England vs Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, Headingley, 1 July, 2011

Swanny can win it on his own, if the Lankans don't notice he's at both ends of the pitch at once.

Batting: Slow top 6. Weak bottom five.
Bowling: One reliable established spinner. Half a reliable pacer.
Fielding: Excellent.

It's still obvious that this team can't win matches in good weather on flat pitches. One-paced batsmen and bowlers only any use when it swings round corners.

Might as well play a team of youngsters rather than keeping the Test players happy, if we're not going to win anyway unless we play in conditions like we saw earlier in the week.

Conclusion: C/C-. Must do better.

beamer wrote:It's still obvious that this team can't win matches in good weather on flat pitches. One-paced batsmen and bowlers only any use when it swings round corners.

Part of the trouble - only one of many troubles - is that on seemingly good pitches for batting, opposition captains know they can slow England up by just bowling 20 to 30 overs of spin. Barely any of them can play proactive, non-getting-out-slogging shots against spin. Any kind of spin. We saw in the winter, even Steve Smith and Dave Hussey were shutting them down with long hops and full tosses. It's hilariously pathetic.

If I were an opposition captain playing England, I'd only bowl spinners. For the first 45 overs. Don't bother taking the bowling power play - they'll have collapsed in a heap by over 45, so at the very worst you'll be bowling to numbers 9, 10 and Jack.

I reckon with that formula, England would never pass 230. Ever.

Cook: "We didnt play as well as we did at The Oval, and that's probably one of the reasons we lost."

Phew. Cooky's on top of it. He's got to the central core of the issue. The only way is up from here...

This week's No sh!t, Sherlock award goes to Captain Cook...

I like how he says "probably" as if there's some debate to be had.

"Our bowlers got carted and our batsmen were pathetic, which was probably a contributory factor to our heavy defeat."

We were crap, which might have played a small part in the fact we lost. Of course luck, the pitch, umpires, the weather, the stars etc. were all much more significant factors...

Old Cookie eh? Bit of a deep-end push for him today, having not seen all the match I'll have to take others words for it, but apparently his field placements were sh!thouse.

What field do you set for all-you-can-eat buffet bowling, which it sounds like is what was being dished up by the England "attack"?

As ever there's an issue with lack of captaincy experience. How long before they are paying counties to make their nominated FECs captain them during their handful of appearances per season?

Yeah, not much experience in the side either - i.e. Strauss and Collingwood. It's a bit silly, really, but they saw no other fit candidate.

You're probably right at the feasty bowling, they were just saying the field didn't change no matter how many times Jaya smacked it square. Had a long off and deep mid-wicket.

Cook's appointment is clearly to get him experience for the Test job more than anything else, so may pay off in that regard. Although a few games captaining the Chavs in the CC might have been more valuable. Or loan him as captain to whoever is playing a touring side...

I hope it's not to give him experience in taking the positives for the cameras.

PeterCS wrote:I hope it's not to give him experience in taking the positives for the cameras.

Vaughan Mark 2? Combine it with Strauss's caution and he could be Captain Positive Negative.

In other words, putting it all (positive and negative) in the wrong places.

201-4 in the 37th over to 240 all out in the 46th. Old habits die hard.

Not a surprise though with only five batsmen in the team.

Still, those extra specialist bowlers were worth it...

10 batsmen and Swann might not do any worse on a 300+ pitch.

What made cook such a certainty to be future England captain? Was it based upon his public school choir boy image, thus making him less likely to be falling off of pedalos or fcuking the latest evictee from 'I'm a Z list celebrity'?

krikri wrote:What made cook such a certainty to be future England captain? Was it based upon his public school choir boy image, thus making him less likely to be falling off of pedalos or fcuking the latest evictee from 'I'm a Z list celebrity'?

The fact that Ian Bell is the main alternative?

Well boom-shacka-lacka - krikri, jesus krikrist! There's been some bad England performances since you've last posted, what was so special about it that it prompted you to come and post on here?

5 years to the day since England last played Sri Lanka at Headingley in an ODI. The side batting first also made 300+ although with a slightly different result. 3 survivors from the England side and 4 from the Lankies played today:

England v. Sri Lanka, 5th ODI, Headingley, 1 July 2006

Ploo sa shonje.

Watched it to the end of the Lankan dig. Stylish knock by Jaya and some handy bat swinging by Angelo Angelopolis the Greek Fruit and Veg market owner from Colombo to get the Ceylonese to 309.

Thought it might be a smidge challenging for the Bell-heavy middle order. But at 1-85 off 17 Engulund certainly started well enough, but then it seems to wiles of Randiv, Lakmal and Mendis unravelled the Brit midwicket-chippers.