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  • A good read although I
    A good read although I disagree with a lot of things you’ve said. For starters Kulasekara is not a test match bowler. How is he going to take wickets if batsmen keep defending. Remember we don’t have Murali and just keeping one end tight won’t work anymore. We need Tracks and Bowlers who can get us 20 wickets. What baffles me is the nancy-boy attitude of our think tank. Are we that scared of pace bowlers of the opposition that we make dustball wickets that have nothing from day one? Sorry but if we lose the toss we are chasing 500 odd again.

    As for wickets in Premedasa and Pallekale I hope it has something for bowlers. The wicket in Pallekale has a lot of seam movement so expect our top order to struggle again.

    How can you Blame sangakkara for the gayle onslaught? The bowling looked spineless (Except Randiv) and we coudln’t even make him take risks. Thushara should be kicked out of the team. Prasad has promise and can take wickets at any time. But must be treated as a Malinga type bowler and be used in short spells.

    I’m not sure Malinga can play tests consistantly with his bowling action. I see no problem in using him for “important” games.

    Gayle has a technical weakness against left arm bowlers and vaas exploited it. How can Thushara do that when even he doesn’t know where the ball is pitching.

    If anyone can see our current attack taking 20 wickets in this match please let me know.

  • Prasad and Dilhara lack the
    Prasad and Dilhara lack the skill to take wickets in dead pitches like the one in gall. Both have pace and penetration that could be useful in more friendly conditions. There is no doubt in my mind that Kulasekara is not right for test cricket. I don’t see him getting wickets if the batsmen don’t attack him. Thushara is brainless to say the least. His role in the team is to hit the length and he can’t even do that.

    To win test matches we need to take 20 wickets. Pick a bowling attack that can do it. When Vaas played tests his role was to support Murali. But we no longer can do that. We need to share 20 wickets among all bowlers.

    For the Premedasa wicket dropping Prasad sounds logical but I hope selectors give Dilhara and Prasad a go when we play on bouncier wickets. I hope aravinda understands the fact that wihout Murali we need attacking bowlers in the team.

  • @Anush I think Sanga has 3
    @Anush I think Sanga has 3 more half centuries in Tests in Aus if i’m not mistaken. In 2008 all Australian state cricketers voted for the best batsman outside Australia and Sanga was #2 behind Kevin Pietersen. His ability is well respected in Australia.

  • Statistically, Yes. But
    Statistically, Yes. But Aravinda was without doubt the classiest batsman Sri Lanka has produced. Aravinda played against better bowlers than Sanga did. McGrath, Donald, Ambrose, Walsh, Wasim, Waqar, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Srinath, Warne all at their peak. In a princess diana memorial match Aravinda made 70 odd and it overshadowed a Tendulkar century at the other end. Tendulakr was missing so many balls and walks in Aravinda and hits a run a ball inning with every ball hitting the middle of the bat. As far as averages go the 55 of today is 50 of the decade of 90’s as pointed out by statistics. Bigger bats and smaller grounds have also contributed.

    Sanga is very close but I wouldn’t put Mahela in there just yet. Mahela is hot and cold and is really suspect against the moving ball early in his inngs.

    Atapattu would be in there with Mahela. I’m sure Roy Dias and co would have been just as good but I haven’t seen them play.

  • I agree, this win was more
    I agree, this win was more Aus playing bad than we playing great. (Except for the T20)

    The last game was played on a true ‘Australian’ pitch. The gabba has been australia’s fastest wicket for the past decade. Perth has gotten slower like all the players have mentioned. Queensland were dismissed for under 100 twice on this wicket not so long ago. The ball seamed there because of the recent rain too. Why we batted on it is also up for debate.

    On Mahela, He just can’t drive on the up when the ball moves about. He should know it. Just see how Clarke left balls outside his off stump. At the MCG and Gabba you can’t play shots on the up as it seams. He also has technical weakness against left arm spinners which he needs to sort out.

    Thissara Perera still hasn’t convinced me as an all-rounder. I was at the MCG when he came into bat and he didn’t even see Johnson’s balls. Randiv looked a better batter. Perera has to develop a “singles” game to be successfull at this level. Just trying to hit everything doesn’t cut it. He has enough experience now to use his brain.

    Randiv was impressive without being attacking. Atleast for T20 and ODI’s he can fill murali’s shoes.

    Sanga was over-confident in the last match and tried a expansive drive at a ball which nipped off the seam. That was the only blemish in a excellent tour for him.

    Silva was OK in the last game but he takes lot’s of risks to even get a single. Swipes across the line and tries to sweep every other ball.

    Kulasekara is alright when there is movement in the air but as soon as it stops swinging he becomes cannon fodder. Maybe he needs to talk to Vaas about using cutters and changes of pace.

    Dilhara was impressive but his 2 brain cells wern’t functioning. He bowled at 150kmph but didn’t use the nip in the track to his advantage and bowled too short.

    Maththews was very confident and takes risks when they might not be required. Worked well at the MCG but the same skip down the wicket shots backfired at the Gabba. Remember it only takes one ball.

    Dilshan, lol no comment. He has his own style but seems to struggle when the fast men target his body and the ball bounces.

    Tharanga really needs to develop a leg side game. At the moment both Dilshan and Tharanga can be tied down by cramping them for room.

    Murali was OK. I really liked how he went over the wicket and used the drift and dip. This round the wicket flat stuff has made him more predictable lately.

    Malinga was impressive again. He is going to be our goto man in the death overs and power plays.

    The last game looked like a stretch for our guys. How can you complain that you don’t get enough games in Aus when the games you play you don’t take seriously.

    One thing that looks to have improved with Randiv and Silva back was the fielding. Kapu, Dilshan, Randiv and Silva are world class. Maththews and Thissara are safe outfielders.

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