***England vs Sri Lanka***1st of 5 ODI Live

First topic message reminder :

Tuesday, June 28, The Oval
Start time 1300 (1200 GMT)

Team news as per cricinfo...
Andrew Strauss's ODI retirement means there will be no change more notable than the one at the top of the order, where Cook will be reunited with his opening partner from last year's tour of Bangladesh, Craig Kieswetter. Of the two rookies who opened the bowling in the Twenty20, Chris Woakes seems the likelier to make way for the returning James Anderson, which means Jade Dernbach should make his ODI debut on his home ground. Tim Bresnan's late inclusion in the squad could squeeze Samit Patel out of the starting XI, despite his five-wicket haul on this ground against South Africa in 2008.

England (probable) 1 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2 Alastair Cook (capt), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Samit Patel/Tim Bresnan, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Jade Dernbach.

Sri Lanka had good news late on Monday when Tillakaratne Dilshan was passed fit after his broken thumb and he'll open with Sanath Jayasuriya, meaning Mahela Jayawardene reverts to his middle-order role. Angelo Mathews is still doubtful to bowl and Dilshan may not be risked with the ball, either.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt) 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilina Kandamby, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekera, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Lasith Malinga,

Pitch and conditions
London's dank June has given way to a mini-heatwave in the two days leading up to the start of the match, although that is all set to end with thunderstorms forecast for Monday evening. The wet weather should have cleared sufficiently to allow a prompt start at 1pm, but the clouds may still be lingering.

Preview cricinfo link...
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-sri-lanka-2011/content/current/story/520960.html


Your take on the match......

and they were fresh from injury and out of form too?

anyway, obvious wum is obvious.

suck it up as he bashes these boys. if he's village then they must be nursery.

Masked Magician wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

trebellbobaggins wrote:he does. amazing how bitter some get.

Had had a bad world cup in conditions that were the absolute worst for him and fresh from injury but has been good again since.

Yet guys like Steyn, Khan etc where brilliant. Same excuses from the English, Anderson is village.

Sri Lanka would take him in a second

Malinga is far superior

no we're talking about bowlers here.

Excellent performance from England today. Shame a WUM has decided to appear on the thread.

LewseyforPM wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

trebellbobaggins wrote:he does. amazing how bitter some get.

Had had a bad world cup in conditions that were the absolute worst for him and fresh from injury but has been good again since.

Yet guys like Steyn, Khan etc where brilliant. Same excuses from the English, Anderson is village.

Sri Lanka would take him in a second

Also, he is the second best test fast bowler in the world, according to the official ICC rankings.

But obviously, you know better eh?

Wait till he plays a few Tests in Asia, that ranking will soon fall. Getting a few cheap wickets on doctored English pitches is hardly talent.

Masked Magician wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

trebellbobaggins wrote:he does. amazing how bitter some get.

Had had a bad world cup in conditions that were the absolute worst for him and fresh from injury but has been good again since.

Yet guys like Steyn, Khan etc where brilliant. Same excuses from the English, Anderson is village.

Sri Lanka would take him in a second

Also, he is the second best test fast bowler in the world, according to the official ICC rankings.

But obviously, you know better eh?

Wait till he plays a few Tests in Asia, that ranking will soon fall. Getting a few cheap wickets on doctored English pitches is hardly talent.

What about a few wickets on Australian pitches. Oh, they must have been made just for him as well.

He would get into any team in the world at the moment, no question. When the ball isn't swinging, he is not as good as Steyn, when it is he is lethal. It would take a very one eyed fan not to admit that

Guys, just ignore the WUM, by reacting your only encouraging him- Just enjoy what is going to be a fine England win.

But it's fun

it was only a matter of time Billy.

Morons who care more for talking Poopie than the game are only a sign-up away sadly.

Anway, good performance today. Giving the visiting team a pasting in unfamiliar conditions. Good response to the WC thrashing.

Sad but true trebbs, i actually feel sorry for them, they havent got anything better to do than WUM.

Well done England - nearly there now!

The country of my birth, Barbados, has seen some of the best of all time. Anderson isn't and never will be in their class.

Australia left grass on the pitches this time round to nullify Swann. Anderson obviously benefited. Hardly World Class

Fair enough Lewsey

Very good performance, it does seen a bit unfair, the Sri Lankans didn't sign up for this!

I never said he was world class, just not pants like you suggest, which is bloody ridculous

LewseyforPM wrote:I never said he was world class, just not pants like you suggest, which is bloody ridculous

Is he as great as any of my heroes? I think not

Good little cameo from slingdaddy at the end here.

Nor mine

No one comes close to Ranulph Finnes or Jonny Wilkinson...

He is a mighty fine swing bowler though

Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class. SL have batted abysmally today tho

why cant we just bowl yorkers that are stragiht and finish the game off

aprt from these two, they've been the best they've had today.

Slingo is just bashing and hoping but it's worked.

did Kieswetter just say 'lets see another 6 here then boys'...?

if so

Nice little t20 style stand there. Nothing to lose and he did well.

come on victory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Well that was well above my expectation. For the first time in a couple of years we totally nailed them to the mast.

I hope to see more performances like this from England.

Good game . Well played England. This should be a good series. SL will do much better when it's sunny and probably win those.

LewseyforPM wrote:Nor mine

No one comes close to Ranulph Finnes or Jonny Wilkinson...

He is a mighty fine swing bowler though

Masked Magician wrote:

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Or you could look at the rankings again...

It might help you see sense, or remember Morkel, who is the next in the pecking order

And less boring wumming from around the world while WE are playing

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Or you could look at the rankings again...

It might help you see sense, or remember Morkel, who is the next in the pecking order

As I said none of my boys are in the ranking, at the sharp end anyway.

Rankings should be determined by performances away from home. Then greats would be established.

I would love it if absolutely no one responded to the wums and jut ignored any stupid statement that comes out, they'd soon go away! Great performance today by England!

Masked Magician wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Or you could look at the rankings again...

It might help you see sense, or remember Morkel, who is the next in the pecking order

As I said none of my boys are in the ranking, at the sharp end anyway.

Rankings should be determined by performances away from home. Then greats would be established.

ASHES, did you watch?

I don't remember Anderson being Aussie

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Or you could look at the rankings again...

It might help you see sense, or remember Morkel, who is the next in the pecking order

As I said none of my boys are in the ranking, at the sharp end anyway.

Rankings should be determined by performances away from home. Then greats would be established.

ASHES, did you watch?

I don't remember Anderson being Aussie

One series, doesn't prove very much.

I didn't see Garner, Holding, Marshall go missing in Asia. I didn't see my boys go missing on flat pitches.

Each to there own, but Anderson isn't great.

Indeed Carrot - on all counts.

The fair comparison is a toddler having a tantrum - when there's no response from the audience the tantrum fizzles out.

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Indeed Carrot - on all counts.

The fair comparison is a toddler having a tantrum - when there's no response from the audience the tantrum fizzles out.

6ft 8in - hardly a toddler.

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Indeed Carrot - on all counts.

The fair comparison is a toddler having a tantrum - when there's no response from the audience the tantrum fizzles out.

Dernbach bowled well today, Corporal, looks like we'll be seeing a lot less of him at Surrey this summer.

Masked Magician wrote:

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Oh great, another poster brimming with knowledge has found his way here.

Fists of Fury wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Oh great, another poster brimming with knowledge has found his way here.

I'll wait until Anderson gets a 5fer in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Australia before proclaiming him as anything other than one dimensional.

I'd be holding my breath a very long time for that.

If that's your opinion on Anderson, I'd love to know what you think to Swann, seeing as he's been another criticised cog in England's bowling unit!

Fists of Fury wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

Gregers wrote:Anderson is one of the best utilisers of swing in the world, in swinging conditions he is world class.

Not in Steyn,Asif, Khan or Amir's class.

Oh great, another poster brimming with knowledge has found his way here.

How ironic !!

Sainty wrote:If that's your opinion on Anderson, I'd love to know what you think to Swann, seeing as he's been another criticised cog in England's bowling unit!

Minnow basher.

West Indies are weak these days, so wickets aren't as valuable. Bangladesh aren't World beaters and Pakistan - the less said the better

oh dear, I see our Masked firend after some dismal attempted WUMming on the tennis boards has found his way here too

Mad for Chelsea wrote:oh dear, I see our Masked firend after some dismal attempted WUMming on the tennis boards has found his way here too

a 23 loser who accusing a 60 year old of wumming?

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

LewseyforPM wrote:

Masked Magician wrote:

trebellbobaggins wrote:he does. amazing how bitter some get.

Had had a bad world cup in conditions that were the absolute worst for him and fresh from injury but has been good again since.

Yet guys like Steyn, Khan etc where brilliant. Same excuses from the English, Anderson is village.

Sri Lanka would take him in a second

Also, he is the second best test fast bowler in the world, according to the official ICC rankings.

But obviously, you know better eh?

Wait till he plays a few Tests in Asia, that ranking will soon fall. Getting a few cheap wickets on doctored English pitches is hardly talent.

What about a few wickets on Australian pitches. Oh, they must have been made just for him as well.

He would get into any team in the world at the moment, no question. When the ball isn't swinging, he is not as good as Steyn, when it is he is lethal. It would take a very one eyed fan not to admit that

Anderson has to be one of the best swing bowlers at the moment and as I know it swing bowling doesn't just rely on abit of grass on the pitch, it's also to do with the weather conditions (cloud cover, temperature and moisture in the air etc) so to say its just down to 'doctored english pitches' is ridiculous. As for what happens in asia England already have 3 bowlers in Finn, Tremlett and Broad who can 'hit the pitch hard' so are you going to play all 3 of them with Swann or use Anderson as an alternative type of fast bowler.
As for the World Cup I don't think you can blame any of Englands players for not performing well after they spent 4 or 5 months in Australia. By the time the World Cup came around after Ashes tour they were all exhausted and should have had a month off

England have desperatly been lacking a strike bowler. Whilst any side would take Anderson, they would also take Makinga in a heart beat who does this on a regualr basis.

To get 3 genuine legends of the ODI game out in 3 overs for just 7 runs is remarkable regardless of conditions. But lets face it hes not going to do that every game.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:England have desperatly been lacking a strike bowler. Whilst any side would take Anderson, they would also take Makinga in a heart beat who does this on a regualr basis.

To get 3 genuine legends of the ODI game out in 3 overs for just 7 runs is remarkable regardless of conditions. But lets face it hes not going to do that every game.

we know he's not but its good to see he can still perform at odi cricket after all the criticism

cricketfan90 wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:England have desperatly been lacking a strike bowler. Whilst any side would take Anderson, they would also take Makinga in a heart beat who does this on a regualr basis.

To get 3 genuine legends of the ODI game out in 3 overs for just 7 runs is remarkable regardless of conditions. But lets face it hes not going to do that every game.

we know he's not but its good to see he can still perform at odi cricket after all the criticism

Quite true, Im just trying to tread a middle ground between the two ridiculous extremes!
Englands batting was good enough to win in that game anyway, it certainly wouldnt have been easy for Sri Lanka even without Anderson having a magic day.

Its interestinmg to note that Englands success has come with a side largely consisting of test players, bolstered by a specialist ODI keeper batsman. Swap Kieswetter for Prior and you have a realistic test X1, no Wright Yardy Patel Buttler Stokes needed.

I still think theres room for improvement though. Broad is horribly ourt of form and ineffective, inury lay off no longer and excuse espacially as he got outshone with bat and ball by Bresnan who wasnt even expected to be fit for the game. He wont get replaced but he needs to stop being a apassenger for England to be truely strong. Also Im yet to be convinced by Cook as captain and batsman, if Bell were given the role ( as strongly argued by Butcher) there would be room for a batsman better suite dto being aggresive down the order and who can offer another bowling option...Bopara. Again its not a change thats going to happen. For some games a second spinner (patel) might be wanted , its difficult to see who comes out for that ...Dernbach?
Just nice to see theres no desperate feeling that England need to give Luke Wright or Yardy another go. I also cant remeber them winning an ODI against a worthwhile side so convincingly. Greta to see Kieswetter making the grade, and Morgans on his way to being an ODI legend (or the nearest thing England have had to one in a long time)

Even during his bad imes in test cricket Anderson was one of the first names on the teamsheet alongside Andrew Flintoff. He did well in ODIs during most of his career. But after becoming the leader of the test attack, his ODI form slipped, and the wickets ditched him for some time. Anderson always tended to travel a bit around the ground, but he's a wicket taker, and wickets always slows a team down.
Good to see him back after a tough time.
Cook as ODI captain, Him as a ODI batsman itself will take a great deal of convinsing firstly. hopefully he does it.

msp83 wrote:Even during his bad imes in test cricket Anderson was one of the first names on the teamsheet alongside Andrew Flintoff. He did well in ODIs during most of his career. But after becoming the leader of the test attack, his ODI form slipped, and the wickets ditched him for some time. Anderson always tended to travel a bit around the ground, but he's a wicket taker, and wickets always slows a team down.
Good to see him back after a tough time.
Cook as ODI captain, Him as a ODI batsman itself will take a great deal of convinsing firstly. hopefully he does it.

So aside from when he wasnt in the team he was in it?

He actually ha da long spell where he was being dropped and recalled on rotation mid career, but peversly was always first name on the team sheet when he kept getting injured and couldnt play. When he got fit again he was being left out for Hoggard and only got back in through injuries. Even then it wasnt till he replaced Hoggard on merit in New Zealand (2008?) that hes been frimly entrneched as an first choice England player in any format, and even then hes not always been selected in limited overs games (actually didnt he get dropped in the last windies tour too?).
It does go to show though that the talent spotting does work on occassion. He was marked out from an early age as a guy who had somethging many of the senior bowlers at the time would never have. Its been a long hard road for him, and no doubt there will continue to be off days as for any bowler. The decision to ditch Hoggard seemed controversial at the time, but in the long run has proven to be the right thing to do to bring Jimmy back as the number one swing bowler.
Whats good is that he is still by no means old. He will certainly be around for the next world cup and continued selection should help him to devlope his game. Another think I like about him is he never seems to have stopped learning and clearly works hard with the coaches. Hes devleoped himslef a specialist test batting role as nightwatchman blocking master and has really improved his fielding, like the whole team. All round a solid professional.