*Official* England Tour of Sri Lanka 2018

[harsh.ag]

England should drop Broad, play Rashid as an(other) all rounder.

Burns
Whatever
Ali
Root
Stokes
Bairstow
Buttler
Curran
Rashid
Leach
Anderson

So you get 3 pacers, 3 spinners and 4.5 batsmen in total.

 

[harsh.ag]

If Broad doesn't go that I would like the following team;

Burns
Mitchel
Moeen
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler (wk)
Curran
Rashid
Leach
Anderson

Just saw this. Way to make my post look plagiarized.

 

[Groundking]

Just saw this. Way to make my post look plagiarized.

Let's just play it as great minds and all that

 

[flibbertyjibber]

but rashid actually bowled pretty damn well in india. its weird that no one wants to admit it.

anyway, this will be a 3-0 demolition job by sri lanka in the tests.

england to win at a canter in the odis.

He did bowl well and should never have been dropped, fact is he also should never have been picked this summer either.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

As far as I've seen everyone wants Burns opening. Most people have Leach in too.

Yeah but Ed Smith probably has different plans.

Probably pick Denly and Dawson.

 

[Moonsorrow999]

From memory didn't Rashid just get tail enders out and a couple of batsmen once they had made the score? Picked up a few wickets but always gave away 40-50+ runs between them. That doesn't sound that great in favourable conditions. Yet still, the standard of averaging high 40s with the ball is set by the continued selection of Mark Wood.

 

[randycricfreak]

Root will be playing his 75th test at Galle, and his 1st in Sri Lanka.

 

[randycricfreak]

England bats are going to be the key.

I don't think any of their top 8 have played Tests in Sri Lanka.

So this is going to be difficult.

Even Saffers that had Elgar,Amla,DuPlessis,Kock who has played tests before in SL struggled.

Massive test for England batsmen therefore.

Hopefully we can win this 3-0 and give Herath a gala retirement.

Batters wise, Chandimal will return to the team after missing out SA series.

Kusal Mendis and Roshen Silva badly need runs.

 

[Migara]

English will be much better against spin than Saffers. Don't see wickets turning square that will narrow the margin between Rashid and Moeen and Sri Lankan spinners. It would be tracks with just enough spin, high scoring matches. Some times may be dull draws. Anything other than that would suggest the "pitch doctoring accusations" by Al Jazeera true.

 

[theegyptian]

Whatever way the wickets end up it's hard to see how England will not lose comfortably.

England are pretty terrible when it is flat these days. The batsmen just don't have the concentration and skill to bat long enough to win/draw games. Last tour of India on real flat wickets and they lost 4-0. Plus they don't have the bowlers on flat wickets to take wickets.

 

[vcs]

SL's batting is not too hot either these days. The Sanga-Mahela-Samaraweera-Dilshan days are long gone. I think England's chances would be better on flatter pitches.

 

[Groundking]

Judging from the squad picked I would play the following;

Burns
Denly
Moeen
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler
Curran
Rashid
Leach
Anderson

But I think this will be the team;

Denly
Jennings
Moeen
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler
Curran/Woakes
Rashid
Broad
Anderson

I really don't know who they'll go with out of Curran and Woakes tbh.

 

[trundler]

England are going to suck balls aren't they

 

[Daemon]

I hate Moeen at 3 so much but it's pretty hard to fit anyone else there considering how Root is allergic to it.

 

[BSM]

Pretty content with the squad to be honest. Ultimately any squad we take is gonna seem quite weak and undercooked and I don't think there's anyone left behind who will have a more likely chance of forcing a result in our favour this series.

 

[Agricultural]

Judging from the squad picked I would play the following;

Burns
Denly
Moeen
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler
Curran
Rashid
Leach
Anderson

But I think this will be the team;

Denly
Jennings
Moeen
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler
Curran/Woakes
Rashid
Broad
Anderson

I really don't know who they'll go with out of Curran and Woakes tbh.

If England don't pick Burns I'll never watch them (or comment on them) ever again until they do so. They can **** off for a fair bit if they pick Jennings over Burns.

 

[Agricultural]

Joe Root (Yorkshire, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

My team from this squad:

1. Burns
2. Denly
3. Moeen Ali
4. Root
5. Pope
6. Stokes
7. Buttler (wk)
8. Curran
9. Rashid
10. Leach
11. Anderson

sub. Woakes.

 

[theegyptian]

I hate Moeen at 3 so much but it's pretty hard to fit anyone else there considering how Root is allergic to it.

Yes my concern is mainly on Moeen's bowling. They need him to concentrate on it. It's going to be tough physically bowling 40 overs and then going in at 3. It's obviously not a long term plan either because Moeen won't stay at 3.

I think I'd prefer Buttler to open or bat 3 tbh and just play properly with Moeen down somewhere in the middle order. (This too isn't a long term option).

Buttler is suspect against the moving ball but it's SL- he isn't going to face much pace. If he's going to play he needs to take on some more responsibility. You can't have him batting 7 after Bairstow, Stokes and Ali have batted all of whom are going to have big jobs in the field in potentially tough conditions. Opening or batting 3 Buttler actually might crack the art of batting a long time - if he does he may find himself batting 5 in the English summer (which is better for the team rather than having a batsman at 7.).



Burns, Buttler, Denly, Root, Ali, Stokes, Bairstow, Curran, Rashid, Leach, Anderson

 

[Essexboi]

Burns
Denly
Moeen
Root
Bairstow
Pope
Stokes
Buttler (wk)
Curran
Leach
Anderson

Mo & Leach plus 3 seamers and a bit of Denly's apparently much improved leg spin should suffice. Stack it with 'batting' would be the way I'd go & if Jennings plays over Burns he's definitely got pictures of Ed Smith in an extremely awkward situation.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Happy enough with the squad, must admit not seen Stone bar a List A game so no idea if he is any good. Think Denly is a poor choice but then again our batting resources look weak. With Cook gone it would be ridiculous to not pick Burns though I think most people expect that quirky technique to be found out. We have many combinations in that squad and 3 spinners is not impossible seeing as Moeen will bat 3 and Rashid just about counts as an all rounder and played spin quite well down the order in previous tours.