-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
***Official*** Sri Lanka in England
- Thread starter nookie_lk
- Start date
On this pitch which still seems to be playing true if any 2 English Batsman get settled in even 400 would be gettable . SL need to try and bat through the first session on Day 4 at least .Sanz said:
I would agree with Monty Panesar , in that England would still fancy chasing a target of 350 , given Murali only took 3 wickets in the first innings and there is hardly a major demon in this pitch or significant turn (I know the detractors would say KP turned it too but SL will need to convince 2 umpires 200% to get any wickets here and this pitch from what I have seen is not too difficult to bat on .)
If I am correct you are referring to Maharoof , I suspect.BoyBrumby said:Top leave there!
Padding up to a straight one. Hmm. Seven down now, but think Sri Lanka already have enough anyway.
He is undoubtedly one of the passengers in this SL side.
If I remember correctly he has not been required to bowl in the second innings of second test or the first innings of this Test. And even in the first innings at Edgbaston he only bowled a few wicketless overs giving away runs. Batting wise he has made few 13's and 10s . As I see it he does not fulfil the 4th bowler's role in this Test ( remarkably SL could've managed this Test with just 3 bowlers only !!) nor does he fulfil any criteria for a batsman coming in at 8 and making the measly contributions he has made while missing a straight one from Monty . Brainless .
He has succeeded in being picked for the last 2 tests based on his scratchy innings at Lords where had England held the catches he would have been carrying drinks from thereon .
social
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
300 runs (or thereabouts) will always be a big ask in the 4th innings against a bowler as great as Murali. Plus, everyone is saying that the wicket is getting slower, lower and turning more.
BTW, when did Monty become a decent judge of what constitues good batting conditions?
BTW, when did Monty become a decent judge of what constitues good batting conditions?
Barney Rubble said:I'm not so sure they do have enough. I think SL are showing that there isn't as much in this pitch for the bowlers as the first innings would indicate. Granted, we have the Murali factor, but it's not like we've comprehensively failed to deal with him so far. If we avoid losing wickets to the seamers we've got a shot at chasing anything shy of 320-odd I'd say.
Ever the optimist, me.
I agree there isn't much in this pitch and Murali may not be a factor as everyone makes out to be !!
I was slightly disappointed that Vaas and Kapugedera didn't pick on the fact that England bowlers were pretty tired towards the end and accelerate the scoring a little - they could've added another 20-30 which would be crucial.
England bowlers will be refreshed on Day 4 and they will need to start allover again to try and build this lead by another 50 at least .
From what I saw on Day 3 its really not that slow and the difficulty in scoring runs is not as difficult as predicted, given SL lower order are still managing to get runs , although they were principally blocking for most of Day 4 . (despite that they still managed to score 240 runs - so it really doesn't seem to have slowed that much )social said:
Also the turn for Monty was very variable in that although in the first 2 sessions he got a fair amount of turn after pitching from some rough patches (created from foot marks) in the last hour he suddenly appeared to have lost the turn he was generating and went flat ( partly attributable to tiredness after bowling 35 odd overs) .
So IMO , if English batsman get settled in with a mindset of staying put for 5 sessions and playing Murali out , they may succeed in chasing even 400 as there is plenty of time to make those runs (5 sessions even )
Last edited:
Looking ahead to the ODIs , I think Mubarak (never again should be picked ), Vandort (Test batsman not suited to ODIs) , Samaraweera (occasionally a Test batsman
) , Malinga and Kulasekera should be sent back after the Test series.
In their place I would pick Arnold, Ian Daniel , Ruchira Perera and Dilhara Fernando . Gayan Wijekoon is not quite there IMO, and nor is Dhammika Prasad . But the selectors might spring a few surprises . As a surprise selection I would pick Tamil Union's Jayaprakashdaran who played a solitary ODI against India.
) , Malinga and Kulasekera should be sent back after the Test series.In their place I would pick Arnold, Ian Daniel , Ruchira Perera and Dilhara Fernando . Gayan Wijekoon is not quite there IMO, and nor is Dhammika Prasad . But the selectors might spring a few surprises . As a surprise selection I would pick Tamil Union's Jayaprakashdaran who played a solitary ODI against India.
vic_orthdox
Global Moderator
But, to play the devils advocate, as a SL fan you'd want these two to make the majority of the runs for the rest of the innings. If you had've lost another wicket before stumps, it suddenly exposes the rest of the order, and maybe your bowling the next morning. Vaas and Kapu have to play calm, responsible innings.JASON said:
Sanz
Hall of Fame Member
You are being extremely negative here. 300 will be a very competitive target with Murali/Sanath bowling in the 4th inning. There is a difference between Panesar and Murali and not to forget the fact that SL batsmen are better players of Spin than English batsmen (barring KP).JASON said:
Anything above 350 and I gaurantee SL victory. You are right, Murali took only 3 wickets, but Sanath took 2 wickets as well. Right Now SL are on top and IMO right now the balance is about 70-30 in their favor.
Me too !! If they do, it will be a rousing win and a great character building experience for more than a couple of them and will woo them onto retaining the Ashes . It would also silence all their critics.Blaze said:
But I hope and pray for SL's sake that we can add at least another 50 to this lead.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
This test has become extremely interesting now. Wonder if the pitch is as flat as HOlding says it is though.
Pedro Delgado
International Debutant
Enjoyed Saturday even though we were outplayed for most of the day, it really was scorching weather, marching up the Radcliffe Rd stand is no fun, thankfully we found the lifts later.
We're going to lose this match aren't we.
We're going to lose this match aren't we.
wpdavid
Hall of Fame Member
Yes we are, and it's not going to be pretty. Presumably we'll once again have the embarassing sight the last 3 SL wickets taking their lead somewhere past 350 without the slightest trouble until a couple of them get bored. Thereafter, we can safely expect MM to clean up by lunch on Day 5.Pedro Delgado said: