England - Sri Lanka 2nd Test

[Cantona's Flying Dropkick]

149/2 - stumps day 4

 

[Bold Seagull]

£20 for tomorrow, may take the day off and get up there. bargain for a days test cricket at Lords.

 

[keaton]

Forget Finn's batting and fielding - I seem to recall Bob Willis was shite on both counts but took well over 300 wickets.

Dropping people at the wrong time can destroy confidence; you have to back your good young players. It wasn't so long ago many people were calling for Cook to be dropped, they also said Prior's keeping wasn't test standard. The selectors have showed guts in successfully identifying quality youngsters and backing them, which is why Finn needs to be in the 12 for the rest of this series.

I know what you mean but that's why i'd say it's Tremlett or Finn. England have been a success recently partly because they're a fantastic fielding unit and they bat a long way down. In you're 9,10,11 are Anderson, Tremlett and Finn it's going to put a lot of pressure on say Morgan, Prior and Swann (who isn't a number 8 for me).
My point is that you should stick your players.I said Broad and Cook have to learn their cricket playing test cricket and they've proved they can do it, and that they should be retained through bad form.

 

[keaton]

Clearly after the last test we'd want the game out of sight and at least 30 overs against this lot.

Would Sri Lanka chase, say, 295 off 45 overs. Would England give them the chance? England were 9/1 to win a short while ago, now down to 7/1. This match is not dead.

If we can go at just over four and over for the first session we should be around 300 ahead with 64 overs to go. Might be slightly generous, but Michael Holding was saying yesterday, if England want to be the No 1 test team, this is the sort of situation we should be trying to win a game from

 

[Titanic]

Day 5 scenarios...

 

[Simster]

They are certainly batting like they want to force a result. 182/2 now and Welegedara has just gone for 12 in his last over...

 

[Cantona's Flying Dropkick]

Day 5 scenarios...

I was thinking of about a 350 lead with 60 overs left, that would set a realistic chasing target.

 

[brightonmark1234]

omg kp got a 50

 

[SirElliotBennett]

Cook's average so far: 153

 

[crodonilson]

Knowing England they will be ultra cautious and get 350+ lead and only fourty or less overs for Sri Lanka to face.

 

[Titanic]

It's all been a bit slow in the last 10 overs... KP out now for 72.... bowled left arm spinner, Herath, turning one sharply from over the wicket.

244-3 leading by 251.

 

[Cantona's Flying Dropkick]

244/3

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

Good knock by the night watchman though

 

[Titanic]

Blimey... just checked on Cricinfo... and it's just 20-1 in the last 10 overs.

Not exactly going for it at the moment.

 

[Titanic]

Bell comes in and picks things up a little... 3 fours of four balls from Fernando.... in the last over before lunch

260-3

 

[Titanic]

At lunch on day 5, England lead by 267, with 7 wickets in hand and 72 overs left in the day.

 

[keaton]

Bell comes in and picks things up a little... 3 fours of four balls from Fernando.... in the last over before lunch

260-3

Technically that was three fours off two balls.

 

[Pavilionaire]

The batsmen seem to be playing shots at almost every ball. I wouldn't be surprised if the instruction to the team is to get another 100-odd runs in 15 overs, leaving them 390 off 52 overs.

 

[CHAPPERS]

We should not have come out after lunch. Ridiclous.

 

[vulture]

bell run out but umpire did not review it so he is still in