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***Official*** Sri Lanka in New Zealand 2015

Zinzan

Zinzan

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Captain_Cook said:
I've don't understood why Mathews doesn't bat at 4 in all formats. Usually, the best batsman in the team bats in the top 4. Has he ever been asked?
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Because his average wouldn't look quite so flattering without the not-outs he gets from batting 5-7 across all-forms.

Cynicism aside, he is SL's best bat and should bat around 4, although he was badly exposed against the short ball in this series and frankly looked inept against it at times, so little doubt what fast bowlers around the world will target moving fwd.
 
thundaboult

thundaboult

International Debutant
Dan said:
Is he referring to Tests or ODIs here? Because in that format Henry > Southee for a match tomorrow isn't nearly as ridiculous a suggestion as it is for Tests.
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Even in tests I would say Henry seems to be getting closer to Southee. Southee might have bowled well in AUS but at the end of the day its results. He got those in the Sri Lankan tests but not like SL provided a tough challenge similar to the Aussies of course. His 125k short ball bowling is good for Herath but it will be a different scene when AUS gets here. Boult still got those results against AUS in bad form which was like I said, the tougher test.
 
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thundaboult

thundaboult

International Debutant
Bahnz said:
Haha, utter boswollox this. Southee at his best is the equal of Boult (and arguably better). He's been comfortably our best bowler in tests this season (even if his numbers in Aus didn't reflect this). While Henry is a pretty good option to have waiting in the wings in the event of a Southee break-down, NZ will miss him badly if he's out.
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I agree with you that he's better than Boult when he's at his best. But taking 7 wickets in one match and dozing off for a year doesn't mean he's overall better than Trent. So at the end of the day its still Boult over Southee. He might have been our most threatening bowler this season against AUS but hey, not enough results still. And the last time I checked, results decide a game and leave the final impression. Unless of course Southee turned into Starc and bowled a ridiculous 155k+ spell that stands out on its own despite the lack of wickets and one which gets imprinted on everyone's minds' for a long time.
 
hendrix

hendrix

Hall of Fame Member
thundaboult said:
Even in tests I would say Henry seems to be getting closer to Southee. Southee might have bowled well in AUS but at the end of the day its results. He got those in the Sri Lankan tests but not like SL provided a tough challenge similar to the Aussies of course. His 125k short ball bowling is good for Herath but it will be a different scene when AUS gets here. Boult still got those results against AUS in bad form which was like I said, the tougher test.
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thundaboult said:
I agree with you that he's better than Boult when he's at his best. But taking 7 wickets in one match and dozing off for a year doesn't mean he's overall better than Trent. So at the end of the day its still Boult over Southee. He might have been our most threatening bowler this season against AUS but hey, not enough results still. And the last time I checked, results decide a game and leave the final impression. Unless of course Southee turned into Starc and bowled a ridiculous 155k+ spell that stands out on its own despite the lack of wickets and one which gets imprinted on everyone's minds' for a long time.
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You're probably a bit young and enthusiastic, which is a good thing. And it's find to prefer Boult's bowling over Southee's. But the reality is that if Boult or Henry had bowled half as well as Southee did in Australia we wouldn't have been so completely humiliated in those first 8 or so days of the series.

Results are important yes, but the results depend on bowling partnerships, unless you're Hadlee - and even he relied on good, accurate bowling at the other end.
 
thundaboult

thundaboult

International Debutant
hendrix said:
You're probably a bit young and enthusiastic, which is a good thing. And it's find to prefer Boult's bowling over Southee's. But the reality is that if Boult or Henry had bowled half as well as Southee did in Australia we wouldn't have been so completely humiliated in those first 8 or so days of the series.

Results are important yes, but the results depend on bowling partnerships, unless you're Hadlee - and even he relied on good, accurate bowling at the other end.
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Can't argue with that. Great post. Thanks for the clearer explanation.
 
OverratedSanity

OverratedSanity

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Zinzan said:
Because his average wouldn't look quite so flattering without the not-outs he gets from batting 5-7 across all-forms.

Cynicism aside, he is SL's best bat and should bat around 4, although he was badly exposed against the short ball in this series and frankly looked inept against it at times, so little doubt what fast bowlers around the world will target moving fwd.
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Wait he looked inept against the short pitched stuff? I didn't watch this series so this is a genuine question, but whatever I've seen of him previously suggested he has no issues whatsoever against people banging it in.
 
Flem274*

Flem274*

123/5
He got out to the short ball a few times, including in that game where everyone did.

I've always thought he has a bit of compulsiveness to the hook and pull but he's good enough to nail it most of the time. Teams have tried it before and sometimes there have been top edges flying for four and most of the time he smokes them. It's nothing fast bowlers haven't tried on him before and I don't see him having consistent issues in the future.

I'd be more concerned with some of the nicking off he did. He's usually excellent at leaving the ball alone.
 
Kippax

Kippax

Cricketer Of The Year
OverratedSanity said:
Wait he looked inept against the short pitched stuff? I didn't watch this series so this is a genuine question, but whatever I've seen of him previously suggested he has no issues whatsoever against people banging it in.
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http://nzcpooch.blob.core.windows.net/38db52f1-2971-47f6-ae0f-440d9172aaf0/3_031_01.mp4

Letting Wagner get into his head at the easy-paced Uni Oval was particularly bad -

http://video.blackcaps.co.nz/video-...10-12-15/WEB_151214_NZL_SRI_SESSION1_1800.mp4 (0:50 in)
 
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Moss

Moss

International Captain
I'd just focus on getting Southee fit for the tests, NZ need him badly. Much as the Chappell-Hadlee ODI's have been billed as a sort of continuation from the WC games last year, better to let Henry/Milne/McCleneghan handle those and try to get the Southee-Boult axis in the right shape for the red ball stuff. NZ's chances get slimmer if they aren't operating well as a double act.
 
9

91Jmay

International Coach
OverratedSanity said:
Wait he looked inept against the short pitched stuff? I didn't watch this series so this is a genuine question, but whatever I've seen of him previously suggested he has no issues whatsoever against people banging it in.
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Yeah, England tried that against him at Headingley and he destroyed us (one of the all round ATG performances that no one seems to mention). Plunkett (who is quick if he has nothing else) went at him and he played it beautifully.
 
Zinzan

Zinzan

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Re Mathews, I'm not sure why he suddenly looked so exposed against the short-stuff this series (even discounting the 2nd test when all batsmen struggled against it), but who knows if he's kind of in two minds about doing a 'Steve Waugh' who of course virtually put the hook/pull shot away in the last 5 years of his career, having played it really confidently in his early years. Whatever it was, I found it perplexing since I agree with OS that if he did historically have a weakness vs the short ball it would be well known by now.
 
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