*Official* Sri Lanka in England 2021 (white ball)

[Magrat Garlick]

Sri Lanka gifting Tom Curran a career is it

 

[slippy888]

There no batting talent coming through Sri Lanka this is a problem

 

[Migara]

There no batting talent coming through Sri Lanka this is a problem

Rather the problem is two faced. The players who are selected for 50 overs game has to have ability to occupy the crease. The only ones capable of doing it are DDS, Mathews, Chandimal, Karunarathne and Thirimanne. Issue is other than for DDS, all above are very slow against spin. Most of their scoring will be against fast bowling. It complicates more as KJP and Danny boy both suck against spin, and those boys are the big hitters in the side. As a result SL have to play dibbly dobbly no rounders who can bash spinners like Shanaka (TBF to him, he is a crafty seamer), Sekkuge Prasanna or utter crap like Milinda Siriwardane.

Selectors have to make a decision which players to be selected only for tests. Pathum Nissanka, Chandimal and Thirimanne should be told, they are for tests only. Karunarathne brings in that stability, but his batting slot is a question, because KJP and Danny boy (after serving the ban) will be openers. till then Karunarathne can open. Mathews can bat in the middle order, but he also has very limited shelf life as a limited overs player. They have to bring in Bhanuka Rajapakshe as well. If Chandimal to be brought in, it should be only as a keeper batsman, as KJP's keeping lately had been trash.

Bowling is good, and it needs bit of tinkering according to the format. Dhanajaya Lakshan is essentially a T20 bowler, especially on slower tracks. His cutters and slower balls will be pretty damn difficult to get away. Binura Fernando had been excellent, so was Chameera. In helpful conditions, Sl has to bring in Lakmal. Bairstow and Roy would have not found it that easy to hit Lakmal who tends to get most swing among SL bowlers, and the most accurate too. In addition, Ramesh Mendis needs to experiment with opening the bowling against non SC sides to give extra dimension to the bowling attack.

 

[Himannv]

I switched channels after we were 4/42 or whatever. Glad it rained.

 

[karan_fromthestands]

I don't know what the SL cricket administrators are up to, but it's really sad to see them struggle like this. SL was in an upswing until 2011 and all of a sudden they are just nowhere now. Whatever disputes the players have, I don't know much about it but constant chopping and changing is a massive reason why they are struggling right now. SL has always had a decent pool of raw talent, it was always about polishing them, that has stopped happening. SL needs to learn from NZ who have set a benchmark when it comes to smartly managing the available pool of talent they have. Pick players who have potential, give them a long rope and create a great team environment - this has been more or less NZ's mantra.

Also, it's not just SL, all Asian teams have the habit of quickly writing off players and making hasty changes. It happens a lot with SL so it stands out, but other teams also have the same issues.

 

[Himannv]

Pick players who have potential, give them a long rope and create a great team environment - this has been more or less NZ's mantra.

I actually don't think this is the issue. I think a lot of players have got plenty of chances to shine but they either haven't made it or are too inconsistent or are nitwits.

Take Kusal Mendis for example. He's definitely got potential and has received loads of chances but he's very inconsistent and acts like a nitwit so chances are high that he doesn't make it.

We're also not helped by selection mistakes, injuries, lack or stars, and having too many nitwits.

 

[Shady Slim]

I actually don't think this is the issue. I think a lot of players have got plenty of chances to shine but they either haven't made it or are too inconsistent or are nitwits.

Take Kusal Mendis for example. He's definitely got potential and has received loads of chances but he's very inconsistent and acts like a nitwit so chances are high that he doesn't make it.

We're also not helped by selection mistakes, injuries, lack or stars, and having too many nitwits.

tbf, though, i suppose there's a graded difference between giving young, promising talents a lot of rope or giving, like, lahiru thirimmanne a lot of rope (who to the guy's credit was solid in their last series, but until it's otherwise proven we can put that in the category of "broken clock")

can lead a horse to water but you can't make it average more than 30 etc

 

[Himannv]

tbf, though, i suppose there's a graded difference between giving young, promising talents a lot of rope or giving, like, lahiru thirimmanne a lot of rope (who to the guy's credit was solid in their last series, but until it's otherwise proven we can put that in the category of "broken clock")

can lead a horse to water but you can't make it average more than 30 etc

It comes down to our talent pool as well. Thirimanne was actually a promising option, he just never worked out (although as you said he seems to have turned that around now). I think it also helps players to come into a more settled side and not the craziness that our current limited overs setup seems to be these days. Oh, and selectors need to make smarter choices as well I think.

 

[social]

Hales might as well play the T20 circuit