2 minute readPrior to this match there was a bit of discussion as to whether it was best to bat first or second. It tends to be a brave move to insert the opposition upon winning the toss, but The Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Columbo has something of a reputation for
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How to get Mahela Jayawardene out
< 1 minute readHave a tantrum. That’s what we’d do. Have a real, world-class, multi-award winning, all-time-hall-of-fame hissy fit. A proper toy-flinging, teary-eyed shamefest. The key is to act so insufferably badly that Jayawardene can’t look at you for embarrassment. You want to make him think: ‘This is intolerable. I literally can’t bear
Continue readingBad decisions don’t decide a Test
2 minute readEngland will be pretty disappointed to have only made 351 and they’ll point to a couple of rough decisions as being one cause, but if they’re a serious Test side, they should forget about them. It’s not like they’re going to get overturned after the match. Don’t dwell on it.
Continue readingIan Bell can’t see it out
< 1 minute readBoth Ian Bell and Matt Prior withstood the Sri Lankans for quite some time, but they couldn’t finish the job. Muttiah Muralitharan got both of them – with the new ball, no less. Bell had a good match, but if you’re the batsman in form, you need to influence proceedings.
Continue readingKumar Sangakkara pushes finely-balanced Test over Sri Lanka-wards
2 minute readThings were so well-poised overnight. Sri Lanka had started their second innings really well, but both openers were out meaning their two best batsmen were at the crease. If England had managed to nick them out, they’d have been odds-on favourites. But being the best batsmen in your team tends
Continue readingSanath Jayasuriya bowing out in style
2 minute readTest cricket is losing its pirate. Sanath Jayasuriya has boomed his last ‘ha-haaaa’ to the point boundary. He’s carrying on in one-day internationals, so it’s not the ‘end-end’. It’s just an end. A bit of a sad one. It wasn’t sad watching him, though. He larruped every ball of one
Continue readingMisbah-ul-Haq defies India along with Kamran Akmal
< 1 minute readIt seemed about time that Misbah-ul-Haq hit a Test hundred. One fifty wasn’t much of a Test record for someone we seem to write about on an almost daily basis. He hit 161 not out against India, largely in partnership with Kamran Akmal who hit 119. Akmal’s innings should ensure
Continue readingMuttiah Muralitharan’s 709th Test wicket
2 minute readIt was Paul Collingwood. We’re sure he’s delighted with the honour. Muttiah Muralitharan is now the top Test wicket-taker of all time. Murali’s had this record before of course, but no-one playing at present seems at all likely to overtake him, so we’ll assume that on this occasion, it’ll be
Continue readingLike Matthew Hoggard’s never been away
< 1 minute readMatthey Hoggard says nobody’s a dead cert for the England team. We’d dispute that. Matthew Hoggard’s a dead cert, surely. Today he took four top order wickets for just 29 runs and it’s like he’s never been away. We’ve missed Matthew Hoggard (he was injured over the summer) and we’ve
Continue readingEngland warm-up Sri Lanka
< 1 minute readIt’s been very generous of England to attempt to sort out Sri Lanka’s opening vacancy within 24 hours of the retirment of Marvan Atapattu. Upul Tharanga made a hundred for the Board President’s XI and Sri Lanka’s muppets would appear to have an easy decision to make. If there are
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