***Official*** Sri Lanka in England and Ireland 2014

[ohnoitsyou]

earlyish 2012 on that 2 test tour England made to Sri Lanka, he took 6 wickets at Galle, although he did struggle in the next test now that I look back on the scorecards.

Isn't Galle typically a dustbowl?

 

[Maximas]

That pitch was taking some decent turn yes

 

[marc71178]

You're right. 20 overs with no boundaries against decent but by no means great bowling was absolutely what we required chasing 300 with 6 overs of Malinga left

Well, seeing how close they got in the end it was a better option then being 4 down inside 10 overs...

 

[theegyptian]

Buttler's innings means **** all if you don't win. Those saying it's england best odi knock are wrong imo. Winning is everything. Most of the english fans know he's capable of these type of innings but as even he said afterwards he didn't think much of the teams chances when he came into bat and just had some fun in a desperate cause. Get England over the line and you can talk about it being one of England's best odi knocks. But any knock like that is good for his confidence going forward.

 

[Dan]

Herath
Randiv
Perera
Mendis
Prasanna

+ various all-rounders and part-timers.


Not a bad depth of spin there, IMO.

 

[Maximas]

Yeah it's not bad, only issue is that behind Herath all we seem to have is fringe international players who dominate domestically but aren't quite there as international cricketers, mind you most nations are a bit like that. You can probably add Senanayake and Tharindu Kaushal to that list as well

 

[Dan]

Not quite sure how I contrived to leave Senanayake off that, tbh. NFI who Kaushal is so yeah.

I don't think many countries even have fringe spinners behind their lead one. India would be the only other country that's comparable in terms of depth IMO.

 

[grecian]

Not quite sure how I contrived to leave Senanayake off that, tbh. NFI who Kaushal is so yeah.

I don't think many countries even have fringe spinners behind their lead one. India would be the only other country that's comparable in terms of depth IMO.

A decent moral stance IMHO.

 

[Maximas]

ha ha

having spin depth is our trade-off for having such awful pace bowlers for the most part tbf, but you're quite right, looking at England's current situation for example one sees our position in terms of spin is indeed quite secure

 

[grecian]

ha ha

having spin depth is our trade-off for having such awful pace bowlers for the most part tbf, but you're quite right, looking at England's current situation for example one sees our position in terms of spin is indeed quite secure

Well for ODIs we're fine, but yeah Tests it's hideously bleak.

I really wouldn't mind us being silly and going for a Ravi Patel or Riley. I see Patel has been picked over Rayner today, who some were touting as an England star.

 

[wpdavid]

Well, seeing how close they got in the end it was a better option then being 4 down inside 10 overs...

But the problem isn't what Root and Ballance did in their first 10 overs together, is it. It was the inability to pick up the pace even a little bit once they were both set. Which left us in need of something borderline miraculous from the last 20 overs or so, instead of a more normal chase.

Our current top four strike me as a good bet for an overcast day in Leeds against a side with a string of 75-85mph bowlers. Regrettably, not much international cricket is played in those conditions. It's not the fault of the lads concerned, but watching them trying to score more than four an over against a decent rather than outstanding spin attack in conditions which were some way removed from Galle or the UAE was quite painful. Their games just aren't geared up to that situation. of course, the statistics of all of our top 4 will allow people to argue that they are 'doing enough' to be retained, but the reality is that they are leaving far too much to the middle order if they bat for any length of time.

Not sure what the solution is though, and I suspect the selectors don't either.

 

[91Jmay]

Well, seeing how close they got in the end it was a better option then being 4 down inside 10 overs...

Stupid reasoning. Sure rebuild for 5, even 10 overs but if you can't even hit a boundary against Ashan ****ing Priyanjan you don't belong in the top order of an ODI side. Ballance might be ok at 3, as his LO records suggests he is a big run getter, but Root never impressed me up the order.

Another potential issue

Since Jan 2013 Eoin Morgan has 774 runs at 30 against test playing teams. How long does Eoin get if he's not performing?

 

[grecian]

Look in the end is it's somewhere in-between, they did rebuild which was crucial, but they should have done it a bit quicker.

Not sure it needs reams written about it. It was a bit meh, but Bell's awful shot, or Morgan's poor innings surely more culpable.

 

[wpdavid]

Another potential issue

Since Jan 2013 Eoin Morgan has 774 runs at 30 against test playing teams. How long does Eoin get if he's not performing?

A while yet. There are more pressing issues further up the order, and I don't think any of us could suggest a better alternative. Also, averaging 30 batting at 5 in ODIs isn't all that bad. It's not good, and I'd like it to be be higher,but it's not as bad as averaging that figure in tests..

 

[91Jmay]

A while yet. There are more pressing issues further up the order, and I don't think any of us could suggest a better alternative. Also, averaging 30 batting at 5 in ODIs isn't all that bad. It's not good, and I'd like it to be be higher,but it's not as bad as averaging that figure in tests..

His SR isn't very good either though. I agree we have far more pressing concerns, but there comes a point when he needs to score runs. You are right about the lack of alternatives though. I think we have a few decent options up the order in reserve but middle order players are lacking (Samit Patel should be an option but they won't pick him).

 

[marc71178]

So if we're dropping Root, Ballance and Morgan who comes in?!

 

[91Jmay]

No one has suggested doing that. Just pointing out that having samey batsmen who amble along but produce decent statistics doesn't project that well for the W.C. I certainly think one of Ballance/Root should make way for Hales/Vince if they aren't scoring runs in the India series. Morgan I wouldn't drop unless he has a rotten run for the next 10 games, but I was just pointing out he hasn't been great recently.

 

[grecian]

Ballance is number 3 for the forseeable future for me. He's as good a shot at number 3 as we've got. I think with this line-up Root is in because he bowls. I'd rather Ali or Samit TBH, both have more strokes and both are in stonking form.

Yet we've got the tests first, in the end they'll pick the same side again, and I think there are a few batsmen under a little threat if they don't perform. I don't think Ballance is one though. Bell and Root the two I'm looking at.

Replace them with Vince and Samit and it looks better to me, but what do I know?

 

[karan316]

Hmm, I'd query this - he took 26 wickets from 17 matches at under 20 striking at just under 30 last year, and who could forget his spell of 5/3 against NZ in the world t20, he's more than a tie-up-an-end bowler these days, even in ODIs. While Mendis showed his value to the attack today by breaking the two big partnerships (although as you say seems he has more of a knack for taking wickets than an ability) he showed his limitations too, he doesn't have weapons to limit scoring when batsmen are picking him comfortably and conditions aren't assisting him.

Compare it with Mendis, he has 35 wickets in equal number of games. But must say, m surprised at Herath's numbers in the last 17 games, and yes, those numbers do suggest that he is more than just an economical bowler. And again, its SL management's call, it depends on the kind of team combination they want. Herath's wonderful performance against NZ can't be ignored, but they need to pick 2 of their best spinners and stick with them, can't keep shuffling them, guys should feel secured about their place in the team, only then can they give their best.

And a very good point by Migara, Randiv was quality, he should have got a few more chances, is he doing well in the domestic games?

 

[Maximas]

Yes, Randiv had a good domestic season, he also performed for Sri Lanka 'A' against the England Lions