***Official*** England in Sri Lanka 2014

[OverratedSanity]

What happens if he fails the test again? Does he get some sort of long ban or can he work on another test soon?

 

[Maximas]

I think the only risk for a ban of any sort is if he comes back to international cricket and gets tested again and fails again within two years, not sure how long he has to wait to test again if he fails this one, safe to say he'll probably be out of WC contention if he doesn't pass this round though

 

[Maximas]

I'm a little pissed off that Randiv missed this squad though, especially given Dilruwan Perera got picked, don't really think Randiv got a proper go tbh, can't be easy coming back into international cricket and having to bowl in India like that

 

[YorksLanka]

neither did Chandiguns, he had been scoring a few for the a team recently i think and conversely , how does kandamby get a duck and get another chance- although i noticed you said he scored weel in the domestic tourneys so that might answer that. i agree with you,would have liked to see Rhandiv in as he can bat too...for me we need a squad where we have batting until at least #9..

 

[Woodster]

England in Sri Lanka 2014-15 : Ian Bell looks to Jos Buttler for inspiration | Cricket News | Sri Lanka v England | ESPN Cricinfo

Interesting reading how Ian Bell is looking at how Jos Buttler plays and is trying to learn and improve his game by developing the more trickier ways of keeping the board ticking, but his determination to continue improving is encouraging and he's not afraid to learn off a player with nothing like his kind of experience. He also knows his best way to score runs is by playing proper cricket shots which he can do expertly. Bell saying all the right things, let's hope this series is a sign of him doing all the right things and takes a few big scores into the WC. Sorry if my posting appears to be a tad Bell-obsessed, not intentional, he just seems to be in the news a fair bit.

 

[Woodster]

Another thing I wanted to say on that Bell piece is that he talks about the flexibility we have in the squad and the options we have that can come into the side. What I hope we see in this series, but I think is unlikely, is to display a kind of flexibility within a game and not just with the team selection. A changing of game plans if certain things aren't working, a change in the batting order if the run rate needs upping a touch, it's this lack of flexibility that has dogged our one-day for a long time. In the main it'll have to come from Cook making these decisions in the heat of battle, there isn't a truckload of experience but even the younger guys should offer some value in such decisions and hopefully have the confidence to make such suggestions to Cook, who seems to be a fairly approachable guy.

 

[Maximas]

neither did Chandiguns, he had been scoring a few for the a team recently i think and conversely , how does kandamby get a duck and get another chance- although i noticed you said he scored weel in the domestic tourneys so that might answer that. i agree with you,would have liked to see Rhandiv in as he can bat too...for me we need a squad where we have batting until at least #9..

I'm not certain Kandamby is the right guy exactly, but I do think the idea is right, personally I want to see MJ up the order and Tharanga down, Randiv is ok with the bat but rarely shows it at international level, ideally we have Thisara and Prasanna at 7/8, then a bowling all-rounder at 9 like Kula or Sachi.

 

[theegyptian]

Nah, Tredders may not have the best record in Oz, but he's an infinitely better ODI bowler than Jordan, Woakes and possibly Gurney.

He did bowl well yesterday too apparently, just didn't pick up the wickets.

Still that doesn't matter if he is competing solely with Ali for a spot as the spinner in the team. 20 overs of spin in Australia and NZ with probably Root as the 6th bowler? Don't think so. IMO Ali and Tredwell are in a straight shootout for the spinners spot. Only way they might play Moeen and Tredwell would be if Anderson and/or Broad was injured.

What also works against Moeen and Tredwell are that they are kinda slow fielders with average arms. Some of these massive Australian outfields you need athletes in the field. Stokes, Jordan, Woakes all have better arms and are quicker over the outfield.

I'd probably go Tredwell because Moeen's odi batting is kinda rubbish and unpredictable so probably won't add much to the team whilst Tredwell has all the experience of bowling. But Moeen will have the chance in the next few months as the touring 2nd spinner to overtake Tredwell.



Sounds like Finn has a twinge for tomorrows game. Not that it should matter given the weather forecast. Doesn't seem likely that many games will be played.

 

[grecian]

Still that doesn't matter if he is competing solely with Ali for a spot as the spinner in the team. 20 overs of spin in Australia and NZ with probably Root as the 6th bowler? Don't think so. IMO Ali and Tredwell are in a straight shootout for the spinners spot. Only way they might play Moeen and Tredwell would be if Anderson and/or Broad was injured.

What also works against Moeen and Tredwell are that they are kinda slow fielders with average arms. Some of these massive Australian outfields you need athletes in the field. Stokes, Jordan, Woakes all have better arms and are quicker over the outfield.

I'd probably go Tredwell because Moeen's odi batting is kinda rubbish and unpredictable so probably won't add much to the team whilst Tredwell has all the experience of bowling. But Moeen will have the chance in the next few months as the touring 2nd spinner to overtake Tredwell.



Sounds like Finn has a twinge for tomorrows game. Not that it should matter given the weather forecast. Doesn't seem likely that many games will be played.

Nah, he is useful with the bat because he scores very quickly and can improvise. He'll be playing as a bat whatever I'm guessing.

 

[Adders]

He'll be playing as a bat whatever I'm guessing.

Yeah I reckon they're certain to play Moeen and Tredwell in this series.

I understand the two aren't likely to both play come the WC and it is unfortunate the conditions are so different to what they'll face come the main event but the most important thing England can do right now is start winning games.......to do that they need to pick their best team for the conditions. Tredders and Moeen are part of the best attack most likely to win in Sri Lanka.

 

[theegyptian]

Nah, he is useful with the bat because he scores very quickly and can improvise. He'll be playing as a bat whatever I'm guessing.

His od batting is too carefree\frenetic almost. He'll get you off to a good start occasionally but he'll give it away with some lazy/carefree stroke too often.

Hales is a better option if you want a batsman alone.
Root and Bopara are better batsman/6th bowler options.

 

[theegyptian]

This must be one of the ****ter medium pace attacks england have put out.

 

[theegyptian]

This is some **** start by england in favorable bowling conditions

 

[anil1405]

Good to see Jeevan Mendis back in the team. Useful ODI player.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Another thing I wanted to say on that Bell piece is that he talks about the flexibility we have in the squad and the options we have that can come into the side. What I hope we see in this series, but I think is unlikely, is to display a kind of flexibility within a game and not just with the team selection. A changing of game plans if certain things aren't working, a change in the batting order if the run rate needs upping a touch, it's this lack of flexibility that has dogged our one-day for a long time. In the main it'll have to come from Cook making these decisions in the heat of battle, there isn't a truckload of experience but even the younger guys should offer some value in such decisions and hopefully have the confidence to make such suggestions to Cook, who seems to be a fairly approachable guy.

The issue is that at the 35 over mark, if Cook/Bell is still in, you'd rather have one of your 5/6/7 in there instead at that stage of the game. Can't say that about any of the other teams and their top 3.

 

[grecian]

His od batting is too carefree\frenetic almost. He'll get you off to a good start occasionally but he'll give it away with some lazy/carefree stroke too often.

Hales is a better option if you want a batsman alone.
Root and Bopara are better batsman/6th bowler options.

Never in a million years, his bowling is pish at this level, in fact I'm struggling to think of a level it isn't. Yet again though, I would prefer to have both Tredders and Ali then the rabble that is in the squad as seam bowlers.

Reckon we'll lose this by about a 100.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Nah, he is useful with the bat because he scores very quickly and can improvise. He'll be playing as a bat whatever I'm guessing.

would you go so far as to say he's perfectly fine with the bat?

 

[theegyptian]

Never in a million years, his bowling is pish at this level, in fact I'm struggling to think of a level it isn't. Yet again though, I would prefer to have both Tredders and Ali then the rabble that is in the squad as seam bowlers.

Reckon we'll lose this by about a 100.

As a combination of batsman and 6th bowler Root is miles ahead of Ali for the WC. Root is considerably the better bat and whilst moeen is considerably the better spinner the role as 6th bowler is minimal - or at least much less than the batting role.

 

[grecian]

would you go so far as to say he's perfectly fine with the bat?

Possibly, but TBF he has to prove it at International level, his bitty form in List A is a problem when you compare it to Hales and Taylor.

 

[grecian]

As a combination of batsman and 6th bowler Root is miles ahead of Ali for the WC. Root is considerably the better bat and whilst moeen is considerably the better spinner the role as 6th bowler is minimal - or at least much less than the batting role.

Don't really buy that Root is a significantly better bat, his List A record isn't brilliant either. £ tons in 65 games. Worse run-rate, and for England after a great start he's not done much in the form.

Good innings last time up in a dead rubber. Yet no reason to believe he's outstanding or owt.