grecian
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
His body won't hold up for Tests, nothing to do with money. If it was all to do with cash he'd be playing in the IPL now, not Captaining his country.
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***Official*** Sri Lanka in England and Ireland 2014
- Thread starter Maximas
- Start date
viriya
International Captain
Yea but I'm sure it will hold up for 2 tests.. just a dabble at having a nice English summer...
Maximas
Cricketer Of The Year
yeah, no one is expecting a saviour, but he has shown in the last 6 months that he can provide control, decent pace and some movement in the air and off the pitch, he can also bowl long spells, more than can be said for most SL fast bowlers. Eranga is looked upon as the leader and main strike bowler of the fast bowling attack.
Maximas
Cricketer Of The Year
Sri Lanka's t20 bowling plan is usually to bowl him early and get his overs done with cheaply, just because his first couple of overs don't go for much doesn't mean he won't get smashed at the death.
His figures didn't look great today, but Sri Lanka appear to be trying to groom him as a guy who can bowl at the death so it makes sense to give him some experience under pressure, he can bowl a decent yorker I hear
viriya
International Captain
His T20I bowling record suggests that he should be bowling out everytime - his economical figures weren't a fluke. I fail to see how he would've done worse than Lakmal (especially since pace off the ball with variations seem to work better in T20s with a few exceptions). The only explanation I can accept is that they are testing out Lakmal which is fine I guess - but more likely they just dented any confidence he had going into the ODIs/Tests.
Mathews' stats only look good because he bowls 2 overs first up and gets away pretty economically. If he started bowling out his spell, he'd get slaughtered at the back end of the innings. Cricket isn't played on spreadsheets.
It really defies belief that teams don't target him more up front. It's ludicrous that he has a T20i economy rate under 7 - but it's a great plan by SL. Cheap overs up front from a non-frontline bowler - it's exactly what you want in T20.
It really defies belief that teams don't target him more up front. It's ludicrous that he has a T20i economy rate under 7 - but it's a great plan by SL. Cheap overs up front from a non-frontline bowler - it's exactly what you want in T20.
viriya
International Captain
He averages 3 overs every time he bowls.. I think you're underestimating how good he is in T20I.. He doesn't usually bowl in the last 5 overs but it's not like batsmen forget to score in the first 15. His variations are underrated. Of non-spinners that have bowled more than 100 overs in T20Is, only Dale Steyn has a lower economy rate (only 2 with <7 econ).
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Maximas
Cricketer Of The Year
That stat still doesn't mean much though, it's more of a reflection of the fact that Matthews bowls more overs in low-pressure situations than other fast bowlers, seriously, how many times has the SL captain turned to Matthews to bowl a tight spell to a rampaging batsman? We have our spinners and Malinga for that, hence Matthew's stats reflect his role
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Yeah, Sri Lanka use Mathews really well. The fact that he has good stats is a reflection of this; it does not suggest he's under-bowled but rather than his role is perfect for him.
hendrix
Hall of Fame Member
What's that phrase that commentators use?
"You just can't keep him out of the game"
They generally reserve this for the all round/x-factor players. There's this weird idea that if things aren't going right for your bowling attack, turn to the medium pace bowler who does nothing other than bowl a disciplined line and length because you just can't keep him out of the game.
99% of the time a captain is best off giving the job to the guys whose job it is. Need a wicket? Get the strike bowler on.
"You just can't keep him out of the game"
They generally reserve this for the all round/x-factor players. There's this weird idea that if things aren't going right for your bowling attack, turn to the medium pace bowler who does nothing other than bowl a disciplined line and length because you just can't keep him out of the game.
99% of the time a captain is best off giving the job to the guys whose job it is. Need a wicket? Get the strike bowler on.
viriya
International Captain
He bowls in the powerplay most of the time with fielding restrictions.. I'm sure you can find a lot of medium pacers that don't bowl at the death - how come they don't have similar stats? I'm not saying he's an amazing T20I bowler, just that he's underrated. After 100 overs+ if it was that easy to get him away his stats would reflect that.
Even if he bowled an imaginary 4th over at the death and got hit for 10 runs on average for that over, his econ would be <7.5, which is still very good.
In this match, he bowled the second over (which he has been doing for some time now) after Kula got hit for 9 in his, got a wicket and went for just 2 runs. I fail to see how that is a "cheap over" when the pressure is on the opposition. Seems to me the pressure was on the bowling team there.
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Maximas
Cricketer Of The Year
Not many other teams use their medium pacers the way SL do, Matthews has the same role each game pretty much, and it suits him well, so he is settled into that role. As for the fielding restrictions, it means batsmen often have to look to go through a ring field to put away a bad ball or over the top. Because Matthews can hit the spot pretty well for two overs, and given some batsmen are hesitant to take risks early as teams look to keep wickets in hand and they don't have their eye in properly, Matthews is rarely targeted and can get by cheaply, or induce a poor shot and pick up a wicket. Hence his record stands out.
If he was able to keep his average at 10 that is, and even so that stat is still skewed by the way he is used for the majority of his overs.
I didn't see this match, but generally Kula is the more attacking of the opening bowlers, and he looks to pitch the ball up and get a bit of movement, so he can go for runs early, especially at his pace. Matthews on the other hand bangs the ball in and can be harder to get away, with the field up and the batsmen new to the crease and weary of keeping wickets in hand, it's an easy time to bowl in terms of his style and the game situation.
YorksLanka
International Debutant
tbh Maximas, kula had an off today yesterday and he struggled as the ball wasnt swinging for him- depsite Lakmalgetting some late swing in a few deliveries. Personally i would have gone for Mathews to bowl the last over but i agree that as you say, i think it was to give Lakmal more experience..also lets not forget it was Malinga who made the decision and he is only a bowler so we cant expect much 
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Well yeah, but that doesn't mean he should actually bowl that over. It's not wrong to only bowl him for two or three overs; only wrong to under-rate him based on that.
wpdavid
Hall of Fame Member
Indeed, and class usually tells.
Part of which is the ability to bowl effectively at the end of the innings, of course.
Apologies to the over-sensitive soul who felt that Sir Donald Perera would do what he did yesterday to Malinga or anyone else who's actually pretty good at that stage of the innings. Not you, Maximas, btw, I know you're always a gent in these forums. I just CBA to send out a more than one post on the matter.
Entertaining start to the tour though.
Jarquis
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I do think people and underrating Mathews and I do think that theres been a bit of a straw man made out of 'its not all about stats', I don't really agree that's ever what was insinuated. The idea that he bowls in low pressure situations when he bowls almost exclusively in the powerplay is a new one too. There's no reason he that he couldn't bowl all 4 of his overs upfront if SL wanted him to And there's nothing to suggest that he'd do worse bowling his 4th in the 7th over than his 3rd in the 6th. It wasnt ever suggested he has to bowl out at all costs either so the idea of him getting tapped at the death is largely irrelevant. Treat him like Kyle Mills in ODIs and bowl him out before half way.
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Migara
International Coach
Tested thrice now, and tested even before he was debuted. Bowls with a bent atm which stays bent. Such an action is running on thin ice, where even slightest of mistake can extend the elbow. He had a big off break, and it had problems. To his credit he has given up on it.