***Official*** Sri Lanka in Australia

[Laurrz]

Atapattu
Jayasuriya
Sangakkara
M Jayawardene *
Vandort
Silva
P Jayawardene+ / Maharoof
Vaas
Malinga
Fernando
Muralidaran

initially i went with Prasanna but with the flat pitches maybe Lanka actually do need 5 bowlers.. and Maharoof impressed on the first day .. bowled good lines

the team looks much better with genuine match winners in Sangakkara and Malinga back... (or if they are picked...)
It's a shame it's a two match series coz i feel Lanka will play better as the tour goes on, similar to in England

i think Lanka are a big show actually.. i always knew Aussie would win at the Gabba.. but Hobart i was always unsure and thought Lanka could sneak a win here.. Silva looks like on a good day he can play a very good knock... should be a matter of time before he takes those starts and goes on

 

[Perm]

Sri Lanka are absolutely gutless ...and to lose by an innings -they are bunch of spineless bunch ever to represent the country bar guys like Murali and a couple of others...

Geez, talk about over-reacting.

 

[Isura]

5 bowlers is unnecessary since Murali is gonna be bowling a ton of overs from one end, and Sri Lankan's batting can't afford to be weakened even more. I think Maharoof misses out, and agree with the rest of your lineup Laurrz.

 

[JBH001]

As much as it is tempting to play 5 bowlers, I think our batting too brittle and too weak to be able to chance it. I also doubt if 5 bowlers would add enough to the attack to compensate for the lack of batting strength - such as it is. However, if Sanga returns and dons the gloves then it certainly is a thought, because with Maharoof the batting would be OK. However, if so, then Sanga should bat in the middle order, I think - say around 5 (I think he - or Jayawardene - would be a good influence on Silva in the middle) to compensate for fatigue. If not though, I like the look of Van Dort at 3 and think he would form a good combination if Sanga were to come in at 4.

 

[pasag]

Neil Harvey. What a legend. Well spoken bloke.

What happened? Must have missed it.

Anyways, a lot of positives from an Australia point of view. Lee was excellent, if he can bowl more of those balls that got Mahroof he might be ready to go up a level. Jaques answered the Langer question rather well and although he still has alot to prove, he's passed his first test with flying colours. Johnson went from strength to strength within the Test itself, imagine where he will be at the end of the season. For the past year he's been improving so much in front of our eyes it's unreal. Ponting's captaincy was superb as well. He has come so far and is one of the best captains going around today.

It's really comforting to know that after 10 months without playng a Test and losing 3 star players we can beat a quality side by an innings and after losing the toss as well. Bring on Hobart.

 

[pasag]

There was an excellent point made by vic_orthdox I think in this thread which you see quite often when teams play Australia and get defensive and stop scoring, they might hold Australia off for a couple of hours or a session but when Australia finally break through they haven't made much of a gain or move forward. So whilst being defensive is great, you still have to keep the scoreboard ticking, take the singles etc, something that wasn't happening at times here.

 

[Johnners]

AWTA, pretty much why we won the Adelaide test match last year as well, England just weren't scoring, or even looking to score.

 

[Pratters]

Hoggy would get slaughtered by the Indians. Great one day bowler - very average FC bowler.

I'd play four quicks.

How do you know Hogg will be slaughtered by the Indians. He has been bowling very well really. Why do you say he is a very average FC bowler? Is it because you look at his career average of 38?

Hogg in the last few seasons (FC):

2004-05 (Australia) 711 18 341 16 6-44 21.31 1 0
2006-07 (Australia) 650 18 308 15 6-69 20.53 2 0
2007-08 (Australia) 189 6 83 8 5-62 10.37 1 0

MacGill in the last few seasons (FC):

2006-07 (Australia) 2504 63 1382 39 6-118 35.43 2 0
2007-08 (Pakistan) 348 16 175 4 3-81 43.75 0 0
2007-08 (Australia) 330 2 280 4 3-183 70.00 0 0

The Australian selectors selected him in the squad for Sri Lanka and I doubt whether they would have done it if they didn't believe that he had a genuine possibility of being a success in tests. Early in his career, Hogg was average, yes. However, he is an improved bowler now. Plus, he adds some thing with the bat which doesn't hurt, particularly with Shane Warne now out of the side (I am not saying he should be selected for his batting, just that it adds to the whole Hogg package).

I wouldn't mind or be surprised if Hogg was selected ahead of MacGill in the next test v Lanka. In fact, I would like it to happen from an Australian point of view. Though obviously some people might feel it is doing away with MacGill without giving him a longer run, it would be the right move where I am concerned. It may not hurt that much to replace MacGill with a Hogg for a test v Lanka (if Hogg doesn't deliver - MacGill got just 2 wickets v Lanka in the first test and yet Australia won comfortably). Plus, it gives a very good view of where Hogg stands in test match situations ahead of the tests v India.

The other point raised is playing 4 fast bowlers. That is not a preferable option for mine despite Symonds and Clarke being in the team for the simple reason that a spinner can ball a fair bit more than a fast bowler without being tired. That gives the other three fast bowlers enough time to rest and bowl full steam when the time does come for them to bowl. Else, it might be a problem when teams start making bigger scores.

 

[Craig]

There was an excellent point made by vic_orthdox I think in this thread which you see quite often when teams play Australia and get defensive and stop scoring, they might hold Australia off for a couple of hours or a session but when Australia finally break through they haven't made much of a gain or move forward. So whilst being defensive is great, you still have to keep the scoreboard ticking, take the singles etc, something that wasn't happening at times here.

AWTA, pretty much why we won the Adelaide test match last year as well, England just weren't scoring, or even looking to score.

Yep, it makes perfect sense. It's funny how arm chair fans like you or me say that and yet international cricketers who would think would probably have a higher knowledge of cricket then us don't seem to work that out. TBH I wasn't surprised at what happened on the 2nd day and towards the end of the 1st say when Hussey swept Murali for 6, Sri Lanka hold the pressure then just one bad ball will get sent express post to the ropes and all the pressure goes to nought.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Does anyone else think that Sri Lanka were undone by the constant rain breaks in the 2nd dig? Vandort and Samaraweera went after one and then Silva was dismissed after another. As I'm catagorically not a batsman, I'm not the best to comment, but surely the constant disruptions in your concentration must be hard to overcome.

I liked the classic fast bowler dismissal of Maharoof by Lee. Top stuff. Loved the showy move of mid off to square on the leg side after roughing him up a bit.

 

[Craig]

Does anyone else think that Sri Lanka were undone by the constant rain breaks in the 2nd dig? Vandort and Samaraweera went after one and then Silva was dismissed after another. As I'm catagorically not a batsman, I'm not the best to comment, but surely the constant disruptions in your concentration must be hard to overcome.

I liked the classic fast bowler dismissal of Maharoof by Lee. Top stuff. Loved the showy move of mid off to square on the leg side after roughing him up a bit.

Oh definatly. Then again on the other hand at it rained any harder o longer they may hav egotten away with it.

 

[pasag]

Does anyone else think that Sri Lanka were undone by the constant rain breaks in the 2nd dig? Vandort and Samaraweera went after one and then Silva was dismissed after another. As I'm catagorically not a batsman, I'm not the best to comment, but surely the constant disruptions in your concentration must be hard to overcome.

I liked the classic fast bowler dismissal of Maharoof by Lee. Top stuff. Loved the showy move of mid off to square on the leg side after roughing him up a bit.

Yeah the rain which would have been their only salvation was ultimately their undoing. Doubt it would have made that much of a difference though.

 

[silentstriker]

Sri Lanka are absolutely gutless ...and to lose by an innings -they are bunch of spineless bunch ever to represent the country bar guys like Murali and a couple of others

Wow, did Sri Lanka lose by an innings to Bangladesh and no one told me about it?


Everyone loses to Australia by an innings. I don't think its indicative of anything - they are just doing what everyone else does.

 

[chaminda_00]

The thing with taking risking and looking for quick singles. Its pretty damn hard to try and take quick singles against Australia's inner circle. People might say that Vandort for example was not looking for quick singles, but you have to remember early in his innings he had some close calls with run outs. So off course a player is going to be on the back foot in reguard to quick singles and turning strike over.

I think people dramically under estimate the quality of the Australian fielders and the impact it has on a batsmen's mindset. You look around and there only about 3-4 players you can confidently take a quick single. Ever time to ball went to Jaques, MacGill and Clark the batsmen were looking for quick singles. But anyone else in the Australian team you have to be 90%-100% sure there is a run, or you might get out.

 

[pup11]

The thing with taking risking and looking for quick singles. Its pretty damn hard to try and take quick singles against Australia's inner circle. People might say that Vandort for example was not looking for quick singles, but you have to remember early in his innings he had some close calls with run outs. So off course a player is going to be on the back foot in reguard to quick singles and turning strike over.

I think people dramically under estimate the quality of the Australian fielders and the impact it has on a batsmen's mindset. You look around and there only about 3-4 players you can confidently take a quick single. Ever time to ball went to Jaques, MacGill and Clark the batsmen were looking for quick singles. But anyone else in the Australian team you have to be 90%-100% sure there is a run, or you might get out.

Yeah i agree with your views completly its never easy to pinch a quick single against the Aussie fielders because they are lightning quick in the field and that's one aspect of their game which doesn't get as much focus as their batting or bowling but in the overall context of a game their fielding also helps them outperform their opposition.
But still Vandort is not much of an aggressive player.

 

[Top_Cat]

i think Lanka are a big show actually.. i always knew Aussie would win at the Gabba.. but Hobart i was always unsure and thought Lanka could sneak a win here..

Is now the time to point out that Australia have never lost there?

 

[AKkAz]

Sri Lanka's bowling is what relly let them down.... It was a unwise move not to include Malinga in the starting 11 especially after electing to bowl first..Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't Malinga is a ***y beast!!!!!!!!!

 

[shortpitched713]

Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't Malinga is a ***y beast!!!!!!!!!

Nah, he is a ***y human being.

 

[mollyfud]

Sri Lanka's bowling is what relly let them down.... It was a unwise move not to include Malinga in the starting 11 especially after electing to bowl first..Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't Malinga is a ***y beast!!!!!!!!!

I don't want to comment on the "*** beast" aspect, but I heard he was injured. Is that right?

Molly

 

[Silver Arrow]

They'd be silly not to play Malinga in the second test.