Sl batting line up

[Faceless void]

SL seems to be doing quite alright these days yet IMO there are few pretty evident deficiencies in SL batting line up and it will take a heavy loosing streak for ppl to start taking note of that and start bashing the batsmen for the outcome.I thought that it is high time now to start discussing them in CW.

Apart from sanath's occasional blasts only mahela and sanga can be considered as batsmen capable of handling a quality bowling line up.

Since the inclusion of sanga,SL has not come across a batsman of noteworthy ability.And now it is truly in dire need of one.Class is something the SL batting line up certainly lacks (it takes some one from Appu Army to deny that ! ).

It needs a player who can solidly withstand lateral movement in the first few overs so that the rest of the batting can cash in when the ball looses it's initial sting.(someone like marvan).And they need a fast scorer who is capable of some serious slogging at the end of the innings.And maha is too inconsistent to fill this void. P'haps it is time to bring young angelo mathews in. As for the marvan kind of role i just can't think of anyone. But unless these two voids are filled SL cannot knock down best of the sides (away from home) on a regular basis.
And playing I really do fail to see the logic behind playing five specialist bowlers.especially as the fifth is almost always going to be mediocre. Dilshan and sanath are certainly capable of sharing the ball for ten overs.
What do you ppl think?

 

[ret]

as a team, SL has some quality players in Jayasuriya, Sangakara, Murali, Mendis, Vaas and Malings but as you can see it has more quality in bowling than in batting

i guess, SL will depend more on remarkable individual performances like Mendis's in the Asia Cup final or cash on other team's bad days to get a victory than playing well as a team

 

[bryce]

SL seems to be doing quite alright these days yet IMO there are few pretty evident deficiencies in SL batting line up

Since the inclusion of sanga,SL has not come across a batsman of noteworthy ability.And now it is truly in dire need of one.Class is something the SL batting line up certainly lacks (it takes some one from Appu Army to deny that ! ).

I reckon your greedy. You can't expect batsmen of Sangakarra's class to make up a SL batting list. Vandort, Warnapura, Samaraweera and Dilshan are all averging around 40-50 in test cricket. Add to that Sangakarra and Jayawardene and that makes a very good top 6 IMO, and you also have Silva and Kapugedara, I cannot see the problem... Now New Zealand on the other hand

 

[sanga1337]

Well I agree with you in the one day game. Sri Lankas lineup is prone to collapsing if Sangakkara and jayawardene get out early. Especially when they play batsman like Kulasekara at number 7. In tests though they have a relatively good batting lineup. Warnapura, Vandort, Samarweera and Dilshan are all decent batsman. The thing about the Sri Lankan ODI team is that the whole batting lineup are strokemakers who can be quite unreliable (Jayasuria, Dilshan, Silva, Kapugedera) sometimes. It maybe worth trying a more gritty, accumalator of runs in the ODI team just to balance it out a bit like Samaraweera or Vandort.

 

[Faceless void]

Sorry I forgot to mention that it was the ODI side I was referring to.

Its so hard to get a slow accumulator of runs into the side coz there is no powerful hitter down the line.
To stand any chance to score over 300 run rate must atleast be over 5.5 at the end of the 35th over. And 50 odd Van-dot-balls would put so much pressure on the batsmen at the other end that he him self will p'haps cause a collapse.
But on the the other hand a solid batsman will give players like sangakkara the liberty to score free and it might compensate for the dot balls.
-Jus trying to be diplomatic as I'm pretty new

 

[sanga1337]

Sorry I forgot to mention that it was the ODI side I was referring to.

Its so hard to get a slow accumulator of runs into the side coz there is no powerful hitter down the line.
To stand any chance to score over 300 run rate must atleast be over 5.5 at the end of the 35th over. And 50 odd Van-dot-balls would put so much pressure on the batsmen at the other end that he him self will p'haps cause a collapse.
But on the the other hand a solid batsman will give players like sangakkara the liberty to score free and it might compensate for the dot balls.
-Jus trying to be diplomatic as I'm pretty new

Sri Lanka apart from Jayasuria have no really big hitters, but the rest of their players are all attacking strokemakers. They are all very capable of scoring quickly. What they need is someone who takes less risks and acts as an anchor to the team, who scores at around a strike rate of 70 ish. I think Vandort could do that as his first class ODI record is pretty good (averages 39.01 with 4 centuries and 11 fifties). Sure if he plays anywhere near as slowly as he did on debut then drop him, but that was a one off.

 

[Migara]

The future SL ODI batting line up will look like this.

Sangakkara, Warnapura, Jayawardane, Kapugedara, Dilshan, Silva, Maharoof, Thushara

We all know what Sangakkara and Jayawardane can produce. Warnapura is a very agggresive player. Kapugedara has stength to clear the ropes. Silva and Dilshan are pretty busy players. Maharoof and Thushara contain muscles to bludgeon the ball. If every cog fits correctly, that batting line up will be a handful. But a natural strokemaker like De Silva, who could graft as well as explode, is what SL needing.

 

[Uppercut]

The future SL ODI batting line up will look like this.

Sangakkara, Warnapura, Jayawardane, Kapugedara, Dilshan, Silva, Maharoof, Thushara

We all know what Sangakkara and Jayawardane can produce. Warnapura is a very agggresive player. Kapugedara has stength to clear the ropes. Silva and Dilshan are pretty busy players. Maharoof and Thushara contain muscles to bludgeon the ball. If every cog fits correctly, that batting line up will be a handful. But a natural strokemaker like De Silva, who could graft as well as explode, is what SL needing.

Surely Malinga, Fernando, Murali and Mendis will play?

 

[Migara]

Surely Malinga, Fernando, Murali and Mendis will play?

Fernado is good as gone. Malinga, Murali and Mendis will play. The two new kids on the block (Thushara nd Prasad) have ovetaken Fernado with pace, hostility and accuracy by a long way now,

 

[Uppercut]

Fernado is good as gone. Malinga, Murali and Mendis will play. The two new kids on the block (Thushara nd Prasad) have ovetaken Fernado with pace, hostility and accuracy by a long way now,

I have a feeling that, if they lose Vaas as you predicted above, they'll want to keep Fernando around for his experience and not-inconsiderable ability to bowl under pressure. Rightly or wrongly, I don't think we've seen the end of him.

 

[Arjun]

The Lankan lower order looks interesting.

• Vaas: Average 13
• Kulasekara: Average 16
• Thushara: Average 18, strike 89

That's as much as 45 runs to get past each time, and they can do it without that extra batsman, so a fifth bowler comes in easily. Not genuine all-rounders like Flintoff of course, but coming together, they can help their team more than a little.

 

[Isura]

Warnapura and Sanga will be great once Sanath retires. Hopefully Warnapura doesn't become Thuranga. The problem is 5-7. (actually 4-7, as Kupagedra hasn't shown anything yet). SL need a solid middle order bat that can handle pressure and keep the scoreboard moving with risk free runs. And they need a big hitter for the last 10. Hopefully Thushara becomes like a Morkel...Chamara and Dilshan give me no confidence in the middle order.

 

[Perm]

There are some glaringly obvious issues with the Sri Lankan batting at the moment, and those problems have been around for a fair while now. The continual shuffling of the batting order is creating instability, and confusing the batsmen in regards to the role they are supposed to be fulfilling within the side.

Sanath Jayasuriya is basically assured of his spot until he retires permanently and he proves the explosive element at the top of the order. Sri Lanka really need him to score big if they hope to get a good team score, with others playing around him. Personally I don't think Sangakkara should be partnering him as it leaves the middle order far too exposed, but the options are limited.

Mahela Jayawardene has always been a fairly average batsman in ODI cricket, in my eyes atleast. He is capable of playing some very good knocks (century against NZ in the WC, 90-odd in the last game) but he isn't somebody who can consistently produce runs against decent sides and his average is only around 30 against ODI class teams. Very good captain though, but I wouldn't expect too much from him in the run department.

Silva and Kapugedara have both been shoved up and down the order constantly, to little success. Silva has done alright at #5 (average of 35), and given his performances at domestic level deserves an extended run in the same position. Kapugedara on the other hand, he was rushed into the Sri Lankan side before he was ready and has been quite ineffective at this level so far.

Tillekeratne Dilshan has always been a poor ODI batsmen, and definitely not somebody who is worthy of his place in the side on the strength of his batsmanship alone. His average of 27.80 against ODI class nations is very poor, but his fielding skills and bowling ability mean that his place in the side isn't reliant purely upon runs, but equally it means that Sri Lanka can't expect him to consistently perform with the willow as part of a strong batting line-up.