Posted by A lot of the life seems to have gone out of Sri Lanka since Murali’s retirement. On the face of it, the team’s much the same, but there’s a wrinkling and lack of solidity about them. They’re like yesterday’s balloon.
They haven’t shown much heart according to Russell Arnold. Maybe that’s because they haven’t been paid. A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work. Anything else saps the will a bit, no matter what other motivations you might have.
So where worse to play than South Africa, where dismissals are pleasingly frequent these days? All out for 180 isn’t even particularly shameful by current trends over there. It’s not good, but we’ve seen worse and South Africa aren’t threatening a giant lead.
When we say ‘giant lead’ we mean how many runs more than Sri Lanka they’ll score. We don’t mean an oversized leash for Will Jefferson.
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Someone has hidden or misplaced the Sri Lanka Test team that subsides to predictable defeats. If anyone tracks it down, they should probably alert the authorities. Its parents will no doubt be very worried
Is a draw in Sri Lanka a good result?
It’s not just Murali – it’s Vaas, Jayasuriya etc etc. Plus if ever a country adhered to the Gayle dictum on test cricket – not minding if it died – it’s Sri Lanka. They still looked pretty perky during the world cup (ok they still had Murali then). I suppose the best thing that can be said about them is that they don’t look like Australia yet.
That’s what we mean. They’ve been kind of flat since the World Cup in all forms. It’s not a Test thing by any means.
Can’t say I’d be overly enthusiastic if I’d not been paid since spring. The excuses given are pretty weak too.
I like Angelo Mathews, The sooner he opens, captains and keeps wicket the sooner all their problems are solved.
Zimbabwe and Bangladesh aside, you could make a case for Sri Lanka being the least intimidating outfit in test cricket at the moment. Their bowling attack is harmless and, with the holy trinity misfiring, their batting line-up is ludicrously fragile.
Have always had a soft spot for them but I fear this team is going to take a while to turnaround.
I am waiting for another Murali from Sri Lanka.