Sri Lanka in England/Netherlands

[Insomniac]

one of the escapes great of modern era.
Kolkata 2001 ranks the best amongst winning escapes but this one is one of the bst earned draws I can think off.
The Mohali 2005 tst where Razzaq and Akmal played gems was another one that I can think of.

Well Done Lanka.Now with Sanath back, we can expect btter cricket from them.

Don't forget Karachi 2006!

Kamran Akmal was brilliant there, remember his 100, when Pakistan was 39/6. Thats a great escape/save there!

Also, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Shoaib Malik batted for nearly 3 days in that test match, to draw the game there as well!

I'm sure theres more great escapes by teams, I'll see if I can find more!

 

[Stephen Bailey]

Maharoof and Kulasekara batted well though.

Yes, but they are there for their bowling, not batting. I think Malinga might come in for Maharoof with Kulasekara or Vaas moving up to 8. Wouldn't rule Bandara out either depending on the conditions and pitch.

 

[irottev]

I can't believe England skrewed that up. All credit to Sri Lanka though, they did very well. Strauss's dropped catches and the others too could of been the telling of the game.

Flintoff is new to the captaincy, it didn't terribly impress me. He doesn't seem to be to be good captain material. He already has important roles with the bat and the ball.

If he was to come the full time captain, can you imagine what would happen if he was unable to play, it would mean new captain, new batsmen and new bowler. Hard to replace. Trescothick is probably a better option.

I am not a big fan of Mahmood, he got some wickets, but he just didn't seem that great. I liked Plunkett a lot more. I think he has more potential.

 

[cricket_lover]

I heard Mahmood was more impressive than Plunkett. He did reasonably well in India, bowled at a good pace.

 

[gary0808]

I can't believe England skrewed that up. All credit to Sri Lanka though, they did very well. Strauss's dropped catches and the others too could of been the telling of the game.

Flintoff is new to the captaincy, it didn't terribly impress me. He doesn't seem to be to be good captain material. He already has important roles with the bat and the ball.

If he was to come the full time captain, can you imagine what would happen if he was unable to play, it would mean new captain, new batsmen and new bowler. Hard to replace. Trescothick is probably a better option.

I am not a big fan of Mahmood, he got some wickets, but he just didn't seem that great. I liked Plunkett a lot more. I think he has more potential.[/QUOTE]

Yes I completely agree The dropped catches cost us very much I believe we would have won by an innings if we had held on. Even if Collingwood had caught Vass at the end we would have had a chance at chasing.

I disagree here. Flintoff seems to be a fine good captain who is willing to have a good laugh and seems to be someone you can talk to. I would prefer Vaughn though. The captaincy didn't seem to affect his batting and bowling in India or in this match.

I agree it would be very hard to be able to replace Freddie. The main one I can think of at the moment is Collingwood and bring Cook into the side presuming Vaughan continues his spot.

Surprisingly because of my LANKY background I am also not a fan of Sajid Mahmood. For me he isn't accurate at all and he isn't as fast as everyone says. Mid 80's isnt Harmy or Freddy fast. I like Plunkett but sometimes I feel he doesn't have a killer delivery to take wickets. He's typically English whick builds pressure on batsman and forces them into a mistake.

 

[evertonfan]

On the subject of great escapes, how about these:

-Ricky Ponting 2005, Old Trafford, 156 vs England
-Ian Botham 1981, Headingly, 149* vs Australia
-Andrew Flintoff 2005, Edgebaston, 73 vs Australia
-Geraint Jones 2005, Lords, 71 vs Australia

Can't beat a great escape, as long as it's in your favour! That Jones knock was a classy response to his critics, and Ponting's was superb, although I wanted to shoot him at the time!

 

[SaiSrini]

England must now really hope that this was just due to the missed chances (which were many!). This draw is going to tremendously boost the confidence of the Sri Lankans and with a senior pro like Jayasuriya back in the squad, they are the ones who are going to be bubbling with confidence going into the next game.

I expect them to at least level the series from here. Lot of people are expecting england to easily win this one. But I think Sri Lanka might at least level, if not win the series! C'mon Lankan lions!

 

[nightprowler10]

I think today or tomorrow you will see an article about the great escapes in Test cricket.

The biggest escape I can remember it this one of West Indies vs Pakistan, where Pakistan managed to get a draw after a difference of 551 runs after Pakistan's first innings (batting second). It included the legendary triple century of Hanif Mohammad:

West Indies v Pakistan, 1957/58, 1st Test
http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1950S/1957-58/PAK_IN_WI/PAK_WI_T1_17-23JAN1958.html

I couldn't agree more. I read on Cricinfo today that according to Hanif, his stand was 999 minutes long instead of the 970 minutes like it says in the scorecard.

 

[aussie1st]

Looks like those dropped catches costed England now. The standard of catching is really slipping these days. SA dropped heaps against Aus and it cost them matches now England have started of their season with dropped catches. But good effort by SL to be able to stay in for the whole day with only 4 wickets.

 

[Hondo]

Ohh what game fellas. This set's up a great 2nd test. England will be out for revenge and I expect them to turn it on at the next game and SL will have much needed confidence they needed from this game plus to Jayasuriya to take over from Mubarak the side will be on high!

I can't wait for it!

 

[Sureshot]

I heard Mahmood was more impressive than Plunkett. He did reasonably well in India, bowled at a good pace.

After Plunkett haf found his rhythm after about 10 overs of the first innings. He bowled better than Saj imo.

Saj quite often bowled a leg side ball an over. Plunkett was our best bowler in the second innings.

This would be my ideal team for the second test:

1). Marcus Trescothick (vice captain)
2). Andrew Strauss
3). Alistair Cook
4). Kevin Pietersen
5). Andrew Flintoff (captain)
6). Paul Collingwood
7). Geraint Jones (wicket keeper)
8). Mdhsuden Singh Panesar
9). Matthew Hoggard
10). Stephen Harmsion
11). Sajid Mahmood

Plunkett was more accurate than Saj, despite taking 4 less wickets.

Harmison in for Saj.

Monty at 8?

 

[Stephen Bailey]

I'm a touch confused by all this fuss about Jayasuriya coming over. As good a player as he has been for Sri Lanka, I don't see what difference he will make. He's not exactly set the world on fire of late and I find it hard to believe he'll adjust to the conditions straight away. He's also 36 and Tom Moody is obviously not happy about him coming over.

 

[Englishandproud]

Monty at 8?

Somes it all up really

 

[sid_19840]

I'm a touch confused by all this fuss about Jayasuriya coming over. As good a player as he has been for Sri Lanka, I don't see what difference he will make. He's not exactly set the world on fire of late and I find it hard to believe he'll adjust to the conditions straight away. He's also 36 and Tom Moody is obviously not happy about him coming over.

I think they are mainly releived that they have someone to open.The opener alongside Tharanga(dont remember his name) wasnt exactly blazing in the first test and so the belief is that Sanath can atleast get more than that.But I agree with you,I dont really think that he would make a huge difference in the Lanka team.

 

[James219]

The opener alongside Tharanga(dont remember his name)

Mubarak....
But, I partly agree, where his presence may inject some sort of confidence into the dressing room, it could also do quite the opposite- the guy's 36 years old and not exactly jumping with energy and enthusiasm. Yeah, he is a very dangerous player when things click, but he's been out of form, and as mentioned, will find it difficult to adjust to the conditions. Together with that, he'll naturally feel a little uncomfortable coming back after reversing his retirement as he attemps to overcome yet another transition.