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England v Sri Lanka | 1st Test | Galle | Mar 26-30, 2012

Looks like Trott's learnt how to bat on these pitches. Tuk tuk boundary.
 
England doing well again. If they can get to at least 100 without losing a wicket, got a good chance of winning this.
 
111/2 at stumps. A good mini-performance, with Trott and Pietersen playing well.

England need 229 to win with 8 wickets remaining. Still a lot, and the pitch will deteriorate. Sri Lanka have their noses in front.

Time is irrelevant - two days left. Only wickets are important.

See you tomorrow morning, this is far too exciting!
 
Whippy said:
111/2 at stumps. A good mini-performance, with Trott and Pietersen playing well.

England need 229 to win with 8 wickets remaining. Still a lot, and the pitch will deteriorate. Sri Lanka have their noses in front.

Time is irrelevant - two days left. Only wickets are important.

See you tomorrow morning, this is far too exciting!
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Ended on Nelson, we can't make it.
 
Even at 300/5, with 40 to get, we can still lose the game on a worn pitch. I say work in 5s and reassess in both intervals.
 
Bat the day and you win - for the first time in four tests. Get bowled out and you lose in Asia - again. England's reputation is very much at stake here.
 
Both batsmen look pretty comfortable out there, the tuk approach will help a lot. The batsmen need to avoid the ball hitting the pad.
 
Sri lanka still massive favourites here! If england have even a sniff here then pretty much Trott/KP will need to both make 100s for england to get close.
 
Swann thinks England are favorites.


Someone's found a stash of weed.
 
Time is in ENG's favour for sure.

I'm backing England to make history on this ground.
 
It's a disgrace to lose to this crap bowling attack. Herath is the only average bowler among then, and my spin bowling would probably be better than Randiv. And I only bowl offspin when I'm too tired to run for my regular medium-fast.

But this is England, the ball turns at any point, and we're done. What Swann would do for a chance to play against England...
 
This is like a Pakistan match commentary thread! England need 229 runs and Sri Lanka need 8 wickets. Both are hard to get - nobody has lost or won yet!
 
Highest England run chases in Test Cricket:

332-7 v Australia, 1928-29

315-4 v Australia, 2001

307-6 v New Zealand, 1996-97

298-4 v Australia, 1894-95

294-4 v New Zealand, 2008

284-6 v New Zealand, 2004
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Come on England!
 
Day 2 was producing sharp turn with the ball skidding on when put in the right areas. The pitch will only get worse on day 4. England have a long way to go imo. New batsmen will find it tough against the spin so this current partnership is vital.

England seem the better all round team in these conditions but their fourth innings chases have been pathetic so will likely collapse again.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Day 2 was producing sharp turn with the ball skidding on when put in the right areas. The pitch will only get worse on day 4. England have a long way to go imo. New batsmen will find it tough against the spin so this current partnership is vital.

England seem the better all round team in these conditions but their fourth innings chases have been pathetic so will likely collapse again.
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Atleast we can blame the toss if we get close and don't finish it out.

/sarcasm
 
Ruri said:
Atleast we can blame the toss if we get close and don't finish it out.

/sarcasm
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Blame the heat. :boycott

I think the toss worked out pretty well for England, they struck early with the new ball.

England have tried to learn from the UAE, batsmen are skipping down the pitch to the spinners and being more aggressive. The problem is the mental issues against spin continue. :ajmal
 
Today there were signs that the mental scars are being exorcised :ajmal

The footwork was far better.

Unfortunately, Cook got one that ripped back followed by one that pitched on the same off-stump line but held. Not a lot the left-hander can do about those. It was the thinnest edge.

And Strauss played his usual bad shot :|

Trott, KP and Bell are the key men or the collapse is on again.
 
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I think KP was dropped by Sanga at silly mid-on/legslip off a healthy inside edge. It was a sitter actually, let's see if KP makes use of his chance.
 
Whippy said:
Today there were signs that the mental scars are being exorcised :ajmal

The footwork was far better.

Unfortunately, Cook got one that ripped back followed by one that pitched on the same off-stump line but held. Not a lot the left-hander can do about those. It was the thinnest edge.

And Strauss played his usual bad shot :|

Trott, KP and Bell are the key men or the collapse is on again.
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Don't forget prior, he is a gun. And I used to think haddin was a better bat, lol.
 
KP looked pretty good, he usually needs his life or two to score big. He's one of the best players on either side, and one of England's better 4th innings batsmen. Most of his dismissals come from laziness/lack of concentration. Hopefully this doesn't happen again.
 
Mcgrath said:
Don't forget prior, he is a gun. And I used to think haddin was a better bat, lol.
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He played the most retarted shot in the first innings. He went back to a straight ball and missed it! lol He was out in a similar fashion in the UAE so hasn't learnt a thing. A good player no doubt but can be exploited by spinners.
 
My most retarded first innings shot award goes to Trott :)) Fail.
 
KingKhanWC said:
He played the most retarted shot in the first innings. He went back to a straight ball and missed it! lol He was out in a similar fashion in the UAE so hasn't learnt a thing. A good player no doubt but can be exploited by spinners.
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played a couple of decent innings against pakistan though, and pakistani spinners are far better than lankans. I expect prior to come good.
 
Prior can look a bit of a donkey on his bad days, but I've always rated him highly since his series against Pakistan in 2010. Got a 100 and an 80 against three world-class bowlers in difficult conditions. Negotiated the two A's at Trent Bridge, and counter-attacked against Ajmal at the Oval
 
I've become a fan of Prior's over the years, he's shows a strong grit about his attacking play. Hopefully for him and England he can show this again as he will be needed to chase this down. He needs to stop missing straight balls though.
 
Yeah he has the mental strength but is still prone to the typical lower-middle order crap shots. I don't think he's the most talented bloke, but a very hard worker
 
I wonder what type of pitch they will prepare for the 2nd test.. if Sri lanka win this match then rest assured, it will be a highway.
 
Mcgrath said:
I wonder what type of pitch they will prepare for the 2nd test.. if Sri lanka win this match then rest assured, it will be a highway.
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I believe we hold onto #1 if we lose 0-1, so they better not make a highway.

And I think a highway suits England more. Our pacebowlers can still get people out on highways, theirs can't.
 
England used to turn up on the minefields and lose on the roads, it's the other way round now
 
Ruri said:
I believe we hold onto #1 if we lose 0-1, so they better not make a highway.

And I think a highway suits England more. Our pacebowlers can still get people out on highways, theirs can't.
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England lose no.1 ranking even if they lose by 1-0. It will be tough to get the likes of Dilshan and jayawardene out on a road.
 
Mcgrath said:
England lose no.1 ranking even if they lose by 1-0. It will be tough to get the likes of Dilshan and jayawardene out on a road.
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Ooh, I guess we do.

And we won't get Dilshan out, he'll do himself just as well.
 
SL need couple of quick wickets here, the pitch is turning but its not a mine field ..... it is possible to score.
 
Herath didn't take the field. Not sure what's the reason.

Poort batting from KP as usual in these conditions.
 
Every time a new England batsmen walks in the commentator says "probably their best player of spin". Have the commentators been watching other matches than us for the last six months?
 
This is looking increasingly difficult for England. I feel its got to be the lower order with support from the tail, of which they are very capable of. Bresnan's exclusion will hurt.
 
England should be positive here, they should not get bogged down..... the flow of runs would always keep them in the hunt.
 
'Beauty of being dumb' is so darn annoying to listen.
 
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They should stop with Lakmal and persist with out and out spin otherwise pressure built from one end will be released from another.
 
This is a commentary thread, please stop gabbing at each other and talking about moderation. Any such queries belong in the Match Referee's Room forum. Here, discuss the match. Cheers
 
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