Sri Lanka in England/Netherlands

[hondeyho]

Cook gone 11 short of his century

In comes Hoggie the nightwatchman, lets see what happens.

 

[andrew_nixon]

You mean the upcoming Tests against Sri Lanka? Why do they start half an hour earlier then? Again the Simpsons?

Nah, they all start at 11am this year, it's in the ECBs playing conditions for the year.

 

[ZexyZahid]

That's good news about the timings then, since the later England play, the more I can follow the match later in the day, since there is a chance I might miss the early hours of each day's play.

England 318/3 after 90 overs.

It's England's day so far. And I can see them reaching the 500 runs.

 

[puddleduck]

Sri Lanka will need to pick another couple of wickets with the new ball tomorrow, and then Murali will have to run through the lower-middle order if Sri Lanka are going to get themselves into this game. If England get a big partnership, or even a couple of decent ones tomorrow they will be fully in control.

 

[Sureshot]

Me too. Glad Hoggy survived those 4 overs aswell. Leaves Collingwood, Freddie, Jones and Plunkett to get to 500 and put the game beyond Sri Lanka.

Tres was great in the afternoon, Cook looked good and looks a better No3 than Bell/Vaughan. KP out of a NB, Maharoof has a big problem in that area.

Tomorrows target is 500 we should do that before Tea, and who knows if we get to about 550 about 3PM, we then declare and let them have half an hour before tea.

 

[barmyarmy]

It's a flattish wicket but it seems to me that only Murali, and occasionally Vaas, are threatening the batsman.
Suprised at how slow the SL bowlers are too. They're all mid 70's when the slower England bowlers are mid 80's.

 

[aussie1st]

Malinga should be quicker than low 70s. Vass can usually get into the 60s these days. But we all knew this was going to happen, their attack just didn't have that zing about it. Going to be major pressure on their batting, it's a good thing England aren't at full strength or else they will be in major trouble.

 

[Stephen Bailey]

Anyone see the highlights on C5 and if so was it any good? I missed them because of the stupid timing. :

 

[Sureshot]

Malinga should be quicker than low 70s. Vass can usually get into the 60s these days. But we all knew this was going to happen, their attack just didn't have that zing about it. Going to be major pressure on their batting, it's a good thing England aren't at full strength or else they will be in major trouble.

May not be at full strength.

But Hoggard, Flintoff, Plunkett, Mahmood and Panesar should be enough for us.

It's a far better attack than they faced and failed against in the warm ups.

Although, I'm not saying it's done and dusted, only Australians say that

 

[aussie1st]

Well first two definitely are a step up. The rest are unknown quantities at the top level. Plunkett should be a handful with his height, Mahmood I hear has some decent pace so that could cause them problems. Penesar probably won't cause much problems for SL batsmen who love spin.

 

[kodos]

Nice innings again by Cook. Certainly has been a real good find for England. Perhaps in the series against Pakistan when Vaughan returns, he can slot into the 4th slot and leave Collingwood out. Good on Tresco scoring a centuy in the first test of the summer. Interesting day it will be today for both teams, if Sri Lanka can remove Pietersen cheaply and cause a collapse then they can probably restrict England to under 400 or 420.

 

[irottev]

England have never faced Malinga before. I was surprised that he was left out.

Pitch looks terrific. The whole coverage and everything so far has impressed me. England are batting very well. Murili was unlucky with that plumb LBW early on though. Can't wait to tune in again.

 

[James219]

Yep, a good day from England's viewpoint. The top-order has done the job expected of them- now they have to carry on and find some momentum on the second day to push Sri Lanka further out of it, ideally through Pietersen's lead. Top stuff from Trescothick, returning in style, and doing exactly what a class player should- taking advantage of luck through putting runs on the board. Consistent display from Murali, he'll pose a real threat as England look to progress. And albeit it disappointing for the English number three to be dismissed short of his second test century, a great performance from Cook. I disagree with the nightwatchman ploy, although many captains seem to use it. Despite it being a lower-order bat, if Sri Lanka succeed in removing Hoggard early on, they'll have something positive to build from before England can find their feet, and that'll lead to increased energy in the field and a switch in momentum. Of course, this is all in hindsight, as if Collingwood came out and was dismissed before the close of play, the argument would be for the nightwatchman....

 

[puddleduck]

I think they want Hoggard to score a 202*

 

[BigCrickNan]

Good base for scoring arohnd 600, especially if KP stays in. Sri Lankas weakness is the poor bowling attack, which is showing.

Ps: Hoggard has shaved his hair off