England - the winter tours thread

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

After the perfect ending to the summer, with Alastair Cook riding into the sunset with a hundred and James Anderson breaking Glenn McGrath's record to wrap up a 4-1 series win over the #1 side in the world...England head into a brave new world (in a mere 3 weeks time!) post Cook

Tour of Sri Lanka (Oct-Nov)
5 ODI's played between 10th October and 23rd October
1 T20i played on 27th October
3 Test matches played between 6th November and 23rd November

Tour of West Indies (Jan-Mar)
3 Test matches played between 23rd January and 9th February
5 ODI's played between 20th February and 2nd March
3 T20i's played between 5th March and 10th March

As ever there are many rumblings in the media on potential selections ahead of the Sri Lanka tour...

Rory Burns seems set to take Cook's spot
Will Jennings keep his place? Or will a Vince/Denly or complete wildcard be picked to open with him?
Which spinners do England take along with Moeen/Rashid?
Do Anderson/Broad get rested?
What pace options will be taken?

All questions that will be debated and answered in the coming weeks...so I start with a little competition between us selectors on v2...

Name your test squad for the series in Sri Lanka. Whoever gets the nearest to the actual squad, gets a pair of Ed Smith approved sunglasses

[KP_fan]

--saw both days of highlights now and I believe Lanka will win
Because I put money on them just after the start with 3 times return

--Pitch is not an easy one ...balls turning sharply with a lot of zip. Eng did well to get to 290 and undid that by letting Lanka get a 46 run lead after having them 170-7

--On a pitch like this with 3 spinners in side....2 seamers are 1 too many and Eng have 2 too many...although Stokes and Curran can be deemed playing as batsmen

Curran reminds me of Irfan Pathan.....also a left arm seam-swing bowler... as he got better and better with the bat and turned slower& slower with the ball....and when he lost his batting form in the lower order...he wasn't deemed good enuf to be in side as a bowler

--On a serious note reason why I believe Lanka will win is because they batted when there was more in the pitch for spinners today....and batted with greater resolve and skill.
and this pitch has track record of going slower and losing zip on 4th and 5th day....so a chase of 250 shouldn't be difficult for them.

--Both sides have played delightful cricket...and lanka have looked slightly better.
and yes Leach bends his elbow....not all the time but some odd deliveries

[Corporalhumblebucket]

On the Sam Curran situation - he bowled just four out of 103 overs. OK it was a spinners' pitch, but it does seem to emphasise that he may well need to keep going with his remarkable heroics with the bat....

[alfie]

Hey KP_fan

Only fair if Leach bends his elbow occasionally ...got to make up for Dananjaya

Too early to call this , I think : if England bat sensibly and can last the day (big if !) they are probably favourites again. If they get knocked over cheaply though...
But even a small last innings chase could be difficult. Surely England will bowl better than day two next time around ? Sri Lanka are unpredictable with the bat.

Could be a good finish.

[alfie]

First job done ... deficit erased (quite quickly too !) for just the loss of the nightwatchman.   Burns seems to be ticking over nicely - hope he survives 'til I get home to watch

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Jennings went for 26, but Burns has pushed on past fifty

[Dolphin Ziggler]

And gone for a solid 59. Impressed that Root is so attached to Number 4 that e still came in at 4 even with a nightwatchman mucking round the order.

Root and Stokes in with England 108-3 (Root 17). Need how many more? Ball is turning corners

[alfie]

Well I got my wish - sort of : Burns survived until I got home but got out just as I walked in the door
Good innings of 59 ? Pity he didn't go on ; pity he wasted a review.

108/3 this could go either way...

At least Stokes is in his usual spot at five. As Sri Lanka squander their remaining review.

[alfie]

On the Sam Curran situation - he bowled just four out of 103 overs.  OK it was a spinners' pitch, but it does seem to emphasise that he may well need to keep going with his remarkable heroics with the bat....

Some suggestions he's carrying a niggle. But he's basically in for his batting on this trip , I think.

Stokes gone ! And wasted another review ...that was stupid- and selfish. It was stone dead. Root should have told him forcefully.

Trouble now...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Think england need a lead of 200+ to be in with a shout...looking increasingly unlikely now

[alfie]

Can't anyone play straight ? All getting out sweeping...

OK , I know it can bring runs ; but surely a bit more care could be taken ? This match is swinging sharply back to Sri Lanka ; needs the usual all rounder recovery if they're to make a game of it. Can we hope ?

[alfie]

Think england need a lead of 200+ to be in with a shout...looking increasingly unlikely now

Not happening , I think. Hope to get 150 on and do the business with the ball ?

Buttler starting brightly. Really need these two to have a solid stand ...if they can , there are players yet to come who could cash in...but it's infuriating to see such a good start thrown away with careless shot selection...Stokes I'm looking at you

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Don’t wanna make a sweeping statement, but shot selection has been poor

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

The only good thing is that they’re scoring at a decent rate - so it’s least they’re motoring towards setting something they have a shot at defending rather than just getting stuck and out...

As Alfie says - this really is the crucial partnership now

[VTR]

This reminds me of last year's Ashes where I wake up, check the score which looks OK, then fifteen minutes later its gone to s##t

[Dolphin Ziggler]

To think I was ever not sold on Buttler! Nothing happens slowly with him and it’s vastly more entertaining than normality.

Really in the balance this (he says, wary of the jinx). If you think Mo, Foakes and Curran can be worth say 20 runs each, the total mightn’t be pathetic.

Oh god, Buttler sweeps like every other English batsman today and survives a really close one, inches according to the technology

[alfie]

Buttler has his weaknesses - notably I wouldn't want him batting too early on , say , a seaming pitch in England ; or a bouncy Australian track - but he strikes me as a thinking cricketer ; which allows him to adapt his game to circumstances rather well.
Here he swept all through his first innings ...but on this later wearing pitch he's switched to using his feet to play down the ground. Gives the bowlers a challenge to change their methods...or at least think about it.
Meanwhile Root is sweeping regularly - so far successfully. So rus are coming.
Buttler also seems to have been blessed with a lot of good fortune lately : narrowly missed being bowled or stumped last over and just survived a close lbw ...quite apart from a - very difficult - dropped catch. Fortune favors the bold...but I'm happier when he plays forward on this.

Hundred lead...

[alfie]

The other good thing these two are doing is taking a lot of singles ... all pretty measured , but resulting from smart variation of placement and bat speed...giving the bowling side a problem or two with their field placing. A good , positive approach ; and it's starting to draw some loose deliveries for them to cash in on

Lakmal might need to have a couple of overs himself to vary this...

[alfie]

Excellent - and vital ! - fifty for Joe Root

Lead up to 133 and you sense the mood has changed dramatically...now it is Sri Lanka who seem to be under pressure . They will be eyeing the rapid increase in their fourth innings target with a lot of concern ...still a lot of aggressive batsmen to come for England.
In truth the way Sri Lanka batted yesterday they might well chase even a solid target ; but nerves might not help...

And as I type Buttler departs to a rather bungled reverse sweep as he drags it on...pity. Can't really complain I guess as he's played a few of them successfully ; but I did say I preferred him playing more orthodox shots this time.

Game back in the balance :

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Mo off the mark with a six.

They’re not gonna go down with a whimper

[alfie]

Pressure right on Moeen Ali - short of runs lately - as they surround him with catchers.
How will he respond ? How about a six over mid wicket ? Lovely strike

Nice way to get off the mark

Lead over 150.

[alfie]

Remarkable hour since lunch ! Lost the one wicket in Buttler ; but Root sails on and some 87 runs came in just 16 overs...

A lead of 172 looking a lot healthier than early on. But the way this game has swung around nothing can be taken for granted.

Nice to see Test Cricket without any reviews now both teams have burnt theirs early Certainly saves time.

Now Moeen falls straight after the break. Missed a sweep (of course) that's six batsmen , all dismissed sweeping : call Guiness ?

As I say ; game swings rapidly. And in fact a review would have
saved him ! Stokes owes him a drink...though he doesn't drink , does he ?

[LondonTiger]

Moeen out to a sweep Poopie. 

Interesting listening on BBC's cricket social. Simon Mann apoplectic, Zafar Ansari calmly explaining why it is the right thing to do by England.

[Marky]

Moeen would have been saved if he'd reviewed - just a shame Stokes wasted the last review on his dismissal.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

They’re calling it right on Sky. The sweep has probably got them into this game and has disrupted the Sri Lankans, plus it’s natural game. Risk and reward, but the total might suggest actually that it’s worked as this is a decent score for what is nominally 5 batsmen down

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Stokes’s review was ridiculous and now Erasmus gets his trigger finger out when Moeen was clearly not out - no luck with the bat so far this tour for Mo

[Marky]

The sweep is working fine, only causing issues when they pre-meditate it to the wrong ball. Surely if you were Sri Lanka you'd mix up the pace and flight a lot more frequently.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

England are 4/9 so they’re heavily backed to win this now

[alfie]

Sweep is a two edged sword. Has brought runs - and caused bowlers problems. On the other hand it has cost them all their wickets...

I think on balance it has been useful : with the reservation that Stokes should have played a few balls before trying it...and arguably Buttler might have avoided the reverse version at a time Sri Lanka's spirits were clearly sagging . But perfection is not the lot of mortal man (except omniscient watchers like us , of course) so I will take it as a tactic .

Olly's desired lead of 200 exceeded now

They want a lot more though. Thus pitch is helping the spinners ; but it isn't a minefield. At least not yet.

[alfie]

Foakes playing sensibly. Good support for the skipper.

Looking at the way this game has gone , I wonder how many would be too many for Sri Lanka to chase ? Plenty of time left in the match ; and although the ball has spun a lot it certainly doesn't look impossible to bat on this. Perversely , he more England make , he more it seems possible for he home team to chase down any target...

Truly a fascinating match. In fact a really interesting - and entertaining - series.

[guildfordbat]

Well I got my wish - sort of : Burns survived until I got home but got out just as I walked in the door
Good innings of 59 ?  Pity he didn't go on ; pity he wasted a review.

108/3 this could go either way...

At least Stokes is in his usual spot at five. As Sri Lanka squander their remaining review.

I didn't see any of Burns' innings, only recently started watching today's play - just before Buttler's dismissal. However, Lloyd has just said he ''played really well at the top of the innings''. The thing that caught me eye from the stats is that his 59 came from 66 balls. That's a much higher strike rate than we normally get from him with Surrey.

I haven't seen Burns' dismissal but the Sky guys have been critical of it and the one from Stokes which left Moeen high and dry when he could have been saved.

''Pity he didn't go on'' - words I've used before about him and feared would also apply at the highest level although, tbf, he's certainly contributed with over 100 runs in this Test and merits a continued run in the side.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Bowling wasn’t good enough and was seam used enough? I know Root got a wicket, but there felt like times he was doing things to mix it up when an actual bowler might have been a good call.

And I’m still not 100% sure I care for him having put practise in so he can now bowl leggies. Could do with some form with the bat

Good post m8

[alfie]

Hi guildford... Like you I didn't actually get to see Burns bat ; but following on text I got the impression he played pretty well - if a bit riskily at times. The innings was certainly effective for England , in getting from minus forty to plus sixty pretty quickly. Whether it heralds a long career as a Test opener we should probably hold judgement for now...

The review was a poor one , though. Not as bad as Stokes ! His was horrendous

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Bowling wasn’t good enough and was seam used enough? I know Root got a wicket, but there felt like times he was doing things to mix it up when an actual bowler might have been a good call.

And I’m still not 100% sure I care for him having put practise in so he can now bowl leggies. Could do with some form with the bat

Good post m8

Hindsight 20/20. Although are you saying that before this knock, when I posted, that he couldn’t use a score? Or that he used the bowlers best he could?

Could use the authority to tell Stokes that his review was shiiiite too.

[robbo277]

Foakes playing sensibly.  Good support for the skipper.

Looking at the way this game has gone , I wonder how many would be too many for Sri Lanka to chase ?  Plenty of time left in the match ; and although the ball has spun a lot it certainly doesn't look impossible to bat on this.  Perversely , he more England make , he more it seems possible for he home team to chase down any target...

Truly a fascinating match.  In fact a really interesting - and entertaining - series.

The pitch looks okay; England don't have the attack to bowl Sri Lanka out cheaply on it (e.g. sub-150) unless Sri Lanka contribute to that by throwing wickets away. 250 would be a good target and would make England firm favourites in my opinion.

Root taking tea on 98, hopefully he can convert after the break. Him and Foakes look fairly set and with Curran and Rashid also to come, we should hopefully be looking to press on.

[LondonTiger]

Well I got my wish - sort of : Burns survived until I got home but got out just as I walked in the door
Good innings of 59 ?  Pity he didn't go on ; pity he wasted a review.

108/3 this could go either way...

At least Stokes is in his usual spot at five. As Sri Lanka squander their remaining review.

I didn't see any of Burns' innings, only recently started watching today's play - just before Buttler's dismissal. However, Lloyd has just said he ''played really well at the top of the innings''. The thing that caught me eye from the stats is that his 59 came from 66 balls. That's a much higher strike rate than we normally get from him with Surrey.

I haven't seen Burns' dismissal but the Sky guys have been critical of it and the one from Stokes which left Moeen high and dry when he could have been saved.

''Pity he didn't go on'' - words I've used before about him and feared would also apply at the highest level although, tbf, he's certainly contributed with over 100 runs in this Test and merits a continued run in the side.

And each innings he has played has been higher than the last.

[Duty281]

Excellent stuff from Yorkshire ‘s finest. I think England have enough runs now, really positive batting , but another fifty plus should cement it.

[Marky]

Still plenty of time for Sri Lanka, at least two days to chase the total, so I'd not be comfortable at all with a target under 300

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Seen a few people pointing out that Pakistan chased down 380 here a few years back - but that pitch was incredibly different - in fact both teams played four seamers (!)

[guildfordbat]

Sweep is a two edged sword.  Has brought runs - and caused bowlers problems.  On the other hand it has cost them all their wickets...

I think on balance it has been useful : with the reservation that Stokes should have played a few balls before trying it...and arguably Buttler might have avoided the reverse version at a time Sri Lanka's spirits were clearly sagging .  But perfection is not the lot of mortal man (except omniscient watchers like us , of course) so I will take it as a tactic .

Olly's desired lead of 200 exceeded now

They want a lot more though.  Thus pitch is helping the spinners ; but it isn't a minefield.  At least not yet.

Lovely post, Alfie. Completely agree with you about the sweep - and what watchers like us expect!

All in all, England doing well - I particularly liked the running of Root and Foakes, ''keeping busy'' as Lloyd has said. Only 2 maidens bowled by Sri Lanka, not letting the bowlers totally settle - good cricket by England. I want more runs though, ideally and probably greedily a lead of 300. As you say, the pitch doesn't look a minefield and, in any case, our spinners weren't causing enough danger in Sri Lanka's first dig.

[alfie]

Hundred for Root

For skill and importance that is up there with his best ever

218 ahead...

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Grand hundred that, well played. Entirely happy with England’s brand of cricket today

[Duty281]

Century for Root. Fabulous. One of his best.

[alfie]

Really is the sort of innings that Root needs to play - if he wants to be measured alongside the likes of Kohli and Smith ...as his talent demands he should be. Not to be too critical but he has had too many unconverted fifties recently. Perhaps because he is still growing into the captaincy ? In which case the next phase of his career may be spectacular...

Archetypal Captain's Innings ; and might well be a matchwinner .

Foakes playing his part too - an admirable foil

Lead 233. Could a 300 lead be on ?

[LondonTiger]

Century for Root. Fabulous. One of his best.

As mentioned elsewhere, this ranks right up with the hundred he got on the first day at Trent Bridge after Aus had been bowled out for 60.

[guildfordbat]

Far from convinced that was out but will need to see again - and probably again after that. Very good innings from Root, full of authority.

[LondonTiger]

With no heroics from Curran this time, the end is nigh?

[Duty281]

Two wickets in two balls. 300 looked a doddle, now it's quite unlikely.

[guildfordbat]

Far from convinced that was out but will need to see again - and probably again after that. Very good innings from Root, full of authority.

Hmmm. The lbw shout did look good on replay although umpire Ravi appeared to only uphold the appeal after the ball had bobbed up to Dickwella who then claimed the catch.

Curran gone first ball and we're now 302/8, leading by 256.

That 300 lead looks someway off now although Foakes is still there and playing a fine knock.

[Duty281]

Another for Dananjaya, who now has commendable figures of 6/99.

Lead at 259.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

How's your confidence, gents?

Makes for a good game

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