. johnson and harris can both frequently bowl 145+...

(english bowlers aren't that quick. they mostly avg around 135 with the exception of broad.)

however, im hoping that they score 400

 

[Woodster]

What a fantastic innings from Mike Hussey and a perfect example of how to bat in these conditions. His rotation of the strike throughout his innings ensured he was never pinned down for any length of time, he swept well, was very patient and worked the gaps extremely well. Such a clever player that has his gameplan set and executes those skills and without error for a huge portion of the day.

Sri Lanka bowled very well to restrict Australia, but this pitch is going to be exceptionally difficult to bat on, which gives Australia a big advantage in batting first. Lakmal's control was impressive and Welegedara was getting appreciable reverse swing with the ball about 50 overs old and the spell in which he picked up Usman Khawaja was a testing one.

Ranagana Herath was a threat, his ability to beat the bat on both sides makes it a risk for a player to leave his crease. Really enjoy watching how players approach their innings against the spinners on these pitches, Clarke as we know, keen to get down the pitch and not afraid to hit against the spin, Ponting relying on playing the spin from his crease but with decisive strides forward or back. Haddin's approach seems a little more random, but his striking remains as sweet as anyone, but Hussey was the real joy to watch.

Not the worst score for Australia though, plenty of starts would suggest you never completely feel set on this track. Looking forward to seeing sow Australia's new-look attack goes tomorrow and how class acts such as Jayawardene and Sangakkara play here. Dilshan remains a captivating spectacle.

 

[morgieb]

Not a great day from Aussie perspective. Fair enough the pitch was turning, and they bowled well, but we should've at least gotten 300 against their excuse of a bowling attack. They'll score 600 now....

 

[outbreak]

I think Sri Lanka will bat alot better then the Aussie's did, Sri Lanka used the conditions well but Australia made the pitch look alot worse then it was.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah I think you're right. Some of the Aussie bats got reasonable balls but made them look utterly unplayable. So weird that, the last two seasons where ball has dominated bat in SS where we've seen more of seaming and swinging conditions than for many years, we've got a crop of bats who struggle if the ball is moving off the straight. Phil Hughes, for example, got a good ball but he really didn't look like it at all so nicking out was sort of inevitable (even if he appears to have tightened up his play outside off-stump quite a bit*).

Only Hussey looked truly comfortable once the ball got soft and I don't think it's a coincidence that he's the only **** in the top-7 who plays really late, like players in England are brought up to do (and where he's done really well). The old 'see ball/hit ball' is all well and good on true decks but these guys look awfully shaky on anything else.

*Looking very much like Graeme Wood these days.

 

[Top_Cat]

What's really funny about Mussey's play is that many years ago, he was told by a certain high-profile coach to head to England and qualify because he was never going to play a Test for Australia playing that way.

 

[Days of Grace]

So weird that, the last two seasons where ball has dominated bat in SS where we've seen more of seaming and swinging conditions than for many years,.

Might this be due to Murali retiring?

 

[Julian87]

Only Hussey looked truly comfortable once the ball got soft and I don't think it's a coincidence that he's the only **** in the top-7 who plays really late, like players in England are brought up to do (and where he's done really well). The old 'see ball/hit ball' is all well and good on true decks but these guys look awfully shaky on anything else.

Top post.

Agree with this so, so much. Was thinking during this match about even our 'best players of spin' always seem to struggle against it on a slow or sub continent pitch. Some of the best players I've seen in these conditions do play it very late ad have very soft hands when needed. They'll also sweep rather than almost blindly charge on a pitch that's holding up when runs are needed. You'll see plenty of Australians charge, not get to the pitch, but still send it over the boundary, at home. You can't do this over there though because if you're not to th pitch you'll generally either mistime it or miss it completely. Ponting's dimissal the obvious example.

Watson's wicket is exactly what you're talking about IMO. Yes it was one ball against a spinner but I couldn't help feeling a tad annoyed when the commentators were saying it was purely the ball that got him out.

 

[howardj]

We showed a real stomach for the fight yesterday I thought. We just came up a bit short, with the exception of Mussey.

It's very concerning though that we just can't crack 300 in the 1st innings (when the game is up for grabs) anymore.

 

[benchmark00]

It's pleasing (in a way) that none of our batsmen (with the exception of Ponting I guess) 'gifted' their wicket away.

Sure there were a couple of wickets that could/should have been played better, but we didn't see that wafty outside off **** that saw during the Ashes.

Felt Sri Lanka bowled with really good discipline, hopefully something we can emulate.

You're going to get alot of LBW/bowled/caught bat pad and caught in front of the wicket dismissals on a wicket like this, so hopefully we're smart about the type of lines and areas we bowl and be patient with it.

 

[Top_Cat]

You know who it would suck to have to face early in your knock on a pitch like this? Peter Siddle.