England vs Sri Lanka 3rd test debate

First topic message reminder :

As i'm going on holiday tonight I decided to do the 3rd test debate thread a little bit sooner.

Anyways the squads:

England

Andrew Strauss (C)
Alistair Cook
Jonathan Trott
Kevin Pietersen
Ian Bell
Eoin Morgan
Matt Prior (WK)
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
Chris Tremlett
James Anderson
Steve Finn

Sri Lanka

Tharanga Paranavithana
Lahiru Thirimanne
Kumar Sangakkara (C)
Mahela Jayawardene
Thilan Samaraweera
Dinesh Chandimal
Prasanna Jaywardene (W-K)
Thissara Perera
Suraj Randiv
Ajantha Mendis
Rangana Herath
Dilhara Fernanado
Chanka Welegedara
Suranga Lakmal
Farveez Maharoof

C'mon England!

Urgh. Argh. Wurrr.

Dragged the hangover out of bed and heard the confirmation they are trying to bowl Broad into form.

I was agreeing with Geoffrey. Things must be bad.

Morning alfie & msp

Hi trebell

Yeah batting won't be that easy perhaps , though pitch is getting better for batting , I fancy.

Really want 270 today to get this game moving .Hopefully with wickets in hand .

And hi Cowshot

Everyone seems to have slept in

Strauss could do with some runs here. Beaten by one over the top of the stumps doesn't sound good.

Morning Trebell.

Morning all, also slept in here this morning

Morning eire.

We've got sunshine here in SW London! Is it looking sunny at the Rose Bowl?

Oh lordy. Strauss gone edging Welegedera. Now we've got left arm blues.

Morning Billy..

Sunshine for now Cowshot but forecast more rain later

Rats ! Strauss gone ...

Morning Cowshot, its not looking great here. Strauss'poor form continues

Morning alfie

Strauss' form is a real concern right now, he is doing a good job as captain but he is failing big time with the bat.

Morning all. Missed 2 wickets already I see. Neither that surprising either.

Just as well Strauss is doing a good job as captain, as his batting hasn't been up to much lately.

He really is in bad form dyre, i hope he gets it back soon.

Gorgeous weather here. Bright crisp and clean. Cook and Trott at the wicket and sounding comfortable. All is well with the world.

Morning dyrewolf.

I honestly think that Sri Lanka will be very happy with a score of 184 considering the cfonditions and the start they had. Its not a great score but its something for their bowlers to defend.

I wouldn't panic over Strauss having a few outs

Happened to Cook last year and he bounced back pretty well

If he doesn't get going in the first couple of India Tests I'll start to get worried

From 30 for 4 and 70 for 7 or something, 184 all out is a good result. No guarantees we'll match it.

Welegedara and Lakmal have bowled well so far, these are really trying conditions for batsmen.

Hi there Cowshot and others.
Just had to go away for some time, and in the meanwhile Petulance got a wicket to finish Lanka's first innings, and England has already lost Strauss to Welegedara.

Arre there going to be theories of Strauss and his problems with Left-arm pace?? Anyways he seems to be out of touch, and it should be a concern for him that Zaheer's just getting ready, resting, refreshed!.

I think that Sri Lanka were over 110 before they lost their 7th wicket cowshot but it was some fight back. The last 5 put on more runs than their top 5, i would never have imagined that.

Was a decent recovery , Cowshot , but I'll be shocked if England don't get a good lead.

At the risk of jinxing, Cook sounds as if he's playing beautifully.

chuckle. Couldn't recall the exact figures, but it was a good fight back - aided by Strauss bowling Broad so much.

Argh. Trott gone.

You sure about getting a lead, alfie?

Trott gone ! Poor shot to a ball angled across ...

Now a test for KP

Argh!

Trott gone for 4 and England now 14-2.

What can Cook and KP (another who's suspect against left armers) do now?

Yes Cowshot . Still backing an England lead . We bat deep these days.

Might have to though this time

This is huge for KP now, i really feel as if he must score here today. Not great conditions for him though.

Time for KP to come to the party

Come on Cookie.

Yeah alfie, if I had to bet I'd say we'd get a lead. But we do seem to be doing our best to help Sri Lanka.

eirebilly

mate what are the conditions like?

Maybe i will eat my words about Broad if he is called to perform with the bat and he does well.......

Cook really does time the ball well doesnt he.

So.. Strauss then.

Suddenly hit a bad rum of form.

what to do? rest him? let him play himself back in?

Sunny at the moment shanky but rain is expected.

Morning msp.

re the Strauss dismissal: It's all a cunning plan to fool the Indians. Honest.

Have to say, I don't think your boys will be losing any sleep watching England's performances so far.

THese conditions ate hurting us more than they did SL.. well i'm eating my words as I was sure we'd cope better.

SL are rubbish in these conditions but seemingly so are we.

Come on KP.

Lakmal has a no-ball problem?

Sounds tough out there. Just underscores how well Cook is playing at the moment.

Saw the Trott wicket. Pietersen nearly in all sorts of trouble. Cook looking in nice touch yet again.

...oops. I mean Fernando. I think.

I would really like to see these 2 get a nice partnership

The weather has been nothing short of a pain in the backside during this series. Grrrrrrrr

chuckle. The pedant in me wishes to point out that very little KP does could be described as "small, neat and delicate."

I would too. I would feel relaxed if I knew I had someone in the rich vein of form that Cook is in at the other end of the wicket. I am hoping for a big partnership.

These two settling things down well here now.

KP being circumspect and pickng his shots nicely (looking a proper Test batsman) and Cook quietly authoritative.

Slow and steady accumulation after the opening wobble, though the SL bowlers are still causing the odd problem. IF the rain holds off this could be an interesting contest.

KP looking in ominous form so far.Is this the innings that marks the revival of KP?Too early to tell but a ton here would certainly boost his confidence coz conditions are not too hospitable for the batsmen

Cowshot,
The Only real worry India may have about this England performance is Chris Tremlett's bowling form. of course Cook and Trott are batting well, and KP is trying to find form. But Tremlett is someone different, he did trouble the Indian batting lineup last time around, his atributes as a fast bowler are sickening if you are in the opposition!.

But coming back to Strauss, I think its a bit of a concern. he is someone who always bats well against India. Zaheer had made Graeme Smith his bunny in SA, and if Strauss's troubles continue, that will be a bother for England.

Cowshot,
The Only real worry India may have about this England performance is Chris Tremlett's bowling form. of course Cook and Trott are batting well, and KP is trying to find form. But Tremlett is someone different, he did trouble the Indian batting lineup last time around, his atributes as a fast bowler are sickening if you are in the opposition!.

But coming back to Strauss, I think its a bit of a concern. he is someone who always bats well against India. Zaheer had made Graeme Smith his bunny in SA, and if Strauss's troubles continue, that will be a bother for England.

50 up for England. Too soon to feel entirely comfortable but its looking good from Cook and KP so far.

I think Strauss would be lucky to average in double figures against India if his poor form continues.Zaheer is by far the best left arm seamer on the planet.And Straussy looks utterly clueless against them at the moment.

msp: Interesting. I'd have said the bowler they ought to be worried about in English conditions is Anderson.

But apart from one evening spell of about 35 overs, England haven't really been firing on all cylinders.

chuckle. Thinking about the game today, who would have thought that KP would come in, play so responsibly and steady the ship?

And that Kumquat Farage has no place on TMS.

Cowshot

The Indians are relatively more comfortable playing swing rather than bounce at sharp pace. Anderson has got wickets against India in England in the past, but I am sure given a choice between an in form Tremlett and Anderson, the Indians will go for Anderson.