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Has Samaraveera gotten rid of the FTB tag?

Has Samaraveera gotten rid of the FTB tag?


  • Total voters
    29

ganeshran

International Debutant
Averaged 50 last time around in England. Has played well in SA this time.

Still has a poor record in Australia and India though. Does he need to do more to get rid of the FTB tag? ( assuming you considered him a FTB before the England series in 2011)
 

Himannv

International Coach
Never considered him an FTB. I've seen him bat fairly well abroad on many occasions without getting the required runs to boost his stats. He's not the prettiest to watch but he gets the job done. Underrated by most IMO.
 

weldone

Hall of Fame Member
He isn't a FTB.

More importantly, dropping Samaraweera from the test team a few months back has to be right up there among the ****tiest selection decisions I have ever witnessed (yes, even after following Pakistan cricket for over the last 2 decades).
 

Migara

Cricketer Of The Year
Averaged 50 last time around in England. Has played well in SA this time.

Still has a poor record in Australia and India though. Does he need to do more to get rid of the FTB tag? ( assuming you considered him a FTB before the England series in 2011)
Last time I checked India has flatter decks than Sri Lanka.
 

amanuensis

U19 12th Man
I can't say I thought much of him in England - his average was boosted by some cheap runs at the fag end of a drawn match. He doesn't look like a 53/54 average batsman.
 

Howe_zat

Audio File
Good batsman are actually not one dimensional caricatures, and any tag they get is based on the majority of their play rather than the entirety.

If Samaraweera deserved the tag before, which I doubt, he still does.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
More importantly, dropping Samaraweera from the test team a few months back has to be right up there among the ****tiest selection decisions I have ever witnessed (yes, even after following Pakistan cricket for over the last 2 decades).
Yes, absolutely. Dropping your second best batsman when, two Tests in a three Test series aside, he's been in the form of his life, just blows the mind.
 

Migara

Cricketer Of The Year
Good batsman are actually not one dimensional caricatures, and any tag they get is based on the majority of their play rather than the entirety.

If Samaraweera deserved the tag before, which I doubt, he still does.
Still you cannot judge a player when he has not played enough in such conditions.
 

Nomanculture

School Boy/Girl Captain
He was utter garbage in England.
Can't see how you call someone who averaged 50.50, often guiding SL to safety when most of his colleagues were failing, utter garbage.

IMO he has improved a bit since 2008 onwards. Since then he has averaged more away than at home (71.35 / 65.20). But I don't think he will ever get rid of that FTB tag, not much time left in him...
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
Samaraweera looked like rubbish in the English series, got squared up every time the ball went away from him, but he survived I guess. But, watching it, it looked more like an anomaly rather than what would happen if he played 7 or 8 games in the conditions.

Maybe he would have adjusted, but it would have taken some time, because technically he was all over the place. It actually, in a way, made me respect him more because he still didn't let it affect him and he got to scores.
 

Daemon

Request Your Custom Title Now!
He's a simple batsmen, just punishes the bad balls and survives good ones all while doing nothing spectacular. Don't really have an opinion on the FTB thing.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Good innings but the wicket was/is a road. Maybe in South Africa and against a good attack but its a road nevertheless. The thirties he scored at greentop Centurion were in the context of that match, top knocks. Like many I don't think he is the player his average suggests but it was farcical he got dropped to re-accommodate Dilshan in the middle order.
 

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