The Third best ODI team

[Richard]

Well your exact quote was "you could not hope to find a better batsman". In all likeliness Bradman would have been better than Tendulkar at batting in ODI's, but I don't want to delve into that arguement. I think Michael Bevan is the best ODI batsman ever anyway...

But his bowling was poor, just the same as Tendulkar's. I feel that Pollock has far more to offer as an bowling-all-rounder than either Bevan or Tendulkar do as batsmen-who-bowl-a-bit.

 

[bryce]

Yeah I agree that Pollock is the best ODI player ever. Wickets + surreal economy + capable free scoring batsman all in one player is pretty tough to match. I was arguing solely about ODI batting ftr

 

[Rickripper]

Yeah, South Africa did look poor, but it was still largely a side that had just forced Michael Vaughan into retirement, despite the best efforts of a fully fit Flintoff. They're no mugs. They just didn't seem to have any decent one-day specialists, an injured Albie Morkel aside. Botha was okay but not threatening, Gibbs was off form, Duminy couldn't buy a run... the only player I thought who looked quite good was Philander, but they dropped him, twice!

Saying that, England did play better than they had done for a long time, especially considering how limp wristed some of their defeats to NZ were. The D/N at Headingley was amazing though, one of the most dramatic ODIs I've ever been to or seen, I'll never forget Pietersen's cries when he ran out Kallis, or the Western Terrace singing along to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" after Prior stumped Boucher.

But yeah, there was a certain sense of renewal that launched England to Number 3. I dunno if they'll stay there, I doubt they'll beat India over 7 matches, but I fancy them in the Windies, and I reckon they could give Australia a good go next summer on home soil.

 

[Burgey]

For me the startling decline here is SL. 18 months or so ago they made the WC final. Shows how things can change quickly I guess, though the advent of Mendis will surely make them better.

 

[pup11]

For me the startling decline here is SL. 18 months or so ago they made the WC final. Shows how things can change quickly I guess, though the advent of Mendis will surely make them better.

I think Sri Lankan batting is wafer-thin atm, Sanga is the only class act in that team as far as batting goes, he can score run in every part of the world, Jayawardene is good but not in all conditions, Jayasuriya' consistency levels have dropped quite a bit in recent times, so apart from these three there isn't much to write home about, likes of Silva, Dilshan, Tharanga, Kapugedera have hardly stepped up when these three fail, so in such a scenario Sri Lanka are bound to struggle and even Mendis magic won't be able to save them if the batting keeps failing the way it has post the 07 WC.

 

[Rickripper]

I think Sri Lankan batting is wafer-thin atm, Sanga is the only class act in that team as far as batting goes, he can score run in every part of the world, Jayawardene is good but not in all conditions, Jayasuriya' consistency levels have dropped quite a bit in recent times, so apart from these three there isn't much to write home about, likes of Silva, Dilshan, Tharanga, Kapugedera have hardly stepped up when these three fail, so in such a scenario Sri Lanka are bound to struggle and even Mendis magic won't be able to save them if the batting keeps failing the way it has post the 07 WC.

They can always count on Thushara to get the match winning runs.

What happened to Prasad? He bowled excellently in the third test, very accurate, I reckon he would have been useful in the ODIs, but he didn't feature at all.

 

[zaremba]

I think Sri Lankan batting is wafer-thin atm

How times have changed since the days of Arjuna Ranatunga

 

[Richard]

Well, with Aravinda de Silva, Tillikaratne and Hathrusinghe as well. Then came the slimline Jayasuriya, Atapattu, Kaluwitharana and Dilshan types, changing everything.

Ranatunga initiated this of course, losing countless kilos in his later days knowing he had to set an example.

 

[Natman20]

I think NZ is the clear third place at the moment. They have won so many games (mainly at home). They have been consistent for years near the top there and the thought of England being ranked higher than them after being beaten two series in a row is very strange.

 

[Rickripper]

I agree, I would still fancy NZ to beat England now, even after the Pietersennance. I guess the rankings favour beating a team near the top, with more points than you. To be fair, before this series, most people would have agreed that SA were the second best team in the world.