***Official*** Sri Lanka in Australia 2012/2013

[Apo]

Originally Posted by social

Disagree

Warner and Hughes will be fine as the low bounce (and ****ty Indian bowlers ) will suit their games

Very confident about Hughes in particular

I simply don't think they have the technique to play spin, they go very hard at the ball. Even in the England series only KP and Cook countered the Indian spinners in the first 2 Tests which were the real turners.

[Daemon]

Prior did as well.

[Coronis]

Originally Posted by aussie tragic

With the Test summer finished, here are the Aussie stats for the 6 Tests

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

Excellent debut for Bird, hope he can continue this form. Clarke and Hussey best batsmen by some margin.

[morgieb]

My grades:

Warner 8 - disappointing he could not get a ton, but you'd take only one score below 50.
Cowan 6 - meh. Nothing wrong, but didn't really stand out.
Hughes 7.5 - looked way more assured now, but still could've gone on to make some big ones from time to time.
Watson 6 - was always kinda useful and played a good knock at Melbourne.
Clarke 8.5 - no really big scores, but played very well.
Hussey 7 - farewell, mate. Didn't truly sparkle in his final series but still showed more than enough that he went before he should've.
Wade 6 - was pretty good with the bat, but had forgettable moments with the gloves. Meh.
Johnson 9 - stellar. Was not nearly as expensive as he was, took key wickets, and batted very well.
Siddle 8 - leading man at Hobart, but stayed in the background slightly elsewhere. Excellent innings at Sydney to help Wade to a ton.
Starc 7 - produced moments of excellence (Hobart), but was also kinda expensive and bowled quite a bit of dross.
Hilfenhaus n/a - hard to grade him when he only bowled 12 overs. Took a wicket there and kept it reasonably tight.
Lyon 5 - Australia's only real disappointment. Often too innocuous, and relied on tail-enders to boost his stats.
Bird 9 - superb debut series. Bowled nagging lines and was always seemingly a threat.

Karunaratne 4.5 - good innings at Sydney, not a lot aside.
Dilshan 6 - the only Sri Lankan ton scored this series, so that's a plus. Really overbowled though.
Sangakkara 7.5 - one of the few Sri Lankan bats that looked like taking it to Australia.
Jayawardene 5.5 - very effective at Sydney but did little elsewhere.
Thirimanne 8 - it wasn't the best 90 I saw but it was a good score.
Samaraweera 2 - did very little. Clearly a victim of black magic.
Mathews 6 - seemed to get a start everywhere but only once did he look like scoring much.
Jayawardene 6 - just seemed pretty forgettable, but didn't do that much wrong.
Chandimal 8 - tried very hard at Sydney to try and steal victory. Kept very well.
Prasad 3 - felt underbowled, but was expensive when he did.
Kulasekara 3 - bowled well at Hobart and probably unlucky to not get a wicket.
Herath 8 - excellent, way outbowled his fellow spinner and did so with a weaker attack.
Eranga 3 - never really seemed to do much, tbh.
Welegadara 4 - pick of the quicks, but that's not saying much - he bowled poorly for the most part.
Lakmal 2 - seemed to bowl OK at times, but other times pretty ineffective.
Pradeep 3 - very expensive, but didn't really do much worse than others and showed some fight with the bat.

[Spikey]

Originally Posted by morgieb

Lyon 5 - Australia's only real disappointment. Often too innocuous, and relied on tail-enders to boost his stats.

we're talking 'bout Lyon's debut tour???? #burn #pewsbait

[Johnners]

Originally Posted by morgieb

My grades:

Warner 8 - disappointing he could not get a ton, but you'd take only one score below 50.
Cowan 6 - meh. Nothing wrong, but didn't really stand out.
Hughes 7.5 - looked way more assured now, but still could've gone on to make some big ones from time to time.
Watson 6 - was always kinda useful and played a good knock at Melbourne.
Clarke 8.5 - no really big scores, but played very well.
Hussey 7 - farewell, mate. Didn't truly sparkle in his final series but still showed more than enough that he went before he should've.
Wade 6 - was pretty good with the bat, but had forgettable moments with the gloves. Meh.
Johnson 9 - stellar. Was not nearly as expensive as he was, took key wickets, and batted very well.
Siddle 8 - leading man at Hobart, but stayed in the background slightly elsewhere. Excellent innings at Sydney to help Wade to a ton.
Starc 7 - produced moments of excellence (Hobart), but was also kinda expensive and bowled quite a bit of dross.
Hilfenhaus n/a - hard to grade him when he only bowled 12 overs. Took a wicket there and kept it reasonably tight.
Lyon 5 - Australia's only real disappointment. Often too innocuous, and relied on tail-enders to boost his stats.
Bird 9 - superb debut series. Bowled nagging lines and was always seemingly a threat.

Naaah, Ed was meh, 4/5 at best. Also harsh on Lyon bowled better than his figures suggest, and wouldn't have had to rely on tail-enders to "boost" his stats if Wade/Clarke hadn't blown the chances he created against the top order batsmen - 6/7 imo.

[Crazy Sam]

So if we were to host England, South Africa and India for the Boxing Day/New Years tests in future - who should be the fourth team?? Historically it's been West Indies or Pakistan.

[Spark]

Looking around, gotta be Pakistan.

[Cricketismylife]

A very one sided series and one that I think is slightly worrying for test cricket. Australia were far too strong and deserved to win, but I was looking at their team and it doesn't look too strong. The fast bowling is very talented but good rather than great and Lyon is standard but nothing special.

What would concern me from an Aussie perspective is that the batting looks quite fragile, and they were not ruthless against a club standard attack (barring Herath who is very good). The top 3 look like they would struggle to handle any kind of semi quality attack, and with Hussey gone there is so much pressure on Clarke to score all the runs.

What worries me from a test cricket perspective is that such an average side could actually be the 2nd best side in the world, and it reflect badly on sides like India, New Zealand and West Indies who are no match for Australia.

I believe England will beat Australia in both Ashes because I think the Australian style of play matches up well with England's. If Australia do win I feel that it will be Jackson Bird who will be the key.

[Daemon]

khwaja mere khwajaaa dil mein sama jaaa

[GotSpin]

Jeeze that was an unimpressive series from Sri Lanka. Never again for boxing day and New years thanks

[KungFu_Kallis]

Originally Posted by Cricketismylife

A very one sided series and one that I think is slightly

What worries me from a test cricket perspective is that such an average side could actually be the 2nd best side in the world, and it reflect badly on sides like India, New Zealand and West Indies who are no match for Australia..

Er.. what?

Originally Posted by Cricketismylife

I believe England will beat Australia in both Ashes because I think the Australian style of play matches up well with England's. If Australia do win I feel that it will be Jackson Bird who will be the key.

Um.. what?

Not really no..

[Satyanash89]

Originally Posted by Daemon

khwaja mere khwajaaa dil mein sama jaaa

Yeah its impossible not to instantly think of that song when you look at him

[Sarun]

Surely Khawaja is ahead of others for the vacated spot in Top 6 for the upcoming tour to India?

[Tangles]

I think he is next in line but Watson declaring that he only wants to bat complicates things. I would think if he comes back as a specialist he should open. His stats are better than Cowans. Arthur indicated that they still like him at 4 though. They also want an all rounder at 6 so Maxwell might get a shot. But since the selectors are calling MJ an all rounder these days who knows. Khawaja is in unless Watson returns at 4 I think.