Mahela shines while Monty struggles
Ruthlessly and efficiently, at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club.
Michael Vaughan will not completely have given up hope of squaring the series, but for that to happen his exhausted bowlers will first need to dismiss Sri Lanka before lunch on the fourth day.
That seems most unlikely.
The quick bowlers all toiled away manfully. I still maintain that England would have been better served by playing James Anderson rather than Stuart Broad because you have to make the most of the 15 overs during which a new ball swings here.
With Ryan Sidebottom the only swing bowler in the team, England effectively reduced their window of opportunity to only half of that.
Not that Broad bowled badly. He and Steve Harmison tried their best on the sluggish pitch, but .
He is becoming increasingly frustrated, and the result is that he is bowling increasingly poorly as he frantically searches for a wicket.
We all expect a lot from Panesar - probably too much given his limited experience - but he has earned our faith through his early performances.
It is worth noting that after 21 Tests, Monty has taken one more wicket than Muralitharan had at the same stage in his career, and at a minutely better average.
It can鈥檛 be easy being the only spinner in the team and with Murali picking up bags of wickets for the opposition, but the first thing Panesar must do is stop showing the batsmen that they are getting to him.
It does not help that as brilliant a player of spin as also happens to be in prime form.
He simply ticked off his century today - there was nothing flamboyant or even especially memorable about it except for the way he skilfully manoeuvred Panesar around the field.
This was the eighth time he has scored a Test hundred on what is also his club ground, and England will need no reminding of the rica.
He will aim to bat on until at least until tea on the fourth day before unleashing Murali on a pitch which is already giving turn and bounce.
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Another quality piece from the legend that is Aggers. Brilliant !
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Monty does appear to get frustrated but I wonder if he feels pressure from the Selection Committee with James Anderson dumped (again) after one test for no obviously better replacement. He probably senses he will be making way next for Wright. Maybe we will see Tremlett 'given a game' to end the series!
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Our batsman have let us down here. 351 was a terrible total on this track. 4 of the top 7 broke 50 but not turned it into a 100, we needed 2 of them to do so and we'd be in the driving seat now.
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Another quality piece? Its one of his better ones, but then it doesn't have much to beat. I'd far rather listen to/read Christopher Martin Jenkins or Vic Marks any day of the week.
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Aggers you seem to be blamiming Monty too much.SSC is a batsmans paradise and only a spinner like Muralitharan can get wickets on it since Murali could do the same on a concrete surfsce.Although Murali got 5 in the first it was fairly costly and expecting Monty to do a "Murali" is in my opinion not fair.
Dont worry too much England too should make a big score in the second assay so its probably the inevitable draw.
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To be fair to Monty, experimentation is probably a good approach given the time he is at in his career. I feel sorry for him that he has faced India and Sri Lanka in the last two series, who are the two nations who play spin the best IMO. Vaughan has reduced him to bowling Gilo type stuff outside the leg stump. I guess to break into that Murali/Warne category and be a threat on any surface, Monty must acquire those variations that can keep a batsman guessing.
You are right to point out Aggers that I guess for the first time in his career, there is some pressure on Monty to lead the attack. Aside from Harmison, who is on his first test back after quite a long break, Monty is now clearly the most experienced of all the bowlers in the test arena. Perhaps he is feeling it?
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England are almost done and dusted out of the game by a brillient and skillful display of batting from the Sri Lankan batters. On the fourth day, the idea would be to increase the scoring rate bit more and amass a huge lead by the tea time. The only question left for Elgland by the would be....could they last four sessions with the looming threat of Murali??? But also one can't count off the Sri Lankan fast bowlers too... Intriguing prospect and cracker of two last days on the cards!!
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What a encouraging and Constructive comment!!
England are not yet out of this test match but have a lot to do. I wonder whole long the Selecters will leave it until they give Graham Swann his first test cap. As he impressed in the one day series. Depending on the pitch at the on the next test they might be tempted to play two spinners?
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What a encouraging and Constructive comment!!
England are not yet out of this test match but have a lot to do. I wonder whole long the Selecters will leave it until they give Graham Swann his first test cap. As he impressed in the one day series. Depending on the pitch at the on the next test they might be tempted to play two spinners?
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Who exactly is "Wright"?
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To be fair to Monty, experimentation is probably a good approach given the time he is at in his career. I feel sorry for him that he has faced India and Sri Lanka in the last two series, who are the two nations who play spin the best IMO. Vaughan has reduced him to bowling Gilo type stuff outside the leg stump. I guess to break into that Murali/Warne category and be a threat on any surface, Monty must acquire those variations that can keep a batsman guessing.
You are right to point out Aggers that I guess for the first time in his career, there is some pressure on Monty to lead the attack. Aside from Harmison, who is on his first test back after quite a long break, Monty is now clearly the most experienced of all the bowlers in the test arena. Perhaps he is feeling it?
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Good to see KP bowling a few more overs. I haven't seen any of the match, but his figures look alright to me (considering his role is not a bowler's...)
Can anyone tell me if my instincts are correct? I think he should be used more often, particularly in tandem with Monty...
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I agree with Brian - it's the english batsmen that have (yet again) let the side down. Vaughan and cook were a little unlucky but nevertheless, SL have shown England how to bat properly on such a pitch.
Monty's a class bowler (as his stats show)but when the batting underperforms, it is always difficult. He'll come again - he's just not having a great game. We don't automatically drop batsmen after a low scoring game, and we should thus put more faith in our bowlers
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What a encouraging and Constructive comment!!
England are not yet out of this test match but have a lot to do. I wonder whole long the Selecters will leave it until they give Graham Swann his first test cap. As he impressed in the one day series. Depending on the pitch at the on the next test they might be tempted to play two spinners?
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England are almost done and dusted out of the game by a brillient and skillful display of batting from the Sri Lankan batters. On the fourth day, the idea would be to increase the scoring rate bit more and amass a huge lead by the tea time. The only question left for Elgland by the would be....could they last four sessions with the looming threat of Murali??? But also one can't count off the Sri Lankan fast bowlers too... Intriguing prospect and cracker of two last days on the cards!!
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Well documented Aggers. I think James Anderson is very unfortunate not to win a cap, he could be expensive but surely takes wsickets.
I have some problems with Monty he is not penetrating, and i thought for long this series would put him on a stronger position as the snr England Spinner but somehow he is loosing it.
Why Not Swann?
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swann should have played he has the big game attitude, just needs his chance to show he can do it at test as well as odi.
No point playing three seamers again in last test.
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Aggers you seem to be blamiming Monty too much.SSC is a batsmans paradise and only a spinner like Muralitharan can get wickets on it since Murali could do the same on a concrete surfsce.Although Murali got 5 in the first it was fairly costly and expecting Monty to do a "Murali" is in my opinion not fair.
Dont worry too much England too should make a big score in the second assay so its probably the inevitable draw.
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Aggers, first time poster here and just wanted to compliment you on a honest and interesting blog. Regarding Monty, it is true our levels of expectancy are exaggerated especially since we have been accustomed to Giles defensive and non-wicket taking style of bowling - we now seem to have unearthed a genuine spin wicket taking option but we must be more patient. Like all formats of English sport, the second we find someone with great potential we seem to put them on such a high pedestal only in turn to knock them down again. For Monty's part, please please please learn to develop variations, especially in terms pace and also back yourself - why wait till Vaughan has to tell you to bowl over the wicket, surely this is something you should be doing yourself! Harmison bowled very honestly too and Siders looks to be from the same school of cricket as Hoggard (which is a very good thing if you ask me!). Ps who else finds Sidebottoms show of aggression as funny as me, it always appears to be an after thought rather then natural aggession.
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Well documented Aggers. I think James Anderson is very unfortunate not to win a cap, he could be expensive but surely takes wsickets.
I have some problems with Monty he is not penetrating, and i thought for long this series would put him on a stronger position as the snr England Spinner but somehow he is loosing it.
Why Not Swann?
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Whilst Panesar is a good player and has been very effective overall in his England career so far, he is another victim of the hype that surrounds English sportmen.
Yes Panesar is good, in my opinion he only looks so "special" because he is so much more effective than the average Giles and the godawful Tufnell.
At the moment, it seems to me when the wicket isn't giving him assistance, Monty can look out of his depth. Given the lack of penetration from the seemers and the form of Murali it's not surprising the bloke is getting frustrated. He's only relatively young and I'm sure he will become a better player because of the frustrations he has suffered here and in other series overseas.
This test isn't over yet, although the chances of an England vistory are fairly low, but unless Sri Lanka rack up a massive 1st innings lead quite quickly, then it could still go either way.
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Medium-fast bowlers have been useless on flat slow pitches for years. Sri-Lanka only need one spinner because he is the best ever, we don't have that luxury.
Swann should have played all tests, he is an attacking off-spinner who actually turns the ball and would have taken wickets.
The rotation policy everyone bemoans is understable with these 'standard' bowlers. they try hard, have good games and bad but with no Brett Lee to bowl fast, swinging yorkers/agressive bouncers then it doesn't really matter who you pick.
also with umpiring deciding test matches (all over the world) isn't it time to use technology more rather then going with the age old "they even themselves out" policy?
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I have become very frustrated at this dead cricket that occurs on these pitches. Cricket is supposed to be an equal contest between bat and ball, the poor seamers have no chance on this wicket and monty has all the pressure on him to bowl like murali which hell never be able to do. Only the commentary from the lads is getting me up at 4.25am!
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Medium-fast bowlers have been useless on flat slow pitches for years. Sri-Lanka only need one spinner because he is the best ever, we don't have that luxury.
Swann should have played all tests, he is an attacking off-spinner who actually turns the ball and would have taken wickets.
The rotation policy everyone bemoans is understable with these 'standard' bowlers. they try hard, have good games and bad but with no Brett Lee to bowl fast, swinging yorkers/agressive bouncers then it doesn't really matter who you pick.
also with umpiring deciding test matches (all over the world) isn't it time to use technology more rather then going with the age old "they even themselves out" policy?
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Ramps should have played! They've missed a trick preferring Bopara to him. Gooch matured in his late 30's and he's fit enough to probably go thru to Ashes 2009. Bopara is not ready yet, though has potential, but it's more the balance of the side. There is too much inexperience and only Vaughan of the Top 7 has proved himself as a test batsmen over much more than 2 years. The balance is wrong, and though I'm all for building for the future, we've got to think of the present!!
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Medium-fast bowlers have been useless on flat slow pitches for years. Sri-Lanka only need one spinner because he is the best ever, we don't have that luxury.
Swann should have played all tests, he is an attacking off-spinner who actually turns the ball and would have taken wickets.
The rotation policy everyone bemoans is understable with these 'standard' bowlers. they try hard, have good games and bad but with no Brett Lee to bowl fast, swinging yorkers/agressive bouncers then it doesn't really matter who you pick.
also with umpiring deciding test matches (all over the world) isn't it time to use technology more rather then going with the age old "they even themselves out" policy?
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Maybe Monty should bend his elbow a bit more and give it a fair ol' chuck... Works for Muttiah
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Good stuff as usual Aggers, but re: Anderson, I think it was a courageous and correct decision (at the time) to go with Broad - shore up the batting and get a more reliable bowler. Anderson COULD have been successful, but might also have been expensive. Who knew Harmison would be so economical?! No-one would have been surprised to see him and Anderson spraying it about and each going for six-an-over as Sri Lanka put on 600 in day and a half! With hindsight, Anderson would have been a god bet...
On umpiring - of course it goes both ways - get over it! And it might decide matches sometimes (Kasprowicz gloving a catch with his hand off the bat in 2005?), but there are loads of other examples. I think Vaughan escaped a plumb LBW in the first test but didn't capitalize and a poor decision cost Sangakkara a 200 in Australia - bad news for him, but SL still wouldn't have won!
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Aggers, great blog.
I think it's fair to say that England are without a set of bowlers who are all in form. With all due respect to Sidebottom, he was seen as being on the periphery of the England team and would be the likely makeweight for when the other usual suspects were fit again. Other than Hoggard, he has been the most consistent and threatening of our bowlers and is now a key member of the team. Anderson for all his promise still seems to lack the consistency of line and length and England seem incapable of building any serious pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen. Bowling, like batting requires partnerships and we had brief glimpse of what a good bowling partnership can do just after lunch with of all people, Pieterson and Harmison applying considerable pressure. Unfortunately, Monty was unable to build on this and the pressure was once again taken off the batsmen with loose bowling.
Looking at Sri Lanka and putting Muralitheran to one side for the moment, their seam attack bowl with imagination and variation. Malinga continually tries the magical yorker, coupled with some chin music and generally looks quite threatening, Vaas uses experience and accuracy and Fernando uses his height and has his fantastic slower ball. Compare this to our seam attack - Hoggard does compare to Vaas, Sidebottom needs the swing and is fairly ineffective thereafter, Broad/Anderson/Harmison generally straight up and down! I'm not saying that we aren't trying but where is the discipline and maidens that helps to build the pressure. We seem to apply a 'spread out boys' fielding mentality because Vaughan can't rely on his bowlers to bowl one side of the wicket. Our batting has looked fragile again at times and 1 wicket seems to always bring 2 or 3 for us at the moment. I do feel we haven't had the rub of the green with decisions and Vaughan's dismissal summed up that lady luck has deserted England for now.
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What is Swann doing in the pavillion?If kevin peiteersen can extract sum spin & go past & take some edges! Mr Swann can definitely do much better,,Plus he is handy batsman.Monty is one overhyped Bowler.I hope he is given sum reality check.
Lets hope England takes sum good cheap wickets in the morningsession.Else they have a long day aheadunder the sun..
PS-Even though i am form india..I m staggered n awestruck by the loyality shown b Barmy army.They are true cricket fans & i believe my Indian fans should replicate there sportsman spirit !
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It amazes me how many anti- England comments are registered on this blog.They all appear to be from so called British people living in the UK.They would do us all a big favour and keep their inflammatory comments to themselves.This site is supposed to be for constructive comments about cricket.On that subject;why oh why did the selectors pick Harmison?How demoralising for all of us ENGLISH supporters.
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After the suggestions that he should be horse-whipped, hung, drawn and quartered, particularly for, yes, PRACTICISING, between innings (a heinous crime if ever there were one), it's nice to see Steve Harmison showing why he was selected: suddenly, out of nowhere on a dead surface, an explosive delivery and a wicket. There were several occasions where he induced a false shot that just evaded a fielder or just flew past the edge. And after all the criticism, no wides, no no balls and few stray deliveries.
I share the disappointment that people have with Monty. At one point, before switching to a more negative line, he was going at nearly 5-an-over: far too many on a pitch were scoring has been difficult. Monty's 6 wickets have so far come at more than 48 each and his economy rate is also the poorest of all the front line bowlers for England. Hopefully he'll come roaring back, but his lack of impact so far has certainly justified England not going in with two spinners.
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I love Monty, but he is ONLY A FINGER SPINNER. He is never ever going to be a Warne or Murali - he's not even a Harbijan. He has no wrong 'un.
Hopefully people are waking up to the fact that he is only just a bit better than Gileo, but without the batting and catching. Giles and Monty had similar bowling averages after 15 tests. So what?
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In response to comment 10, Wright is Luke Wright who represented England in the one-day series against the WIndies and in the twenty20 World Cup only to be injured for the Sri Lankan tour. As regards comment 2 (even from the biased viewpoint of a Sussex fan) I would be very surprised to see Wright representing England at test level at this stage. Although he has shown flashes of immense talent in his time as an England player he spent much of last season left out of Sussex's county championship side: his strengths lie in limited overs cricket. As he gets more experienced I do expect him to turn out regularly for Sussex, and it is when this happens (and if his performances in the four-day game are good enough) that he should be considered for the England test team.
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First of all, I would like to congratulate Micheal and Mahela. You guys are simply great. Mahela, keep it up. Achieving 7,000 runs is not a simple task. However, I personally beleive that Sri lankans can better face spinners than fast bowlers. In many occasions Sri lankans have been able to play spinners as they play Murali all the time in practice matches.On the other hand, just because Murali takes wickets, you cannot expect the same from Monty.Murali is a alltime great spinner.His Doosra and the change of face always make the difference. Moreover, Monty cannot turn the ball as Murali does. Now, when you look at the scoreboard,only fast bowlers have taken wickets so far. It clearly shows that Sri lankan have difficulties in facing fast bowlers.After completing 33 overs, Monty has taken o wickets.But, Ryan has taken 3 in 25 overs.So, England has to manipulate Ryan at least until lunch continuously on day 4.At the same time England has to understand nature of the wicket. So far, it has been (In sri lankan innings) good for fast bowlers. So, if they want to put pressure on Sri lankans they must use fast bowlers rather than depending on Monty.
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Given that England took two wickets only in a full day, why did Collingwood only bowl one over, Bopara just five and not until late in the day and Bell not at all? However well the main bowlers tried, Panesar possibly expected, a change of bowling to an occasional seam and swing bowler so often brings a wicket. Vaughan needs to show more invention and imagination.
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First of all, I would like to congratulate Micheal and Mahela. You guys are simply great. Mahela, keep it up. Achieving 7,000 runs is not a simple task. However, I personally beleive that Sri lankans can better face spinners than fast bowlers. In many occasions Sri lankans have been able to play spinners as they play Murali all the time in practice matches.On the other hand, just because Murali takes wickets, you cannot expect the same from Monty.Murali is a alltime great spinner.His Doosra and the change of face always make the difference. Moreover, Monty cannot turn the ball as Murali does. Now, when you look at the scoreboard,only fast bowlers have taken wickets so far. It clearly shows that Sri lankan have difficulties in facing fast bowlers.After completing 33 overs, Monty has taken o wickets.But, Ryan has taken 3 in 25 overs.So, England has to manipulate Ryan at least until lunch continuously on day 4.At the same time England has to understand nature of the wicket. So far, it has been (In sri lankan innings) good for fast bowlers. So, if they want to put pressure on Sri lankans they must use fast bowlers rather than depending on Monty.
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First of all, I would like to congratulate Micheal and Mahela. You guys are simply great. Mahela, keep it up. Achieving 7,000 runs is not a simple task. However, I personally beleive that Sri lankans can better face spinners than fast bowlers. In many occasions Sri lankans have been able to play spinners as they play Murali all the time in practice matches.On the other hand, just because Murali takes wickets, you cannot expect the same from Monty.Murali is a alltime great spinner.His Doosra and the change of face always make the difference. Moreover, Monty cannot turn the ball as Murali does. Now, when you look at the scoreboard,only fast bowlers have taken wickets so far. It clearly shows that Sri lankan have difficulties in facing fast bowlers.After completing 33 overs, Monty has taken o wickets.But, Ryan has taken 3 in 25 overs.So, England has to manipulate Ryan at least until lunch continuously on day 4.At the same time England has to understand nature of the wicket. So far, it has been (In sri lankan innings) good for fast bowlers. So, if they want to put pressure on Sri lankans they must use fast bowlers rather than depending on Monty.
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After the suggestions that he should be horse-whipped, hung, drawn and quartered, particularly for, yes, PRACTICISING, between innings (a heinous crime if ever there were one), it's nice to see Steve Harmison showing why he was selected: suddenly, out of nowhere on a dead surface, an explosive delivery and a wicket. There were also several occasions on a day without great alarms for the batsmen, where he induced a false shot that just evaded a fielder or just flew past the edge. And after all the criticism, no wides, no no balls and few stray deliveries.
I share the disappointment that people have with Monty. At one point, before switching to a more negative line, he was going at nearly 5-an-over: far too many on a pitch were scoring has been difficult. Monty's 6 wickets have so far come at more than 48 each and his economy rate is also the poorest of all the front line bowlers for England. Hopefully he'll come roaring back, but his lack of impact so far has certainly justified England not going in with two spinners.
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we need a good chucker, every team has one and sri lanka have 2!, all this bowling properly business is costing us test matches, teach Monty to throw it in baseball stlye and watch the wickets tumble!
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After the suggestions that he should be horse-whipped, hung, drawn and quartered, particularly for, yes, PRACTICISING, between innings (a heinous crime if ever there were one), it's nice to see Steve Harmison showing why he was selected: suddenly, out of nowhere on a dead surface, an explosive delivery and a wicket. There were also several occasions on a day without great alarms for the batsmen, where he induced a false shot that just evaded a fielder, or a ball that just flew past the edge. And after all the criticism, no wides, no no balls and few stray deliveries.
I share the disappointment that people have with Monty. At one point, before switching to a more negative line, he was going at nearly 5-an-over: far too many on a pitch were scoring has been difficult. Monty's 6 wickets have so far come at more than 48 each and his economy rate is also the poorest of all the front line bowlers for England. Hopefully he'll come roaring back, but his lack of impact so far has certainly justified England not going in with two spinners.
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Very funny John (no.38) before the hysterical reaction ensues I presume that your tongue was firmly placed in your cheek.
It's been frustrating watching this series develop over here in Aus.
Whilst our bowling attack isn't great at the moment for a wide variety of reasons we have also been bereft of the kind of luck that can make the difference in a game or at least lifts the team after a long day in the field by yielding a wicket.
In addition I have to agree with the previous comment that our problems in this game goes back to our batting with us not scoring enough. My main concern was always with 4 batsmen making 50 and not one 100 between them and nobody else chipping in around them.
In addition to the blogger who described the sri lankan batting as brilliant I'd have to disagree, impressive yes being able to concentrate for that amount of time is. But having watched quite a lot of their innings I'd go for attritional and very effective but slightly boring. I'd rather see a Pieterson, Ponting, Vaughan (or much as it hurts to say it) Hayden in full flow than the 3 an over that has been served up by both sides in this test, but I guess they can only play the way the pitch dictates.
Anyway, ever the optimist our bowling may look ordinary at the moment but so did SL for long spells in the first innnings so hope springs eternal.
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It aint over till the fat lady sings but Denny is being a bit of a factually retarded sour grapes person I see. Anyway one good session with moisture and swing and take out many wickets.
Mubarak is only in the team because of his School connections. He was almost out to the 2nd ball.
On the other hand, Agnew should have mentioned the classy innings by Mahela (who Agnew conveniently "forgot") broke Graham Gooch's SINGLE ground record for most test runs at one ground.
Rather queer omission of a historic fact besides his SL record of 7000 runs. Mahela is a gentleman and class act like Sanga. I hope poor Mubarak will do something to prove himself or he has to be removed. Poor guy should than DeMel..He has been given more chances that most normal Lankans except perhaps Avishka G who lacked the footwork and technique. I hope SL can put up 600 by Tea.. But one session and a couple of quick wickets can change the nature of the game really fast. I think this game is heading towards a draw and not a win. Vaughan can stall and so can Cook and Collingwood you Pommies!! I want SL to win but dont throw in the towel yet! It is not a TKO like what Mayweather delivered on your lad...
Oh yeah Denny, when the Brits lose it is always because the other team is cheating right?
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to whoever it was that criticised Vaughn up there ^^^^
you're right, of course. Vaughn has become 'an old pro'. in the past his captaincy was known for its well-measured aggression and imagination. it's been a while since we've had much of that. just the same old plans and the same smug platitudes. yes, i realise the bowlers have still got to produce the goods, the catches have got to be taken and the umpires have got to raise the finger...but those are never adequate excuses for any captain at any level...
andrew strauss: where are you? we really need you to captain this team this summer.
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Montys first poor day at the office in his career - people seem to forget last season when he took the wickets at Lords to help out England ! Its a learning experience, a good one at that and it is essential he plays in the last test match. If he doesnt then Moores has to go and is no better than Fletcher. Might be good to play Swann as well? Come on the monster !
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Umpiring standards around the world is a big worry.
Rudi Koertzen has reduced umpiring to being a lottery.
Simon Taufel has had a very poor test match in Bangalore. He also had a poor summer in England, making bad umpiring mistakes. Taufel looks very
tense and nervous.
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Umpiring standards around the world is a big worry.
Rudi Koertzen has reduced umpiring to being a lottery.
Simon Taufel has had a very poor test match in Bangalore. He also had a poor summer in England, making bad umpiring mistakes. Taufel looks very
tense and nervous.
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Yes i think Sri Lanka have batted really well,Englands total of 351 was not too good considering the pitch.And Mahela's effort was superb clocking another milestone..The thing is i can see England getting Bowled out in the second innings.murali will come in again non-stop,and England cannot play malinga,s yorkers..we seemed not to bowl as many variations as in block-hole balls etc!! to the lower order as usual,Oh well lets hope we can salvage at least a draw.
PS should we have played 2 spinners ???
that ol word again in (hindsight}
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To all you people judging Monty on this performance!
India and Sri Lanka are the best players of spin bowling. Even spin king Warne really struggled in sub continent - (he even referred in his column about seeing bad dreams of Sachin hitting him for sixes). Anyone knows what Warne averages in the subcontinent? (I believe it is above 35 per wicket but not sure)
Gav
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SOS Troy Coolidge! All is Forgiven! England needs you back!
Whatever it takes! Pawn the Crown Jewels. Mortgage Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham & Balmoral Castle & also throw in Lords Cricket Ground as well, but bring back Troy Coolidge as fast possible.
His labours were only partially done before the 'myopic skinflints'at Lords (The EWCB) deemed either in their 'infinite irrationality' or in a 'fit of pique', probably at the Australian's realistic & expected remunerative requirements for his very necessary & in reality; indispensible, professional skills.
England's Management & Selectors need to pay this man (Troy Coolidge)whatever he requires & do it quickly, or else, face the wrath of the Fans & the Country! So not to disrupt & undo any further, his previous good work. Then maybe, England's bowling capabilities may again continue & development successfully like before! Judging by what's happening to them now, they ought to book him also on the first flight to Colombo!
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I think this whole situation with Harmison is quite ridiculous and extremely annoying. I am an avid test cricket follower and from what I can remember he has only ever had odd moments of what some people have described 鈥渂rilliance鈥, although personally I would say it was more luck.
He is undoubtedly inconsistent and he bowls more wides and no balls than any other respectable bowler I know of. Also if you get Simon Hughes to analyse him you will notice there is no consistency in his bowling direction or placing, which almost leads one to think that he doesn鈥檛 even know where he鈥檚 bowling it! Yes.. I really do mean that. You may remember the Australians saying they found Harmison hard to play because they never knew where he was going to bowl it.
The only times he鈥檚 ever done anything good with the ball is on pitches which really suite him, which generally isn鈥檛 many. I know he鈥檚 always good on Headingly but that suites him down to a tee.
Eventually anyone will have luck and bowl a ball which will get someone out, he鈥檚 a tall guy and sends it down with some pace and no one can take away the fact that he tries, but unfortunately England don鈥檛 have that main strike bowler at the moment, they just have a few reliable medium-fast bowlers who can swing it but without Flintoff there are no match winners.
He is a courageous bowler who can throw a match away, so why pick him when we鈥檝e lost the first test and can鈥檛 afford to lose again? Ok I realise his figures in this match so far actually aren鈥檛 too bad and there鈥檚 not much in it for the fast bowlers but I personally think Anderson being a similar bowler to Sidebottom (the only person to have really caused any problems with the ball) would have been more effective.
Like someone else mentioned previously, Anderson has done nothing wrong and has been in very good form over the past year, his problem has always been low confidence and injury so how will this do him any good, just being dropped again just because Harmison turns up and decides he wants to play.
I really do think if Anderson was given the right support and given more of a chance on a regular occasion he has more potential than any of the England bowlers currently available.
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Spin bowlers notoriously take a long time to find their feet in test cricket- neither Warne nor Murali did much out of the ordinary in the first couple of years of their careers. In a way it's a pity that Panesaar has gone from promising young player to virtual superstar status so quickly for reasons which aren't all entirely related to pure cricketing ability. This was always going to be a difficult tour for him (placid pitches, a batting side which collectively plays spin as well as any in the game, the permanent implicit comparison with Murali- who, like Warne by this stage in his career, probably takes as many wickets with his reputation as with anything he's actually doing with the ball). My concern is how quickly he's turned to negative bowling when under pressure- perhaps at the demand of the captain?
The basic problam, though, as my near-namesake said at the top of this thread, is quite simply that the England batting didn't make nearly enough runs. They should have been looking at a first innings total of at least 500 and yet again failed to muster the concentration to get a par score. OK they got a couple of bum decisions (and I just don't buy the "it all evens out" line- maybe it does over a five year period but in a three match series it hardly ever does) but Pieterson probably deserved to be dismissed for rank poor shot selection and the fact that Prior has been one of England's more productive batsmen thus far should say something about the frailties of the upper order.
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Monty Panesar needs support form a second spinner. Graeme Swann should replace either Kevin Pitersen or Ravi Bopara. Replacing Bopara with Swann would also strengthen the batting. Panesar and Swann have been reasonably succesful playing together in first-class cricket, taking (between them) 57 wickets in eight matches for Northamptonshire. This shows that they can play together and this could be the answer to England's bowling problems.
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RE: 52, I thought Swann played for Notts, along with Sidebottom and now Broad. When they did play together that was at least 2/3 seasons ago, at county level probably not against good players of spin. Remember Sri Lanka have Murali to practice against.
Also, why replace KP? He didn't do too well half way through the 05 Ashes and then scored 158.
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