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

[Athlai]

Great, cos it's not a hard enough tour already...

On the plus side, it isn't like you don't have other keeping options.

 

[_Ed_]

That's really disappointing news for SL.

Hmm, weather forecast is a bit iffy.

 

[Howe_zat]

Reckon SL will play

Karunaratne
Silva+
Jayasundera
Mathews
Chandimal
Vithange
Siriwardena
Herath
Lakmal
Chameera
Pradeep

They could play Mendis ahead of Vithange to relieve one of their few experienced batsmen of keeping but I doubt it. Cricinfo reckons that Jayasundera will be the bolter for their new #3.

I'm hoping Jeffrey Vandersay plays, but that is entirely because his name is Jeffrey. Siriwardana going well against the Windies means that SL will struggle to fit another spinner in there despite their seam attack looking pretty ordinary. Lakmal will play because he is experienced. He will be crap.

 

[Flem274*]

Is eranga injured?

 

[Howe_zat]

Still injured from the last one I think. Recovery problems.

 

[Bahnz]

That's really disappointing news for SL.

Hmm, weather forecast is a bit iffy.

Er...it's Dunedin.

 

[ohnoitsyou]

Are you a batsman or a bowler?

Bowler. I'm a bit like Phlegm, or dare i say Chris Martin in that i have a reasonable technique but can't play the ball once it gets above a certain pace.

 

[Bahnz]

NZ's wolf pack lick lips at SL's rough diamonds | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

Andrew Fernando would have to be pretty close to being the best columnist that cricinfo has. Another excellent piece to preview the current series.

 

[hendrix]

yeah Fernando is gun.

The right amount of metaphors and allusions without drifting into masturbation, and an appropriate application of the players' characters without projecting caricature.

 

[Athlai]

Probably fair enough as well. Didn't realise it had been quite so long since we lost at home.

 

[Flem274*]

Fernando used to be one of their worst as well. Huge improvement.

 

[NZTailender]

That article wasn't hugely insightful tbh.

 

[Prince EWS]

yeah Fernando is gun.

The right amount of metaphors and allusions without drifting into masturbation, and an appropriate application of the players' characters without projecting caricature.

Just personal preference I guess but I think he does drift into masturbation and project caricature tbh.

 

[Athlai]

That article wasn't hugely insightful tbh.

It was a nice way of saying NZ are pretty good at home and SL don't tour well, have a lot of fresh faces and are sorta ****.

 

[Kippax]

Not often you get a guy being talked of as the first drop at Uni Oval paying $9.00. Might have to do proper research on Vithanage this afternoon and look for any of these shots Fernando claimed "would've made Chris Martin wince".

 

[Niall]

Vithange was a hack in the Pakistan series, absolute no patience whatsoever, trying to smash everything. I dunno, maybe looking at his recent scores he has copped himself on a little?

 

[OverratedSanity]

Not often you get a guy being talked of as the first drop at Uni Oval paying $9.00. Might have to do proper research on Vithanage this afternoon and look for any of these shots Fernando claimed "would've made Chris Martin wince".

Damn some of those shots are beautiful. Suprising, because every single Vithanage innings I've seen so far has been a dire slogfest.

 

[Kippax]

Vithange was a hack in the Pakistan series, absolute no patience whatsoever, trying to smash everything

Hamish Rutherford cover drive roulette can be a winner at Uni Oval, but this $9.00 is starting to sound like a value trap. I'll see if I can get Mathews anywhere at $5.00.

 

[Kippax]

Click on the 4s and 6s columns for more Vithanage research -

NEW ZEALAND A vs SRI LANKA A

NEW ZEALAND A vs SRI LANKA A

Seems to enjoy how the modern South Island pitches pair up so beautifully with his Ronnie Hira levels of impatience. Expressing himself off both feet.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

Ross Taylor paying more money than Baz to top score? Madness.

Mark Craig looks like a decent bet too.