Final.

[SJS]

Originally Posted by JBH001

Fair play, though I wonder if your sudden optimism (in contrast to your usual pessimism and doom and gloom) might not bring down the evil eye upon us?

Might be better for us all, SL fans and the team, if you pull your head in Jason.

More to the point - I too think that SL can do it, but it will take something special from them to do it.

Speaking of which, anyone know what time (nz) it will be on? The game against NZ started at 2.30 (not 1.30) as I thought it would (not that it mattered, I was in bed till 4 having weird cricket dreams). Is it the same for the final?

I agree with the spirit of this post.

Many of us would like SRL to win but it might be prudent to temper the enthusiasm. Running wild with optimism has had some dire and extremely embarassing consequences for many of us here from almost all over the globe. I am an Indian ask me

Seriously. Australia are favourites. Denying that is juvenile enthusiasm. But Sri Lanka have it in them to have a better day on Saturday. It CAN happen. Lets watch and see if it does. If they do it or get close to doing it, we would have, in all probability, had a great game and thats what matters.

[chipmonk]

World Cup Fever – by Aubrey Joachim

It’s 96 all over again!
The year the Lankans cricket did reign
It’s time to stop and watch once more
The Sri Lankan Lion begin to roar!

While cricket is a gentleman’s game
The cup final is but brawn against brain
With the Aussies flexing their brutal might
The Lankans brains will gently fight!

While woodchopper Ponting will cut and swing
Gentle Mahela with his bat will sing
Ricky will spit, and chew and weep
When Jayawardene’s bat will paddle and sweep

McGrath will charge in cursing and swearing
Murali will spin them laughing and smiling
Symonds brades are certainly no match
When swinger Malinga’s locks all eyes will catch

Sangakkara will, with legal ease
Outsmart Gillie with taunt and tease
Jayasuriya will cut, drive and chop
Leaving Hayden in a heap of flop

With the sign of the cross, Vaas will start
The Australian batting to take apart
Tharanga will surely leave young Bracken
Torn, tattered and oh so broken

So let cricket’s battle royal begin
May the best team on the day win
Let’s play the gentleman’s game in good spirit
Let not cursing, swearing and sledging wreck it!

[shehanwije]

Originally Posted by SJS

I agree with the spirit of this post.

Seriously. Australia are favourites. Denying that is juvenile enthusiasm. .

I dont think even a dye-hard Lankan supporter will dispute that Aus are top-dog....the point here is that being favourites to win, and finishing the job off are two vastly differing propositions...esp. in a pressure cooker finals situation, where Aus have more to lose. Its a new game, on a new pitch...how Aus or SL have performed in the rest of the comp. becomes academic.

Some of the posters are stating that if Aus lose, then its only bcos they are not playing at their best...mmmm, hard to buy into this point. If Aus were playing Bangl, I can understand this point. But Aus are playing the "second" best team after the final round, a fitting end to a long comp. Anything is possible. SL have the firepower and personnel to win - even if Aus are playing at their best.

[SJS]

Maybe so, then again, maybe not

[Burgey]

Check this out.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/t...459958952.html
What a surprise - a lack of communication in the organisation of a peripheral event at this WC - fair dinkum, the ICC couldn't organise a grog-on in a brewery!!!!
Sounds like Punter was pretty annoyed by this - can't say I blame him.
Poor old Mahela, imagine walking in and not realising - love the photo of Punter - looks seriously p*ssed off with it all.
Anyway, we can now have Jason et al promoting this as further evidence of some weird psychological ploy. Make hay fellas......

[shehanwije]

Originally Posted by marc71178

For one thing I dare say Bevan has played more crucial innings in ODIs than Jayasuriya has.

Dont want to get too side-tracked with this argument as its not too relevant to this thread. So, I'll cut to the chase.

If you take MOM as one yard-stick (and I am sure there are more), Bevan has got the MOM in 5.1% of his games - 12 in total. Sanath has got more than double that number (11.1%), in a whopping 43 MOM awards. Not too hard to work out who has won more matches for their team.

However, Bevan will def. win the "media hype" game hands down over Sanath.

QED.

[shehanwije]

Originally Posted by Burgey

Check this out.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/t...459958952.html
What a surprise - a lack of communication in the organisation of a peripheral event at this WC - fair dinkum, the ICC couldn't organise a grog-on in a brewery!!!!
Sounds like Punter was pretty annoyed by this - can't say I blame him.
Poor old Mahela, imagine walking in and not realising - love the photo of Punter - looks seriously p*ssed off with it all.
Anyway, we can now have Jason et al promoting this as further evidence of some weird psychological ploy. Make hay fellas......

Let me do the honours.

Ha, Ha! Lovely tactic by Mahela...clearly learning from Ganguly who kept Waugh waiting at the toss in 2001. In that series, Waugh kept on focussing "on the man, and forgot to watch the ball" as he was seriously cheesed off. Will refrain from opening up old wounds by repeating the cricketing outcome.

[Burgey]

Originally Posted by shehanwije

Let me do the honours.

Ha, Ha! Lovely tactic by Mahela...clearly learning from Ganguly who kept Waugh waiting at the toss in 2001. In that series, Waugh kept on focussing "on the man, and forgot to watch the ball" as he was seriously cheesed off. Will refrain from opening up old wounds by repeating the cricketing outcome.

So you admit that your captain is a liar then, as he told Ponting he didn't know the do was on? Interesting.....

[The_Bunny]

Originally Posted by shehanwije

Interested to find out how you arrived at this conclusion? I hope you are not basing it on the tripe being dished out in the Aus media right now....similar to what happened in '96.

If the match was played at the WACA, I may have to agree that Australia's best > Sri Lanka's best...but then again if the match is played at Premadasa, the reverse is true.

This is Barbados....a touch pacy and bouncy up front, low/slow in second half of match....not the WACA or Brisbane.

Both teams have 5 or 6 potential game breakers....On recent form, SL bowling unit is probably better than Aus, but Aus batting is a touch ahead of SL. Not much in it for fielding and captaincy as both teams are top notch in these areas.

Its a lot closer than Australians realise...or is a case of hoping the confidence and form of the Aus will get them thru. I say no, they will have to beat a strong SL team, currently running hot.

Thats interesting.. SRL bowling has looked so strong all WC and I would have said its the stronger unit, but then looking at the leading bowlers this WC its dominated by Aussies...

[SJS]

Originally Posted by shehanwije

I dont think even a dye-hard Lankan supporter will dispute that Aus are top-dog....the point here is that being favourites to win, and finishing the job off are two vastly differing propositions...esp. in a pressure cooker finals situation, where Aus have more to lose. Its a new game, on a new pitch...how Aus or SL have performed in the rest of the comp. becomes academic.

Some of the posters are stating that if Aus lose, then its only bcos they are not playing at their best...mmmm, hard to buy into this point. If Aus were playing Bangl, I can understand this point. But Aus are playing the "second" best team after the final round, a fitting end to a long comp. Anything is possible. SL have the firepower and personnel to win - even if Aus are playing at their best.

So lets forget the others and get your point of view clear.

You have agreed that Aussies are 'top-dog". Fair enough.

Now tell me. Do you think Sril Lanka winning on Saturday...

a) is a probabilty because they are playing well and Australia can have a bad day (relatively speaking) etc etc

OR

b) Is a certainity considering the two teams merits as at this point of time, how they face pressure etc etc.

OR

c) Is a possibilty since anything can happen in a limited overs game between two good international sides irrespective of their past record etc etc.

Which, which, which ?????

[shehanwije]

Originally Posted by Burgey

So you admit that your captain is a liar then, as he told Ponting he didn't know the do was on? Interesting.....

Just like in 2001, the first time it happened, even Ganguly did not plan to keep Waugh waiting....but when he saw the effect it had on Waugh, he kept on doing it. Waugh saw it as a sign of deep disrespect (and there is probably some merit in that argument), but he did keep on getting side-tracked. See example below:

Ganguly reveals how Waugh's sledging backfired
Wisden CricInfo staff, September 3, 2003

Describing the final day of that Test, Ganguly wrote: "Just before tea on the final day when they were only three wickets down, I dropped a sharp chance off Steve Waugh at backward short leg. Maybe if he had said nothing, the game would have drifted to a draw, the result that appeared to be its natural conclusion. But Waugh could not resist the chirp, 'You just dropped the Test, mate.'

"Sometimes sledging can work against you and, on this occasion, it had the effect of geeing up the Indians. Immediately after tea, Harbhajan Singh got Waugh out and Rahul Dravid gave him a sendoff from slip asking who had given away the Test match now."

Australia were 1-0 up before that Test; they ended up losing 1-2. So much for mental disintegration.

Will we now see Mahela keeping Ponting waiting at the toss?

[shehanwije]

Originally Posted by SJS

So lets forget the others and get your point of view clear.

You have agreed that Aussies are 'top-dog". Fair enough.

Now tell me. Do you think Sril Lanka winning on Saturday...

a) is a probabilty because they are playing well and Australia can have a bad day (relatively speaking) etc etc

OR

b) Is a certainity considering the two teams merits as at this point of time, how they face pressure etc etc.

OR

c) Is a possibilty since anything can happen in a limited overs game between two good international sides irrespective of their past record etc etc.

?????

I will go with your (c)as its the closest to my thinking....but would like to vote for (d) SL can beat Aus even if Aus are playing at their best.

[andyc]

Originally Posted by shehanwije

I will go with your (c)as its the closest to my thinking....but would like to vote for (d) SL can beat Aus even if Aus are playing at their best.

Have you not been watching this WC?

[Davey]

blah i dont like all this over-hyping i like the fact we are underdogs

[SJS]

Originally Posted by shehanwije

...but would like to vote for (d) SL can beat Aus even if Aus are playing at their best.

....Because Sri Lanka are playing even better than them

OR

because Sri Lanka are capable of , for that one day, playing even better than Australia at their best.