Can Sri Lanka start winning overseas?

[Dar]

Only time will tell, they certainly have the ability to. They are looking unbeatable and on top of the world at the moment having demolished South Africa and winning the Asia Cup but all on home territory. We all know the real test of their ability will come when they play out of the sub continent. Will they or won't they continue their success? What are your thoughts.......

 

[Swervy]

same old story..they have been very tough to beat at home for years now,no difference now.

Away from home they are a very average team,and I dont see that changing for quite a while.

Got to look at this win vs SA in the right context,SA look like a fading team (certainly talent wise, this is the weakest SA team I have seen for a long time) But Sri Lanka have done a great job in grinding them into the ground, a job they do well at home.....and SA still have world class players.

On balance, I think Sri Lanka might struggle in the Champions Trophy in English conditions after a wet English summer

 

[Langeveldt]

No chance, I think SA would have beaten them had the series been played in SA.. Look what happened last time..(with similar teams)

 

[nookie_lk]

No chance, I think SA would have beaten them had the series been played in SA.. Look what happened last time..(with similar teams)

Similar Teams ???

 

[Langeveldt]

Similar Teams ???

As in, if my memory serves me correctly the sides that played when SL got hammered in South Africa were similar...

I will agree that SL are on the up, and SA are fading, but Ntini, Pollock and Nel would still cause your guys a load of severe problems on the bouncy South African wickets...

 

[telsor]

The comment was made during the Aus series in SL that if SL wants to improve, they need to prepare some home pitches that aren't tailor made for their own players.

2 (related ) reasons for this.

1. To get some practice in a friendly area...they'll still have the crowds, and the SL lifestyle between days of play, etc, so it'll made for an easier transition.

2. They get overseas, see pitches that are different, and get psyched out.

Neither of these mean they can't win overseas, even without change, but it does mean that they start off on the back foot, and the better countries especially will take that advantage and never let SL back into the matches.

 

[Langeveldt]

The comment was made during the Aus series in SL that if SL wants to improve, they need to prepare some home pitches that aren't tailor made for their own players.

2 (related ) reasons for this.

1. To get some practice in a friendly area...they'll still have the crowds, and the SL lifestyle between days of play, etc, so it'll made for an easier transition.

2. They get overseas, see pitches that are different, and get psyched out.

Neither of these mean they can't win overseas, even without change, but it does mean that they start off on the back foot, and the better countries especially will take that advantage and never let SL back into the matches.

Good point.. But is the Sri Lankan climate condusive to preparing such wickets?

 

[marc71178]

They are looking unbeatable and on top of the world at the moment having demolished South Africa and winning the Asia Cup but all on home territory.

And what happened prior to that?

Didn't look unbeatable then...

 

[Langeveldt]

And what happened prior to that?

Didn't look unbeatable then...

Yes but everyone conveniently forgets...

 

[telsor]

Good point.. But is the Sri Lankan climate condusive to preparing such wickets?

There were several comments during that series about the curators making the pitches to order, so they are getting the pitches they want.

I'm not suggesting they try and imitate pitches in England, or Aus, or SA, or whereever ( you're right, they probably can't ), just play on pitches that, for them, are 'imperfect'. Preferably with some variation between grounds.

One of the reasons Aus is so good is that their home pitches are so varied ( and they play on the whatever the players want ). Perth will always be fast and bouncy, Brisbane seams, Sydney spins...any variation is gradual as pitches age. Sure, Aus has a big advantage here in the size of the country and varied climates allow this, but I would suspect that it's a major factor in Aus's success touring. ( NB, there are no pitches in Aus like India, and they consistantly fail there ).

 

[Legglancer]

And what happened prior to that?

Didn't look unbeatable then...

Well They lost to Australia 3- 0 at home ..... no comparison in that Australia are far superior to SL ... Having said that thay didnt allow the aussies to have it easy. Thay lost the ODI series to Aussie 3 - 2, Once again Australia were the better team hands down ..... however none of the games were boring one sided jobs ..... the Sri Lankens played good cricket ....

Tell me Mark when did England win a ODI against aussie last ????

 

[thirdslip]

I think a lot of this is thrown about when talking about subcontinental teams. Maybe because (especially in India and SL) the pitches tend to be very different from elsewhere, one often asks if these teams can win elsewhere. The question is valid, but not (in my view) asked nearly as often in reverse. If one began by asking "can SA win on unfamiliar pitches", I dont think we'll arrive at a substantially different set of comments, with the team names changed.

Sri Lanka look more balanced lately, and with potentially greater bench strength too. An away tour on bouncier wickets will certainly be revealing.

- TS

 

[Neil Pickup]

Well They lost to Australia 3- 0 at home ..... no comparison in that Australia are far superior to SL ... Having said that thay didnt allow the aussies to have it easy. Thay lost the ODI series to Aussie 3 - 2, Once again Australia were the better team hands down ..... however none of the games were boring one sided jobs ..... the Sri Lankens played good cricket ....

Tell me Mark when did England win a ODI against aussie last ????

Why take this around to England? The issue is the Sri Lankans' poor away record.

 

[steds]

Sri Lanka will win overseas if they play good. End of

 

[Langeveldt]

Sri Lanka will win overseas if they play good. End of

Obviously....

 

[Legglancer]

Why take this around to England? The issue is the Sri Lankans' poor away record.

Really ????? I suggest you read Marks caption again and see if he mentions about the away record ....

 

[Langeveldt]

Really ????? I suggest you read Marks caption again and see if he mentions about the away record ....

Who is Mark?

 

[marc71178]

Well They lost to Australia 3- 0 at home

And lost handsomely in Aus.

Tell me Mark when did England win a ODI against aussie last ????

Tell me when I last praised the England ODI side or claimed them to be anything near the World's best.

It's all very well throwing that in, but seeing as I've never denied it, it means nothing.

 

[marc71178]

Really ????? I suggest you read Marks caption again and see if he mentions about the away record ....

I asked about the "unbeatable" SL side prior to the SA series and Asia Cup - when they lost 5 Tests in a row against Aus.

 

[abhilara]

Will SRI LANKA EVER WIN OUTSIDE OF HOME

Only time will tell, they certainly have the ability to. They are looking unbeatable and on top of the world at the moment having demolished South Africa and winning the Asia Cup but all on home territory. We all know the real test of their ability will come when they play out of the sub continent. Will they or won't they continue their success? What are your thoughts.......

I disagree with you. They do not have the ability to win outside the subcontinent in a TEST MATCH SERIES. They have got one of the worst batting line up as they are missing a superstar. There missing a Sachin, Lara, Hayden, etc. If you compare their list to another decent batting list you'll see they lag behind. They are not looking unbeatable as they were just beaten by Australia in Sri Lanka a couple of months ago. The only reason they are beating South Africa because it is being played in Lanka which brings us back to they point that Sri Lanka cannot win outside home. No matter how many wickets Murali manages to get Sri Lanka will have to wait a while before they become a force to reckon with outside their comfort zones.