Paxter Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 It'll be interesting to see how the Sri Lankan attack copes in the more demanding matches out there.Yeah, I think that is the big question mark over SL for the test series. A Sri Lankan attack with Vaas, Murali and Malinga in their prime would have crushed this Australian team in home conditions, but I'm not so sure about the current crop of bowlers. As an aside, Australia weren't helped by White's captaincy last night. Smith and O'Keefe were easily the most economical Aussie bowlers and yet they bowled the least number of overs. Sri Lanka by contrast gave their spinners plenty of work to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Zaheer is out of the England series.Oops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartTesla Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Yeah.The good news is we aren't worse off than we already were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 No, but you aren't as well off as you thought you might have been able to become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Just watched Fire in Babylon, about the rise of the West Indies as a world cricketing power team. Very interesting stuff. I never thought of it in the terms inferred in this doco-movie but it seems like the 2 bouncer per over rule was created because all of a sudden black boys were bouncing the white boys all over the show. World cricket wasn't in an outrage when Lillie and Thomo were terrorising batsmen with bouncer after bouncer, including bowling bouncers at tail enders. But as soon as the Calypso boys start giving the world the same medicine it's unsportsmanly, too dangerous and must be stopped.To be sure the Windies were the only team at the time with 4 bowlers who could intimidate like Lillie and Thomo. So the onslaught was unrelenting, but that is only a difference by degree. I suppose too one could argue that England's exploitation of the rules in the bodyline series lead to a rule change, so it's reasonable for the exploitation of the rules to bowl bouncers constantly to lead to a rule change. And that the fact the Windies were the ones to take the exploit to the extreme was just coincidental and it wasn't about the black man getting one over on the white man. End of the day I agree with the 2 bouncers per over rule, as it makes for a more entertaining game than having quick blowers throw down bouncers constantly, then go for yorkers for a change up.Man some of the footage, with batsmen only wearing soft caps, was brutal. Hell even the early helmets with no face protection was scary. I remember Mike Gatting was wearing a visor on the England Tour of the Windies when he got a face full of cricket ball, like shooting an arrow through the eyeslit of a knight's helmet.One piece of factual inaccuracy is the claim they went from 1980 to 1995 without losing a test series. They actually lost a series (1-0) to us (NZ) in Feb/March of 1980. In the doco they conveniently forget to mention that series as the last series they lost until 1996. It was also a series in which one of the Windies bowlers physically assaulted an umpire by accidentally on purpose running in to him just before delivering the ball. Of course talking about any ill discipline would have spoiled the feel good vibe of the movie. And I'm sure it's only NZ audiences who would recall the less than sportsmanly behaviour in that series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Hmmm...better game on our hands this time around with SL restricted to 157. Could be a good chase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Was a fantastic game in the end. Australia looked to have the game in the bag with Watson on fire, but Mendis completely destroyed the visitors' batting in the second half of the innings. Challenging times for Australian cricket, although they might have a better chance in the ODIs with some more experienced players coming back in to the fold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capon Breath Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Love it ! Sehwag gone first ball ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestrit Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 60-3. Bloody hell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 75-4 at lunch. Somehow I doubt this one'll last all five days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 75-4 at lunch. Somehow I doubt this one'll last all five days.Bugger, so much for Sehwag. There's always a second innings, I guess.Tendulkar looked very fidgety for his short time at the crease. And this Indian lower order doesn't inspire much confidence. The batting as a whole is really not holding up well at all. England's bowlers are looking dangerous every ball and the Indian batsmen (Dravid aside) lack form and confidence. Like Eloisa I don't think this one will go the distance.The ODI between Sri Lanka and Australia is interesting. Sri Lanka shot out for 191 thanks to Johnson's 6 wickets, but Australia let them back in after having them on the ropes at 7/117. To be honest despite the low total none of the bowlers looked all that threatening (although I confess I didn't see the start of the innings) - lots of the Sri Lankans got out to poor shot selection - and Doherty and Smith as spinners looked innocuous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 This is surreal - Laxman gets a couple of boundaries and then straight away holes out to fine leg.It's like watching a highlights package with all the wickets, near-wickets and odd boundary. I wouldn't be surprised if they're all out before tea at this rate.Bresnan is doing well again. I had him wrong, I must admit. When he first came on the scene I thought he'd struggle to get wickets, I thought of him as a journeyman county cricketer, one of those dime-a-dozen seamers that has tidy county figures but would find the step up in class way over his head. Turns out he can handle the big time after all, and is a genuine contender for a permanent bowling spot in the English team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 this is like watching ali v holmes. a torch being passed and a former great falling apart in front of your eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Winged Shadow Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 India's captain and tail seems to be fighting back. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 India's captain and tail seems to be fighting back. Good stuff.Yeah Dhoni and Kumar have provided a bit of resistance, that'll lift the team's morale a bit. On the other hand it's really not particularly bad batting conditions, it's definitely not an automatic win the toss and insert the opposition pitch. Given that the lack of runs from the top order will be a concern.ETA: Well that's it then, 224 all out. I was starting to get a little bit worried there, great innings from Dhoni under pressure.Overall India will have gotten a bit of lift from that but I still think that's probably a long way short of what they would have liked to have scored on this pitch. Still if they can get early wickets that's given them a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Winged Shadow Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Looks like India averted a complete disaster. The situation isn't great by any means, but it could've been a lot worse. It's up to the Indian bowlers now to restrict the England lineup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thus far, it's pretty much the same situation as Trent Bridge, only in reverse. Let's see what transpires... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capon Breath Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 NAFF PUN ALERTIndia all out for 224 - now time for "A song of Strauss & Prior"I know :blushing: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Baelish Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 NAFF PUN ALERTIndia all out for 224 - now time for "A song of Strauss & Prior"I know :blushing:Right, get out. We have certain standards in these threads, you know. :PA great day for England. I got home from work (where I have no Internet access) expecting India to be trouncing us, having become used to England throwing away winning positions. I was delighted to find that wasn't the case. Strauss and Cook survived the tricky last period with a minimum of fuss. I know it's tempting fate but the Indian attack just seems so toothless. Apart from the first innings in the second test, they haven't caused us any problems. It did look like Mishra (sp?) was getting a bit of spin out of the pitch though, so his performance tomorrow could be key to India's chances of salvaging something here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeric Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Right, get out. We have certain standards in these threads, you know. :PA great day for England. I got home from work (where I have no Internet access) expecting India to be trouncing us, having become used to England throwing away winning positions. I was delighted to find that wasn't the case. Strauss and Cook survived the tricky last period with a minimum of fuss. I know it's tempting fate but the Indian attack just seems so toothless. Apart from the first innings in the second test, they haven't caused us any problems. It did look like Mishra (sp?) was getting a bit of spin out of the pitch though, so his performance tomorrow could be key to India's chances of salvaging something here.Its supposed to rain from about lunch onwards tomorrow, through we may get lucky again and have it all just miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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