*Official* West Indies in Sri Lanka 2010

[GotSpin]

Just the way they marched out there...then promptly realised they'd made a horrible mistake

 

[vcs]

Can't stop laughing. Only in Test cricket will you see something like that happen.

 

[vcs]

What a shot from Samaraweera. Hooks a great bouncer from Roach for six!

 

[WindieWeathers]

Well i'd say that was our session but we MUST remove one of these guys before they get out of hand, if we can get Sanga before SL reach 100-120 then we'd be right on top, hope to see Shilly in the next session.

 

[vcs]

Well i'd say that was our session but we MUST remove one of these guys before they get out of hand, if we can get Sanga before SL reach 100-120 then we'd be right on top, hope to see Shilly in the next session.

Agreed. Both these guys are well capable of stitching together a 200+ partnership easily.

 

[Howe_zat]

I wouldn't underestimate HAPW and Matthews. Sri Lanka do have a pretty shaky-looking tail though, so a couple of early wickets will have them really struggling.

 

[Migara]

Dropping Randiv for Herath is inexplicable, and so was picking Suranga Lakmal (Some call him Laranga Sukmal) over Fernando. The latter would have been a terror on this pitch when you consider he was bowling at 150k recently. But that is typical SL selectsucker syndrome. What it did was to weaken the batting in addition to making the bowling ridiculously weak. Kulasekara is pretty good with the bat, but Herath is no where near the clas of Randiv with bat or the ball.


And it reminded me an English summer seeing this test match. Pitch having pace, bounce and seam. We never had this few years earlier. Imagine Vaas, Malinga, Murali and Mendis bowling on this!

 

[smash84]

And it reminded me an English summer seeing this test match. Pitch having pace, bounce and seam. We never had this few years earlier. Imagine Vaas, Malinga, Murali and Mendis bowling on this!

Yeah. I can only imagine them now that two of those champs have gone. Maybe the SL ground staff were waiting for them to retire so that they can make sporting pitches.

 

[Migara]

Ha! Ha! not to mention the England-summer-esque rains too! And the morning temperatures are around 21-23C. This time it's usually around 27-28.

Probably you are right. Vaas-Murali combo took wickets even on teh slowest and deadest of pitches in SL. By making those pitches the visiting bowlers were foten negated to SL batsmen mae huge scores on it. Since now Murali and Vaas are gone, SL bowlers need that extra help. A pitch like this, another one like at 3rd test vs India at PSS (it was a spin paradise), would only make SL cricket much better and interesting.

 

[vcs]

SL have usually always prepared result-friendly wickets bar the SSC in recent years...

 

[smash84]

Ha! Ha! not to mention the England-summer-esque rains too! And the morning temperatures are around 21-23C. This time it's usually around 27-28.

Probably you are right. Vaas-Murali combo took wickets even on teh slowest and deadest of pitches in SL. By making those pitches the visiting bowlers were foten negated to SL batsmen mae huge scores on it. Since now Murali and Vaas are gone, SL bowlers need that extra help. A pitch like this, another one like at 3rd test vs India at PSS (it was a spin paradise), would only make SL cricket much better and interesting.

In his own way Murali used to take the pitch out of the equation. That man could turn the ball on glass.

 

[smash84]

SL have usually always prepared result-friendly wickets bar the SSC in recent years...

I am not too sure about that.

 

[Migara]

I am not too sure about that.

There's no single drawn series for a long time in SL.

 

[Howe_zat]

And it reminded me an English summer seeing this test match. Pitch having pace, bounce and seam. We never had this few years earlier

...

Ha! Ha! not to mention the England-summer-esque rains too! And the morning temperatures are around 21-23C. This time it's usually around 27-28.

Is it so impossible that this series is, in fact, taking place in England, and the ICC and the rest are pulling an elaborate con?



Have they been fooling us all from the start?

 

[Migara]

People who call Samaraweera a FTB should closely look at the way he has played here. Superb technique and plays very late right under his nose. If he gets thorough first 30-40 minutes tomorrow morning, Shillingford and Benn will be in for some demoralising stuff against Sam, just because he doesn't give you any chance when playing spin. Anyway these two has to put up at least 100 - 150 more without getting seperated. This pitch will take some mad turn on the 5th day. So SL better put up a good score.

 

[Himannv]

AWTA. Samaraweera is a top player. Very confident with him at the crease. May not be pretty to you foreigners but eh man is damn solid.

 

[Blaze 18]

I have the greatest respect for Thilan Samaraweera. Not too many players can take a bullet to the chest and still bat the way he does.

I would agree that he has not done justice to his potential outside of Sri Lanka, but he certainly is not a flat-track-bully.

 

[vcs]

I have the greatest respect for Thilan Samaraweera. Not too many players can take a bullet to the chest and still bat the way he does.

I would agree that he has not done justice to his potential outside of Sri Lanka, but he certainly is not a flat-track-bully.

Agree with that part so much. Tremendous amount of respect to the guy.

 

[Himannv]

Shot in the chest? I heard it was the leg or thigh or something like that.

Love his attitude. Changed his playing style so many times just to make it into the team. We are blessed. I'm a huge fan of the guy. He may not be the prettiest to watch but over the years he has been one of the most annoyingly solid batsmen we have ever had. A man for a crisis and a fighting personality that wont stay down. He will do what it takes day in and day out and the world will never rank him high enough.

A true stalwart among a million talented players who give it all up for money, fame, drugs and what not. The man is a colossus. He will bat and fight untill there is nothing left in him. And if he does go out, he will smile and walk off. A humble and contrite champion. Say all you want about home tracks or school tracks or away tracks or green tracks or railway tracks, this man will stick in there and bat with a smile and thats not something you see every day. Respect. I rate the likes of VVS in a similar manner. The gentlemans game is blessed and it doesn't even know it yet.

 

[M0rphin3]

I have the greatest respect for Thilan Samaraweera. Not too many players can take a bullet to the chest and still bat the way he does.

I would agree that he has not done justice to his potential outside of Sri Lanka, but he certainly is not a flat-track-bully.

Chest? You sure about that?

He's a gun player, scored runs under pressure for SL. Doesn't matter if he's an FTB or not, SL doesn't have many batsmen who perform very well outside home in any case.