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

[Bahnz]

Chameera now bowling with some really good heat late in the day. The SRL selectors will lock him in if they have any brains.

 

[Kippax]

Haha weird guard taken by Phillips there. Still not liking the fuller ball, as with last season.

 

[Kippax]

 

[Skyliner]

Macewell is the future.

It's not like Smith made a duck; 81 is the innings high score.

If Gup doesn't cash in against this S.L. attack, I'm not sure he ever will.

 

[Skyliner]

Sri Lanka have used 10 bowlers so far.

 

[Hurricane]

It's not like Smith made a duck; 81 is the innings high score.

If Gup doesn't cash in against this S.L. attack, I'm not sure he ever will.

Indeed the only thing that makes me pause before beginning a persuasive and insidious hate campaign against Michael Bracewell to sway opinions in favour of Ben Smith - is how Wagner did hurry him up on some short pitched bowling. He will get plenty of that with interest against the Aussies.

I once saw an interview with Styris and he is answered why NZ is so good at posting totals in ODIs and not in test cricket. He started his answer by saying that test cricket is a back foot game, then he thought twice and become worried he was going to lose the interest of joe punter at home and turned his answer into wafffle about having fighting team spirit. I have long pondered that half answer and I believe what he meant is that test match bowlers often aim to hit the top of the splice. They do bowl a shorter length and front foot champions/bullies get found out as they can't unleash any of their drives.

Smith looked very good on the front foot - not so good on the back foot and he tended to try to play shots from the crease when it got above waist high.

I would like to see more of him though, and I think Athlai is wrong about his pecking order...surely Smith is ahead of Flynn,

Smith is starting to knock at the door. I do favour him over Bracewell but I don't rate Bracewell for various reasons. Would like to see Smith address his technical issues. And he also should have tonned up today to make a statement.

You can't argue with Smith's FC average though. For an opener that is damn compelling.

 

[Kippax]

Joel Harden seemingly quite talented with the bat. Son of an English county player or something I think? More riches for Phlegm and Cribb on the way, hot on the heels of Clarkson.

 

[vandem]

... I would like to see more of him though, and I think Athlai is wrong about his pecking order...surely Smith is ahead of Flynn,

Smith is starting to knock at the door. I do favour him over Bracewell but I don't rate Bracewell for various reasons. Would like to see Smith address his technical issues. And he also should have tonned up today to make a statement.

You can't argue with Smith's FC average though. For an opener that is damn compelling.

Agree about Smith ahead of Flynn.

Rather than turning to an experienced FC player (Brownlie, Flynn), I'd prefer the selectors wait until one of the young technically-correct openers (see who I excluded there ...) makes a statement, and is picked to partner Latham. Assume this if Raval / MBraces / Smith. And then hope they get 2 seasons to prove themselves. In the meantime Guppers makes the odd 30 against top 3 teams and some 50s against Bangers etc and is good in the field.

 

[Flem274*]

Nah if guptill fails then barring massive runs it's brownlie or flynn. Neither are trash. Maybe not openers ir possibly test players, but I'd back them over ben smith tomorrow and I say that as a cd fanboy

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I mean this is pretty embarrassing for Sri Lanka right? This is a pretty mediocre president's XI, the attack is FC standard I guess?

People in glass houses...

Tour Match: Cricket Australia XI v New Zealanders at Sydney, Oct 29-31, 2015 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo


First game of the tour and all that

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Reasonable money on offer for the draw, given that there's only ever been 1 result from a test played at the Uni Oval (and that achieved during the dying stages of the final session on day 5).

edited

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Reasonable money on offer for the draw, given that there's only ever been 1 result from a test played at .... (and that achieved during the dying stages of the final session on day 5).

Would that be NZ's most exciting test win at home in the last 10 years? Bond's last test

 

[Howsie]

I love the bloke but Daniel Flynn isn't close to being good enough for test cricket.

 

[Hurricane]

Haha weird guard taken by Phillips there. Still not liking the fuller ball, as with last season.

He's doing that because he doesn't like full straight deliveries as he can't play around his front pad well. It took me 6 years of trying different things to solve that problem myself.

 

[Daemon]

He's doing that because he doesn't like full straight deliveries as he can't play around his front pad well. It took me 6 years of trying different things to solve that problem myself.

Yeah I've tried it for a while with the toe pointing slightly down the wicket. It really works and makes you play straighter, but it's ugly and it took away my offside game so out it went.

 

[Hurricane]

Yeah I've tried it for a while with the toe pointing slightly down the wicket. It really works and makes you play straighter, but it's ugly and it took away my offside game so out it went.

There are two approaches to defending a full ball on middle stump.

1) The Tim Mcintosh solution. Move your front foot forward but open up your stance so that your front foot moves forward in line with leg stump. Hit the ball beside your front foot.
2) The Ross Taylor and Shane Watson Solution. Move your front foot directly towards the ball with a half step. Put your bat directly in front of your pad so that your pad and bat are in a straight line and not beside each other. Aim to hit the ball with the centre of the bat. If it seams inwards it will collect the inside half of the bat and run down to fine leg for a single. The ball will almost never seam away unless it is a jaffa - in which case the bowler deserves to get you out.

I favour option 2, after trialing option one for many years with different stances to assist me. Option 2 opens up your offside game because if the ball is pitches outside off stump you don't need to change where you are planting your foot very much ans you can play a drive with your bat and pad together at point of impact.

Option 2 took me 2 years to master to the point I can do instinctively. All bowlers in club cricket will bowl you a full and straight one early in your inning to see if you know how to defend. Usually in your inning you will only get 2-3 deliveries like that even if you make a 50 - so it is ok to pat each one back to the bowler*

* on occassion against a particularly canny bowler he noticed I patted two back to him in a row so he started firing everything in full and straight thinking he could bowl cheap overs to me. So I had to go to plan B which was to whack a few for four runs, which isn't hard to do a full and straight delivery since they are often half volleys.

 

[Kippax]

Weird that Phillips didn't think the ****ed backlift with the bat face facing out to point could maybe be binned first. He must be desperate to protect his high esteem within agribusiness circles for dem pulls and cuts.

 

[indiaholic]

Yeah I've tried it for a while with the toe pointing slightly down the wicket. It really works and makes you play straighter, but it's ugly and it took away my offside game so out it went.

Has worked for me. Almost took away my offside drives but I was in a better position to cut. All that being said I stuck around longer which was important for me.

 

[Kippax]

It's not like Smith made a duck; 81 is the innings high score.

He was sort of out for 4, itbt.

Ryder will be berating those crap domestic umpires with footage on his mobile device, now there's a camera with sound.

 

[Skyliner]

He was sort of out for 4, itbt.

Ryder will be berating those crap domestic umpires with footage on his mobile device, now there's a camera with sound.

Huge noise - no doubt the ump was thinking that could have come from anything.