Eng vs SL: First Test

[Amjid Javed]

England got thru a sticky patch early on and have built up a solid start and also scored as a good rate. This wicket will get harder, quicker and drier as game goes on as sun beats down on it. I expect sri lanka to find batting here alot tougher when their turn comes.

 

[Easa]

so what you are basically saying is that Cook shouldn't be picked because he got a 7 and 17 in one game .

My point isn't to oust Cook from the side.

My point is to atleast have Shah in the thirteen, if Cook makes the playing eleven.

I didn't say that Cook should be dropped.

 

[pakistani pride]

Good display ! by eng and about the cook argument well he scored 89 so he did his bit

give credit where one deserves credit.

About Dravid well didnt the indians cry that he is sooooooo slooooooww after the draw versus eng ?

 

[Officer Barbrady]

I agree that Shah looked a class act in Mumbai.

I haven't seen him (or Cook) bat, but that statement is food for thought.

It doesn't matter who got the 80 and who got 100. I'd want the better player, the better talent, to be in the side irrespective.

I've seen a clip or two of Tremlett and he is impressive. He's also fit again and playing county again and should get a mention during the summer.

That makes Flintoff, Hoggard, Mahmood, Tremlett. That should be enough until the others are fit.

Has anyone seen Caddick recently? He still is picking up wickets and is probably the best known cricketer in recent times (non-subcontinent) who never retired from int. cricket.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Personally I think Bell should have dropped from the squad.

 

[Easa]

I haven't seen him (or Cook) bat, but that statement is food for thought.

It doesn't matter who got the 80 and who got 100. I'd want the better player, the better talent, to be in the side irrespective.

I've seen a clip or two of Tremlett and he is impressive. He's also fit again and playing county again and should get a mention during the summer.

That makes Flintoff, Hoggard, Mahmood, Tremlett. That should be enough until the others are fit.

Has anyone seen Caddick recently? He still is picking up wickets and is probably the best known cricketer in recent times (non-subcontinent) who never retired from int. cricket.

Trust me - Shah is the better talent.

Cook has three shots - forward defensive, nudge, cut. Nothing else.

Shah on the other hand can play any shot in the book, is brilliant against spinners and off his legs, and has a marvelous pull shot.

I agree with you that it doesn't matter who made 80 and who made 100.

 

[Easa]

I've seen Tremlett bowl once - in his ODI debut against the Banglas.

He looked impressive - gets good bounce, has a good line and length, and seams the ball just enough.

Good prospect.

 

[dan hudson]

Shah just doesn't look as natural as Cook, in my opinion.

Cook makes batting look easy.

 

[Team Slayer]

Owais is weak in driving in the arc from mid-off to point IMO. Good bowlers and captains will work him out as he uses too much bottom hand in his drives, which is why I feel he isn't the man to play 3 (maybe 5 or 6). Haven't seen Cook extensively, but I feel he is the right man for 3 (Vaughn was useless at 3) because of his neat technique.

Bell is not all that IMO, neither is Collingwood. But to Collingwood's credit, he's made runs recently and thus deserves to play. The question is, who's gonna sit when Vaughn returns?

 

[Oxy]

The question is, who's gonna sit when Vaughn returns?

Just heard that Vaugan is also out of the NEXT test....

 

[Team Slayer]

Vaughn should do a Hussain and retire...i dont feel he is good enough to get into the team as a batsman alone (especially with those weak knees). We might see a ganguly-like situation arising in the England camp before the Ashes, esp. if Vaughn gets owned in the Pak series.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Vaughn should do a Hussain and retire...i dont feel he is good enough to get into the team as a batsman alone (especially with those weak knees). We might see a ganguly-like situation arising in the England camp before the Ashes, esp. if Vaughn gets owned in the Pak series.

Vaughan is a good player and playing in Australia suits him best. Don't write him off just yet. He should be a certainty if fit.

I hope to see a 150+ from him in the summer.

Strauss and Flintoff should enjoy batting in Australia as well though.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Vaughn should do a Hussain and retire...i dont feel he is good enough to get into the team as a batsman alone (especially with those weak knees). We might see a ganguly-like situation arising in the England camp before the Ashes, esp. if Vaughn gets owned in the Pak series.

Also I'd say this situation is very different from the Ganguly affair. Vaughan had a fairly good Ashes (his last proper series) while Ganguly had been struggling for a long time.

But more importantly Ganguly's side had stagnated and in fact in decline (begging for change) while Vaughan's team has been rising under his captaincy.

 

[Team Slayer]

Vaughan is a good player and playing in Australia suits him best. Don't write him off just yet. He should be a certainty if fit.

I hope to see a 150+ from him in the summer.

Strauss and Flintoff should enjoy batting in Australia as well though.

Also I'd say this situation is very different from the Ganguly affair. Vaughan had a fairly good Ashes (his last proper series) while Ganguly had been struggling for a long time.

But more importantly Ganguly's side had stagnated and in fact in decline (begging for change) while Vaughan's team has been rising under his captaincy.

Yes he is a good player, but with his injuries and indifferent form, its gonna be hard for him to demand a position in the team. He needs to hit a purple patch and he needs to hit it quick, for the sake of his career.

For him to get any runs in the summer, he needs to get fit first! I don't think he'll make the SL series on current fitness. Suppose he comes back from injury against Pak and replaces Cook, and then he does not do too well...that's gonna raise questions about his position in the team because they have an inform batsman (cook) sitting on the bench. Also, with Freddy looking good as stand-in captain, it just increases the pressure on Vaughn.

This potential situation is very similar to the Ganguly situation (out of form captain, in-form Yuvraj on the bench and Dravid impressing as stand-in captain).

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Suppose he comes back from injury against Pak and replaces Cook, and then he does not do too well...that's gonna raise questions about his position in the team because they have an inform batsman (cook) sitting on the bench. Also, with Freddy looking good as stand-in captain, it just increases the pressure on Vaughn.

Don't worry about that, we are planning for a 150+ score in the summer to help him settle back in.

He'll be fine.

This potential situation is very similar to the Ganguly situation (out of form captain, in-form Yuvraj on the bench and Dravid impressing as stand-in captain).

I think what really counted against Ganguly was that the team under his captaincy wasn't doing nearly as well as it once did.

 

[Team Slayer]

Marooned. What if its just a score of 150 and the rest are single digit scores, hain hain?

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Marooned. What if its just a score of 150 and the rest are single digit scores, hain hain?

One big score will take care of the captaincy issues.

Also I feel he's the one with the real chance of scoring runs in Australia. He's the most successful batsman there in recent history and the bit of bounce minus the movement both suit his batting.

And he plays spin well.

 

[Easa]

England will look to get 500+ today with Pietersen at the crease and Freddie and Geraint Jones still to come.

Srilanka need to make some early breakthroughs today, to stay in the game.

 

[Easa]

Srilanka need to dismiss Hoggard early, he can be a bit of a pain in the neck.

Looking forward to Pietersen's batting today.

 

[Easa]

Two from Vaas's first over

Tidy start.

320-3

 

[Easa]

Hoggard bowled, beautiful bowling by Vaas.

327-4

Where is everybody todaY?

 

[UJ]

In comes Mr Collingwood

SL need to get Pieterson otherwise this could be a really huge total

 

[Easa]

Pietersen looking set for a huge score.

He's in his 70's.

 

[jusarrived]

I think match will end draw!

 

[Billy]

I wonder how KP will throw it away this time..

 

[Billy]

A streaky outside edge for the hundred... well played Kevin.

 

[Easa]

Hundred up for Kevin P.

One of the best players in the world currently, I'm sure he'll go on to even greater achievments.

Well played England.

 

[James]

Seems straightforward to me, get some more runs then insert Lankans for a tricky hour or two before close of play. Even if we collapsed now we have lots of runs.

England have a better attack than Lankans and Lankan's batting isnt as strong as what England have, so we have a better chance of 20 wickets than them, but it just seems like a drawn match pitch to help our batsmen settle back into home conditions. You never know though.

Easily Pietersen's best innings except the Oval - he is learning, and as good a boundary hitter as he is, he is also proving himself just as adept at going for singles and twos when the bowling is quality. E.g. there was a tricky period from Muralitharin and Dilshan after lunch when everything got rather slow, the old Pietersen would have thrown it away I think, but he just eased through it and got to the 150. I hope everyone is starting to see why England fans value this guy so much. Has the talent to become one of the best all-round England batsman for a long time.

 

[Oxy]

Flintoffs in a hurry - captains responsibility.

 

[Oxy]

England declared: 551-6

Flintoff makes Hussain and Bumble look a bit foolish....they were talkinga bout getting to tea and talking about it (with coach and VC I presume?) - yet he Freddie sees the opportunity and takes it.

No messing about.

I'm impressed!!

 

[James]

Amazing shot by Flintoff brings the declaration, 550 came up with a six. We're gonna see a nasty period here for the Lankans after an early teatime, a bad start to their innings will probably lead to the follow on.

Who should open the bowling, Hoggard and Flintoff I think. Might as well have your best bowlers on when the ball is shiny.

 

[Oxy]

Hoggard and Flintoff - cause some initial mayhem, then bring on the newbie...

 

[James]

Early indications have showed that there is something in this pitch for Hoggard. Maybe Lankans just dont even quality seam bowling at the moment, the amount of pace is pretty limited for them. Murali may be top quality but he can't bowl out teams on his own.

 

[James]

Lankans 0-1, Hoggard inswinger gets a leg before decision, probably a sign of things to come. Its such a difficult situation for the SL batsmen in this game now, they are never any good in English conditions and there are already 500 runs on the board which piles on the pressure.

 

[spongebob]

England should get a couple more wickets before end of play.

 

[Oxy]

2 LBWs for England - Rudi by any chance???

 

[Rob H]

Very miffed i missed Pietersen's brilliance and bit of Freddie fun but it's good to see us with early scalps. This partnership is vital between Sanga and Jayawardene (Nasser Hussein calling him jaya-ward-dena ) ) for the Sri Lankans.

 

[Rob H]

Flintoff into "the groove". Beating Sangakkara's edge often.

 

[jusarrived]

it will be nice if these two get centuries....both batsmen are good to watch,especially sanaga...n my prediction of draw wil come true

 

[Rob H]

Jayawardene dropped by Jones diving to his right. Tough chance.

 

[Rob H]

great to see Mahmood get the prize scalp. Well taken Trescothick too.

 

[HAFRIDI]

I love watching Hoggard bowl, the thing i like about him is that he's not afraid of pitching it up.

 

[HAFRIDI]

Congrats Mahmood on ur first test victim- an a top player too is sanga !

 

[Rob H]

WOO HOO Mahmood gets Samaraweera lbw. Coming down the slope. Beautiful bowling.

 

[sehsan]

sajid cha geha hai

 

[Rob H]

run out now. Brilliant running i must say

 

[Rob H]

Chamara Kapugedera in now. Bang bang lads. This kid don't hang about.

 

[Rob H]

LBW first ball. Mahmood gets him with full toss. Come on England. 85/6

 

[HAFRIDI]

wowwww Mahmood on fireeeee!!!!

 

[Easa]

Well bowled Mahmood.

 

[pakistani pride]

awsome inswinging ! ! !

 

[jusarrived]

it will be nice if these two get centuries....both batsmen are good to watch,especially sanaga...n my prediction of draw wil come true

obviously someone else logged in with my ID

 

[Easa]

Go off for bad light.

91-6

Well played England!

 

[pakistani pride]

what speed was he bowling at ?

 

[Amjid Javed]

Oh well as expected Sri lankans batting is show up on a wicket with latteral movement this was expected.

intresting to see how pakistans openers cope when it comes to touring here.

 

[Rob H]

Oh well as expected Sri lankans batting is show up on a wicket with latteral movement this was expected.

intresting to see how pakistans openers cope when it comes to touring here.

it won't swing as much unless it's a raging greentop. I think players who havent adapted to playing on such a slope at Lord's might struggle.

 

[Billy]

what speed was he bowling at ?

Average about 87mph, fastest was 90mph.

He tired in his last over though, something I've seen him do often enough to suggest he needs to work on his fitness.

 

[Easa]

what speed was he bowling at ?

85-88 MPH regularly.

 

[pak4life]

what speed was he bowling at ?

85-90

 

[jusarrived]

Thot the pitch was vry flat...vaas hardly got any movement from the pitch!

 

[Amjid Javed]

it won't swing as much unless it's a raging greentop. I think players who havent adapted to playing on such a slope at Lord's might struggle.

I expect lords to be just like this when pakistan arrive. Headingley will be a green seamer as usual.

Old trafford is usually a good ground for pakistan as it tends to be very dry and good for batting, allows for spin and reverse swing.

Oval will be bouncy and hard as usual.

Pakistans batsmen will have to bat well and also adapt when they tour.

 

[Gujar]

Sajid's quickest was 90.2MPH and he was consistenly in the 86-88MPH range until he tired a bit.

 

[Somali Pirate]

is this the same place where mcgrath got 5-10 at one point last year?

 

[Amjid Javed]

is this the same place where mcgrath got 5-10 at one point last year?

yeah!

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Sajid is likely to play, a good move I think though I'd have liked to see Owais playing as well.

And seems to be doing well and has looked a better prospect than Plunkett in the very little I have seen of him.

Pietersen's scores are expected. It will also help the stat-fans realize his worth.

He will be amongst the top two or three batsmen of the next decade.

 

[z10]

those who saw pietersen play, was he at his best?

 

[Rob H]

those who saw pietersen play, was he at his best?

from what i saw of the highlights (can't watch at the hellhole) he wasn't at his best. When comparing it to him to say the Oval last year or some of his ODI innings in Pakistan and India he was a gear down.

 

[Billy]

He looked in fine form to me until Murali set those 7-2 legside fields and then KP got frustrated and started trying all sorts of improvised shots, most of which didn't come off.

KP Pietersen LBW b.Boredom 158

 

[Rob H]

He looked in fine form to me until Murali set those 7-2 legside fields and then KP got frustrated and started trying all sorts of improvised shots, most of which didn't come off.

the analyst at work

 

[Officer Barbrady]

KP Pietersen LBW b.Boredom 158

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Just saw Day 1 highlights, a very good, solid inning from Tresco.

Pietersen looked like, well, Pietersen.

Saw Cook for the first time and he also played quite well.

 

[James]

It depends what you define as Pietersen's best. If you define it as hitting a million boundaries, being dropped 5 times and having a strike rate of 100+, it wasnt that. However, if you define it as competently building an innings and putting a price on his wicket, then it was definitely that. More calm temperemant like that and his average will just get better and better, bear in mind calm by KP's standards still means he will hit some 4s and sixes.

He has helped put what looks like a match-winning total on board for England, really hard not to get excited about what this lad could bring to English cricket over his career.

 

[James]

So do we have any Lankan fans here. What are your thoughts on your test team at this present time?

 

[Amjid Javed]

Day 3 about to be start... i expect game to be over if there a is a full days play.

 

[Rob H]

What a shot from Maharoof. Was just a gentle push.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Jayawadena continuing to play his shots, hasnt found the gap yet thou!

 

[Rob H]

Maharoof gets lucky, trying to leave it and gets a flying edge of slips. 100 up, 103/6

 

[Rob H]

Collingwood, 2 on the trot. Brilliant fielding.

 

[James]

Monty with a stop!

 

[Easa]

120-6

Good 50 by Jayawardeme, Maharoof giving him good support,