Matthews gone. 2 wickets 3 overs.
Cricket
- Thread starter EdWeatherall
- Start date
1 wicket 5 balls.
Herath walks and he wasn't out
Herath walks and he wasn't out
What a moron Herath is!
Drama
Fantastic end to an otherwise tumescent test match. Brilliant.
I made a good decision to switch to this.
Herath
Herath
What a finish that was.
WTF!!1 wicket 5 balls.
Herath walks and he wasn't out
Why?
Should have switched from football.. Did not know the finish was so close..Sri Lankan last man given out on penultimate ball, reviewed and got a big chunk of inside edge. Then last ball edged to slip but drops short! Great drama, brilliant end to a bit of a drab Test in all honesty.
WTF!!
Why?
Gloved it through to Prior down the leg side but had taken the hand off the bat. Exactly the same as the 2005 Edgbaston Kasperwitz one.
Been watching this on and off but it looked like England tried to make Plunkett bowl like Johnson or is that how he bowls in general?
Cheers mate..
Bit of both, I think, the pitch was dead and the Sri Lankans did look a bit uncomfortable with him banging it in and he is quicker than the others, I think the short spells suited him too, which was definitely copied from Clarke.
So close... Pretty good performance from England, really. Declared a bit too late but not inclined to focus on that over the many things we got right.
Only change for Plunkett is that he's one of our quicker bowlers these days. The attack he was in before had more pace, so there was less of a tendency to see him as our fast strike bowler.
EDIT - I didn't notice, if we were using him in particularly short spells. Sounds like you have a fair point.
Not really sure what you're getting at, to be honest...
Only change for Plunkett is that he's one of our quicker bowlers these days. The attack he was in before had more pace, so there was less of a tendency to see him as our fast strike bowler.
EDIT - I didn't notice, if we were using him in particularly short spells. Sounds like you have a fair point.
I don't think Plunkett is consistently fast enough to use him as a strike bowler like that - yes he is fast but he only bowled above 90 a handful of times in the Test, where the best strike bowlers would consistently hit 91-92. For me Finn is still the better international bowler, even if he is weaker with the bat. But it's a good problem to have for England, with Anderson, Broad, Jordan, Stokes, Plunkett and maybe even Tymal Mills all wanting a fast bowling spot.
It will be interesting to see how Plunkett goes at Headingley. You say he isn't fast enough but he was causing even the likes of Jayawardene problems with it on a pitch that was giving nothing. Presuming it comes on a bit faster there should be no reason why he can't hurt Sri Lanka.
I know England were pretty close but I still don't know why they declared yesterday and had a crack at Lanka for the last five overs of the 4th day. Very defensive tactics again by Cook.
England needs to look past him to get near to SA and Australia.
England needs to look past him to get near to SA and Australia.
It's not just about pace. Action makes a huge difference. Brett Lee had one of the easiest actions in the world to pick up and even at 95mph he wasn't that hard to face. Johnson is usually a bit slower but his action makes him a nightmare. Plunkett's probably more on the 'hard to pick up' side.
A couple of issues:
1) The last Test England played was the 5-0 whitewash final game in Aus, and the team is clearly still suffering with confidence issues right now, so it was more important to not lose than to risk it going for the win.
2) Ballance is a young lad in his second Test who the selectors clearly believe in, as he has an enormous average in FC cricket, at least in English terms. He's averaging 53+ I believe, so he's clearly incredibly talented. But it was his second Test innings, his first at Lord's and, in the worst case, it might be the only chance he ever gets to put his name on the Honours Board there. I think it was for a psychological boost for him to get his first international hundred against a decent (but no more than decent) attack rather than rob him of the chance to prove he can both nudge it and slog it. He's already proved in County Cricket he can do both, and I believe in List A cricket he has a strike rate pushing 100 so he can clearly smash it a bit.
You can argue that those positives weren't worth the wasted time, but the next Test will be at Headingley which is normally a seamer friendly pitch and England would really fancy their chances of beating Sri Lanka in the north of England with a strong seam attack, and ultimately it would be a series win rather than a Test win that would be the important point in the record books. Not saying that it's absolutely the right call, but I can certainly see the logic behind it.
England don't need to worry about confidence or high scores. They face India next, feast to be had there I reckon.
India ain't the same shambles that strolled disinterested around England a couple of years ago. Might not be favourites exactly, but they're a huge amount better than the last India team to tour England (and Wales!).
Nah mate
Our bowling is crap. Our best bowler isn't even in the squad. Cook and co will have nice feast
Our bowling is crap. Our best bowler isn't even in the squad. Cook and co will have nice feast
That's what makes Anderson such a hand full, he's not seriously quick but his action doesn't reveal whether he's bowling an inswinger or outswinger.
Quite true.
That said, couple of times this match he was slipping himself. Saw a few overs that were high 80's. Not seen him do that for years.
A proper pre-season and Championship fixtures has done him a world of good. Looked sharp in the One Dayers, too.
I wish Simon Jones back hadn't given him so much trouble, he was another one that had a fairly simple action but he was seriously quick, once the ball started reversing he was almost unplayable.
Oh, every single part of that boy fell apart. He really could've been one of the best bowlers in the world, not just remembered for his part in one series. Him, Anderson, Broad and Swann together at their peak would've been the best attack since the days of McGrath, Gillespie and Warne, I reckon.
Bangladesh
What an ODI. Crazy bowling figures for Binny. Now holds the India ODI bowling record. Bangladesh are pathetic.
This Taskin Ahmed lad looks pretty good for Bangladesh. Looks quick too. Maybe a genuine international class generation slowly but surely starting to emerge? I hope so, a strong Bangladesh team would be great for cricket!
Perhaps Cook should concentrate on his game more than what pundits say. And maybe if he hadn't ostracised one of the best batters in the world so he could continue the same humdrum no-risks style, he'd come under less criticism.
Almost Moyes-esque comments from Cook there
Cook. Broad's just taken a hat-trick without realising.Plunkett 5-fer. Made up for him, should have had more, too.
Should win this one, assuming rain isn't on its way. Get at least 400 here and it should be straight forward from there.
It's a real old-fashioned tail that Sri Lanka have in this game
It's a real old-fashioned tail that Sri Lanka have in this game
Aye, proper rabbits & a ferret.
Cooks 'captaincy affecting his batting' is a myth imo. New Zealend exposed the flaw in his technique, Australia capitalised on it and even this attack is good enough to pry it out.
The fact he's getting out the same way every time, twice in this innings alone, suggests it's technical rather than mental.
The fact he's getting out the same way every time, twice in this innings alone, suggests it's technical rather than mental.