Sri Lanka Board XI v England

[Duty281]

Just reached lunch on the first day and SLBD are 64/2, Jimmy Anderson with both wickets.

[hampo17]

Heard on the radio Finn had bowled 7 overs for 8 runs! Hopefully Broads injury isn't too bad though.

[Fists of Fury]

Anderson 11-3-19-4

Tremendous bowling.

[alfie]

Seems Jimmy ripped out the top half of the innings , which hopefully suggests he may be rather more effective in Sri Lanka than on his previous visits - which I would expect anyway given his huge development over the last 3 years.
Monty hasn't done himself any harm either by then taking out the rest of the opposition.

I know it is only a "Board XI" warm up ,but that is a decent start by the bowlers.

Hope the batsmen can do likewise ...

[Fists of Fury]

The Sri Lankan line-up has some decent players - Silva and their Test wicket-keeper Jayawardene, to name but two. Excellent from Anderson and Panesar, and tight lines from all of the bowlers.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Indications then that England will go into the first test with Bopara at 6 and the same four bowlers who played the last two tests against Pakistan. Good start by the bowlers today, hope the batsmen can get a few on the board tomorrow.

[Duty281]

No wickets for Swann yet 5 for Panesar, interesting...

[sirfredperry]

Come May and it's an early-season wicket at Lord's and England play only one spinner. Who will it be?

[guildfordbat]

No wickets for Swann yet 5 for Panesar, interesting...

Following up a post from Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler on another thread, I wonder if Swann's too worried about who's looking after his cat ....

[Fists of Fury]

Still Swanny I reckon, Sir Fred. Adds that bit of batting and slip fielding, too.

[packofwolves]

Cooky going well...163 n.o. at the moment. Other batsmen have struggled though, the next highest score being 40 from Strauss. 303-8

[alfie]

Well the batsmen duly delivered - or at least Cook did. Remarkable performance batting through, with well over 50% of the runs.
Good to see Strauss and KP had some time in the middle but a bit of a concern that Bell continued his poor run from the Pakistan series with another duck. I know that can happen any time to anyone , and 'tis only a warm up game; but after his troubles against the Pakistan spinners I would really like to see him get some solid batting practice and some confidence before the Tests here...after all the number six spot is still looking a bit shaky - no significant runs for Bopara here either - and England won't want to see a fragile middle order should a couple of wickets go down early.
Handy assist to Cook from Anderson at the end - clearly wants to make sure he keeps his number 10 spot ahead of Monty

[Fists of Fury]

Good stuff from Stauss, KP and above all Ali Cook. What a player.

England will be hoping for bigger totals once the Tests get under way, but 300 first up isn't too bad.

[packofwolves]

Handy assist to Cook from Anderson at the end - clearly wants to make sure he keeps his number 10 spot ahead of Monty

I think he's safe there!

[Demon Racer]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

[Fists of Fury]

I wouldn't call 160 not out clueless against spin, neither would I call a 40 and a 39 clueless against spin. Daft comment.

[Mike Selig]

Although I wouldn't have put it quite as bluntly, demon does have a point: Bandara is a very average bowler yet took 3/58 from 24 overs. I don't think it's a case of clueless against spin so much as struggling to come up with a coherent gameplan against spin in subcontinent conditions.

England's saving grace is that Sri lanka's first spinners are scarcely better than their reserves. Nowhere near the standard of Ajmal and co.

[Fists of Fury]

Mendis can be very dangerous there, but I wouldn't be overly concerned about Herath, despite the fact that he can extract some decent turn.

I have no real concerns about Cook, Pietersen, Prior, and wouldn't usually have any about Trott and Bell, either, but their recent form has been way below par. Need to turn it around rather sharpish.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Mendis has a rubbish test record, don't think he'll do too well. Good to see Cook scoring big, and Strauss and KP got a few runs under their belts too. Bell could really do with some runs though. Also, noticed lots of LBWs, not that I want to suggest anything

[Guest]

another average batting performance from england 303-8 isnt a great effort, thanks heavens for cook.

[Duty281]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Ah, glad you've turned up Demon Racer. With South Africa at one stage 88/6 against NZ's far from World-Class bowling attack on a placid track, how do you think they'll fare against Anderson, Broad and Bresnan/Tremlett/Finn on a cloudy day in England?

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Yeah lets neglect to mention that the main wicket taker has over 40 international caps. But yes he is young, at err 32
Congratulations

[Demon Racer]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Ah, glad you've turned up Demon Racer. With South Africa at one stage 88/6 against NZ's far from World-Class bowling attack on a placid track, how do you think they'll fare against Anderson, Broad and Bresnan/Tremlett/Finn on a cloudy day in England?

Recovering from 88/6, to posting a lead of 64 is the mark of a champion side.

Not like England getting rolled for 72 on flat UAE pitches.

England's attack isn't close to South Africa's, so I wouldn't care if its cloudy or not. My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

[Demon Racer]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Yeah lets neglect to mention that the main wicket taker has over 40 international caps. But yes he is young, at err 32
Congratulations

When you get whitewashed, again, you can go tell Herath he's old and grey...

[Mike Selig]

My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

I didn't know you owned the South African bowlers personally. Can you lend me Dale Steyn for a masterclass I'd like to run?

Are you suggesting England's bowlers are one-dimensional?

[Demon Racer]

My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

I didn't know you owned the South African bowlers personally. Can you lend me Dale Steyn for a masterclass I'd like to run?

Are you suggesting England's bowlers are one-dimensional?

Nah you use Anderson, Broad or whatever other inferior bowlers you guys got.

Spot on. As the original question asked, how would SA fair on a cloudy day in England? I'd say smashing medium pacers around would be no problem.

[Duty281]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Ah, glad you've turned up Demon Racer. With South Africa at one stage 88/6 against NZ's far from World-Class bowling attack on a placid track, how do you think they'll fare against Anderson, Broad and Bresnan/Tremlett/Finn on a cloudy day in England?

Recovering from 88/6, to posting a lead of 64 is the mark of a champion side.

Not like England getting rolled for 72 on flat UAE pitches.

England's attack isn't close to South Africa's, so I wouldn't care if its cloudy or not. My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

No dear chap, beating India 4-0 or Australia 3-1 is the mark of a champion side. So is recovering from 47/5 to make 446 as England did a couple of years ago. Scrabbling for a lead against the 2nd worst team in Test Cricket is not the sign of a champion.

And England are one dimensional

They're the best all-round bowling attack in the World, SOuth Africa don't even have a decent spinner.

[Biltong]

Demon, please stop winding up posters, you can get your point across without being abrassive.

[Mike Selig]

My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

I didn't know you owned the South African bowlers personally. Can you lend me Dale Steyn for a masterclass I'd like to run?

Are you suggesting England's bowlers are one-dimensional?

Nah you use Anderson, Broad or whatever other inferior bowlers you guys got.

Spot on. As the original question asked, how would SA fair on a cloudy day in England? I'd say smashing medium pacers around would be no problem.

In France we'd quite like Anderson, Broad or whoever to be honest... But no one on this board claimed to own them, had they done so I would have asked for their permission as well. Please don't suppose I'm an England supporter.

Honestly, did you watch any of England's bowling in Australia?

[Demon Racer]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Ah, glad you've turned up Demon Racer. With South Africa at one stage 88/6 against NZ's far from World-Class bowling attack on a placid track, how do you think they'll fare against Anderson, Broad and Bresnan/Tremlett/Finn on a cloudy day in England?

Recovering from 88/6, to posting a lead of 64 is the mark of a champion side.

Not like England getting rolled for 72 on flat UAE pitches.

England's attack isn't close to South Africa's, so I wouldn't care if its cloudy or not. My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

No dear chap, beating India 4-0 or Australia 3-1 is the mark of a champion side. So is recovering from 47/5 to make 446 as England did a couple of years ago. Scrabbling for a lead against the 2nd worst team in Test Cricket is not the sign of a champion.

And England are one dimensional

They're the best all-round bowling attack in the World, SOuth Africa don't even have a decent spinner.

England recovered from 47-5 to 400 odd when the opposition was match fixing, you really claiming that as a thing to be proud of?

We beat Australia in Australia, 1st side in 20 odd years, a champion Australian side might I add. Not the bunch of chumps England lucked out against.

[JDizzle]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Ah, glad you've turned up Demon Racer. With South Africa at one stage 88/6 against NZ's far from World-Class bowling attack on a placid track, how do you think they'll fare against Anderson, Broad and Bresnan/Tremlett/Finn on a cloudy day in England?

Recovering from 88/6, to posting a lead of 64 is the mark of a champion side.

Not like England getting rolled for 72 on flat UAE pitches.

England's attack isn't close to South Africa's, so I wouldn't care if its cloudy or not. My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

No dear chap, beating India 4-0 or Australia 3-1 is the mark of a champion side. So is recovering from 47/5 to make 446 as England did a couple of years ago. Scrabbling for a lead against the 2nd worst team in Test Cricket is not the sign of a champion.

And England are one dimensional

They're the best all-round bowling attack in the World, SOuth Africa don't even have a decent spinner.

England recovered from 47-5 to 400 odd when the opposition was match fixing, you really claiming that as a thing to be proud of?

We beat Australia in Australia, 1st side in 20 odd years, a champion Australian side might I add. Not the bunch of chumps England lucked out against.

Match fixing? I assume you have proof for that claim? Otherwise that is potentially libellous and I expect it to be removed as soon as moderator sees it.

And a champion side which was devoid of Langer, Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist? Also including a Hayden who retired at the end of that series because he was done as a test cricketer. A side that included Hauritz and Symonds? Hardly a champion Australia side.

[Duty281]

Against a bunch of young players, excluding Prasanna Jayawardene, England batsmen are still clueless against spin. Herath, Randiv, Mendis will be smiling with glee.

Ah, glad you've turned up Demon Racer. With South Africa at one stage 88/6 against NZ's far from World-Class bowling attack on a placid track, how do you think they'll fare against Anderson, Broad and Bresnan/Tremlett/Finn on a cloudy day in England?

Recovering from 88/6, to posting a lead of 64 is the mark of a champion side.

Not like England getting rolled for 72 on flat UAE pitches.

England's attack isn't close to South Africa's, so I wouldn't care if its cloudy or not. My bowlers aren't one dimensional.

No dear chap, beating India 4-0 or Australia 3-1 is the mark of a champion side. So is recovering from 47/5 to make 446 as England did a couple of years ago. Scrabbling for a lead against the 2nd worst team in Test Cricket is not the sign of a champion.

And England are one dimensional

They're the best all-round bowling attack in the World, SOuth Africa don't even have a decent spinner.

England recovered from 47-5 to 400 odd when the opposition was match fixing, you really claiming that as a thing to be proud of?

We beat Australia in Australia, 1st side in 20 odd years, a champion Australian side might I add. Not the bunch of chumps England lucked out against.

Don't believe they ever match fixed. Spot fixing yes but that's entirely different.

[Mike Selig]

This has all got a bit silly:

South Africa are a good side. They did win in Aus (but have to agree with JD it wasn't a champion Aus side, in fact the Aus side which won in South Africa just afterwards included players like Hughes, Katich, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, North, Haddin, Johnson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus; sounds familiar? Cos all of those played in the series against England recently...). They also drew in India and had the better of that series.

England are a good side. They won in Australia which is not easy, although Australia were at their lowest point. They also beat India 4-0, which South Africa couldn't do (in fact SA drew).

We may find out which one is better this summer.

[Biltong]

This has all got a bit silly:

South Africa are a good side. They did win in Aus (but have to agree with JD it wasn't a champion Aus side, in fact the Aus side which won in South Africa just afterwards included players like Hughes, Katich, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, North, Haddin, Johnson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus; sounds familiar? Cos all of those played in the series against England recently...). They also drew in India and had the better of that series.

England are a good side. They won in Australia which is not easy, although Australia were at their lowest point. They also beat India 4-0, which South Africa couldn't do (in fact SA drew).

We may find out which one is better this summer.

Good to see some sanity return to the thread.

Both teams need to be respected. South Africa has dissappointed at home since 2008, they have been successful away from home winning against notables England and Australia, england dissappointed when they lost in Pakistan, they will meet soon in england and then the rivalry can continue. Both teams have very strong bowling line ups and a strong top 6, Sa in my opinion has a longer tail.

all will be revealed soon.

[robbo277]

Swann's back in the game. 3 wickets in a 78-7 second innings score (Anderson and Finn have picked up 2 each).


Anderson 10.0-5-15-2
Finn 10.0-5-14-2
Panesar 12.0-5-10-0
Swann 12.0-5-23-3

[robbo277]

Sri Lanka still trailing by 16 at 118-9, Panesar and Finn picking up the extra wickets.

[robbo277]

England beat Sri Lanka Board XI by an innings and 15 runs.

[Mad for Chelsea]

pretty impressive from England's bowlers again, and nice to see Swanny chipping in with a few after he didn't get any in the first innings. England don't seem too worried about Broad, but if ever he isn't fit at least they have a great back-up in Finn, though it does lengthen the tail somewhat.

Just hoping Bell can get some runs in the last warm-up game.

[guildfordbat]

pretty impressive from England's bowlers again, and nice to see Swanny chipping in with a few after he didn't get any in the first innings. England don't seem too worried about Broad, but if ever he isn't fit at least they have a great back-up in Finn, though it does lengthen the tail somewhat.

Just hoping Bell can get some runs in the last warm-up game.

Mad - certainly go along with that. Guess Swanny has heard that the cat's fine at home which has helped him settle.

Not quite sure where this leaves Bopara ....

[Mad for Chelsea]

guildford, I fancy England might pick both Bopara and Patel in the last warm-up (leave Cook out, Trott to open and Bell at three). Just going by the score Bopara played a rather scratchy innings here, but I think England see him as next in line still, and I very much have my doubts about Patel's fitness for five dayx of test cricket in these conditions.

[guildfordbat]

Mad - I again go along with that.

Assuming they do both play in the last warm up, it'll be hard though to justify picking Bopara for the first Test if he fails again and Patel does ok.

[Mad for Chelsea]

I suspect Patel will have to do better than "ok" to force his way in TBH, England believe in continuity and Bopara is definitely the next in line in that respect. Patel probably needs to score a century to displace Bopara IMO. And again, the question of fitness remains an issue: Flower has basically said Patel was getting there slowly, but was still not quite at the level England were hoping for from him. Five days is really tough conditions? it would certainly put it to the test.

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

The only way Patel will get in the side is if they dont play Pannesar, and right now hes is doing better than OK. I suspect we will see England go out with 2 spinners.
The question then will be 2 or 3 seamers.

England havent exactly hidden that they fully subscribe to the left arm spinner theory, and they happen to have one who is taking a lot of wickets this winter.

[Hoggy_Bear]

The only way Patel will get in the side is if they dont play Pannesar, and right now hes is doing better than OK. I suspect we will see England go out with 2 spinners.
The question then will be 2 or 3 seamers.

England havent exactly hidden that they fully subscribe to the left arm spinner theory, and they happen to have one who is taking a lot of wickets this winter.

Reckon they'll go in with two spinners, two seamers + Bopara.
Haven't heard anything coming out of the camp suggesting they're going to change their 6 batsman, 4 bowler policy, but you never know.

[Guest]

very well done england

IMO monty now has to play, even if we only play one spinner.

[Mike Selig]

IMO monty now has to play,

I agree.

even if we only play one spinner.

I don't agree. Continuity trumps marginal form.

[Guest]

is graham onions in the squad?

[m@tt]

Nope, as we've taken 3 spinners and 4 seamers (compared to 2 and 5 in the UAE), Onions has been left out.

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