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[keep-it-cool]

21/0 in 3.2 overs

[keep-it-cool]

jayasuriya gone ....

[dhruvdeepak]

geez, didnt expect this. i dont understand how you're going to 'hide' these guys from the opposition. i mean murali and vaas have played them tons of times. even malinga has played Tests vs them but hes injured.
there's no 'rest' or 'practice' games at this stage of the WC. there's 3 or 4 games left! you've got to fire and show consistency at this point, if not to also put the other team(s) down. got to gain momentum at this stage of the tournament, you cant afford to stutter! they talk so much about 'playing our game' and 'playing to our strengths'. how do you do that without your main players? how do you fine-tune your band without the instruments? is kulasekera and bandara and maharoof going to be playing in the semis a week from now? or are they just being taken out for a leisurely day in the sun? maybe SL is looking for the 'psychological' edge that Lara often claims after losing matches.
worst of all, this ruins the prospect of a juicy, evenly matched cricket match. Australia havent featured in one of those yet.
Sangakarra gone. 27-2. SL have depended on their bowling to win their matches in this tournament, but theyre playing their 'B' team. enjoy .

UPDATE: 27-3. now this is looking like the Ireland match.

[keep-it-cool]

looks like i can go off to sleep at a decent hour tonight

[keep-it-cool]

Resting Malinga is understandable. I agree I do not really see a case for resting Murali or Vaas. Maybe Murali is treating that ankle of his - remember, he did twist his ankle in the last match and was away from the field for some time. And maybe Vaas, because they want to see how Kulasekara goes - just in case Malinga does not recover in time for the semis. But, has turned this into another mismatch - especially with the top order gone.

[keep-it-cool]

On another note, I hope Chamara Silva plays a good, long innings. I think there is some serious talent there .. hope that translates into big scores sooner rather than later

[dhruvdeepak]

worse still for SL - this game could be over before the 'replacements' come into play!
as Holding is saying right now, "you lose one, then you lose two and then you're owwt".
ian smith and holding talking about it now. i completely agree. murali might not be affected, hell a rest might serve him well. but what about all the engsturs? many are expecting this to be the WC final in 2 weeks. can they recover from a big loss at this huge stage of the tournament?

[dhruvdeepak]

Chamara is a minnow basher. i will prove it.

 107*  -     -  - 1 L 4th ODI      v Ind in Ind 2006/07 at Visakhapatnam [2525]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  55*  -     -  - 1 W World Cup  4 v Ber in WI  2006/07 at Port of Spain [2534]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  52*  -     -  - 1 W World Cup 16 v BD  in WI  2006/07 at Port of Spain [2546]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  59   -     -  - 1 W World Cup 20 v Ind in WI  2006/07 at Port of Spain [2550]
   -  DNB    0  0 2

then he plays against the big teams and what happens?

   9   -     -  - 1 L World Cup 26 v SA  in WI  2006/07 at Providence [2556]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  23   -     -  - 1 W World Cup 30 v WI  in WI  2006/07 at Providence [2560]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  23   -     -  - 1 W World Cup 33 v Eng in WI  2006/07 at North Sound [2563]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
   -  DNB    3  0 1 W World Cup 39 v NZ  in WI  2006/07 at St George's [2569]
  23   -     -  - 2

[keep-it-cool]

worse still for SL - this game could be over before the 'replacements' come into play!
as Holding is saying right now, "you lose one, then you lose two and then you're owwt".
ian smith and holding talking about it now. i completely agree. murali might not be affected, hell a rest might serve him well. but what about all the engsturs? many are expecting this to be the WC final in 2 weeks. can they recover from a big loss at this huge stage of the tournament?

well, there is no easy solution really ... but, i think hiding murali is not a bad move ... when did Aus play SL last? i dont remember when murali has bowled so much from round the wicket to the right-handers .... he seems to have got a few new tricks up his sleeve, which may be better utilised in the finals ...

and if they lose, they will know that they have not lost with their best side ... it would be worse if murali strains that ankle further and is less than 100% for the big games

[keep-it-cool]

didnt tharanga have a few good scores against NZ or England?

[dhruvdeepak]

kic theres no way these guys are tending to injuries without the guys at the ground knowing all about it. and my understanding was Malinga could have played the last game but theyre saving him and dont want to risk.

anyways, SA vs England tomorrow. at least that one counts. and if England wins, hell even WI can have a go.

[keep-it-cool]

kic theres no way these guys are tending to injuries without the guys at the ground knowing all about it. and my understanding was Malinga could have played the last game but theyre saving him and dont want to risk.

anyways, SA vs England tomorrow. at least that one counts. and if England wins, hell even WI can have a go.

I know malinga could have played .. but they rested him .. which actually i agree with. It is the resting of all three strike bowlers in the same match that makes it a bit overdone, i guess.

WI will still need to beat England by a very big margin, wont they? And that is assuming they beat Bangladesh!

[dhruvdeepak]

worse still for SL - this game could be over before the 'replacements' come into play!
as Holding is saying right now, "you lose one, then you lose two and then you're owwt".
ian smith and holding talking about it now. i completely agree. murali might not be affected, hell a rest might serve him well. but what about all the engsturs? many are expecting this to be the WC final in 2 weeks. can they recover from a big loss at this huge stage of the tournament?

well, there is no easy solution really ... but, i think hiding murali is not a bad move ... when did Aus play SL last? i dont remember when murali has bowled so much from round the wicket to the right-handers .... he seems to have got a few new tricks up his sleeve, which may be better utilised in the finals ...

and if they lose, they will know that they have not lost with their best side ... it would be worse if murali strains that ankle further and is less than 100% for the big games

well that can be argued to no end. what if Murali got to bowl and got among their middle order, snapping up a 3fer? wouldnt that score some points? is that 10 over exposure going to help them work Murali out any more than all the video analysis that would no doubt have gone in anyways?
and leaving Murali aside, lets say SL recover now and make 225. Do they expect to give a fight in the field? Murali, Vaas, Malinga form a core part of the spirit upon which this team is built. The Tharangas and Chamaras etc may not take a damaging loss in their stride as well as a Jayasuriya might.


my point is, this is a big game and every game from here is a big game. if SL dont see this as one then they are mistaken. resting key players and mucking around with a well oiled engine 3/4 of the way through the journey doesnt work. i dont know what theyre doing - trying their best to avoid a semis showdown with Aus?

[dhruvdeepak]

kic theres no way these guys are tending to injuries without the guys at the ground knowing all about it. and my understanding was Malinga could have played the last game but theyre saving him and dont want to risk.

anyways, SA vs England tomorrow. at least that one counts. and if England wins, hell even WI can have a go.

I know malinga could have played .. but they rested him .. which actually i agree with. It is the resting of all three strike bowlers in the same match that makes it a bit overdone, i guess.

WI will still need to beat England by a very big margin, wont they? And that is assuming they beat Bangladesh!

well that's why i said they could 'have a go'. by my quick estimate it would need two 100 odd run wins.

[keep-it-cool]

DD, there is a lot of merit in what you say ... the way i see it, it depends on what mindset you go in with. SL have been harping on how they are a full squad, with everyone having the ability to play an international match. Ranatunga, for instance, has been calling for both Bandara and Murali to play in all matches against non sub-continental teams ... especially if conditions help. Maybe this is the last opportunity to test him against some quality opposition. I am personally in favour of being cautious with Malinga and Murali - however small their injuries may be. Resting Vaas also in that context was going overboard, I agree.

But, whatever happens, I thought SL cannot face the Aussies in the semis. Unless Aus lose both today as well as against NZ, they will finish No. 1 .. wont they? And SL is unlikely to finish No.4.

[atticus]

my point is, this is a big game and every game from here is a big game. if SL dont see this as one then they are mistaken. resting key players and mucking around with a well oiled engine 3/4 of the way through the journey doesnt work. i dont know what theyre doing - trying their best to avoid a semis showdown with Aus?

Shouldn't that mean that they have to win against Aus. If they lose here, they may end up at number 4. Ah...never mind, you are saying that if Aus loses here, they might end up at 2/3 and SL also at 2/3. It is so confusing. Although, I think any team will prefer to face Aus in the semis. Their last 3 WC semi performances have not been very good and should've lost each one of them. We've all seen what they do in the finals...

One thing I don't understand is - having decided to rest the key bowlers, should'nt they have bowled 1st after winning the toss - give their young bowlers at least a chance under the usual morning helpful conditions. Now the bowlers will hardly have 250 to bowl at and Aus will trash that in about 35 overs.

[keep-it-cool]

atticus, how can they end up NO. 4? Surely, they will beat Ireland. Which means they end up with 10 points. Surely, SA or England or WI cannot get to 10 points

[atticus]

atticus, how can they end up NO. 4? Surely, they will beat Ireland. Which means they end up with 10 points. Surely, SA or England or WI cannot get to 10 points

You can't assume that, my friend 

Anyway, like i said, I didn't think it through properly. You are right. SL cannot end up at 4 without a miracle from Ireland.

[keep-it-cool]

atticus, how can they end up NO. 4? Surely, they will beat Ireland. Which means they end up with 10 points. Surely, SA or England or WI cannot get to 10 points

You can't assume that, my friend 

lol .. i guess not .. given the way things have gone this WC ... and these guys did lose to Kenya last time around ....

[dhruvdeepak]

DD, there is a lot of merit in what you say ... the way i see it, it depends on what mindset you go in with. SL have been harping on how they are a full squad, with everyone having the ability to play an international match. Ranatunga, for instance, has been calling for both Bandara and Murali to play in all matches against non sub-continental teams ... especially if conditions help. Maybe this is the last opportunity to test him against some quality opposition. I am personally in favour of being cautious with Malinga and Murali - however small their injuries may be. Resting Vaas also in that context was going overboard, I agree.

But, whatever happens, I thought SL cannot face the Aussies in the semis. Unless Aus lose both today as well as against NZ, they will finish No. 1 .. wont they? And SL is unlikely to finish No.4.

in terms of the points table:
it looks like SL cant go to 4th place unless England jumps past them into 3rd place with two ~100 run wins and Ireland beats SL 
if Aussies win today they are guaranteed 1st place and it'll be NZ vs SL semi.

yes after reviewing, i dont see how its possible for SL to face Aus in the semis. net runrate makes it too unlikely even if the results go the right way

[keep-it-cool]

Actually, if SL beat Ireland, England cannot jump over them irrespective of run rate ... they will end up with 8 points and SL will be on 10.

And, DD, I think WI is practically out. Even if they get 2 100 run victories, their run rate will not shift much because the denominator is too high now (it would be around 9 matches ie 450 overs, if i am not mistaken).

And they have a NRR difference of 1 vis-a-vis SA - nearest team, to them on NRR. But this is not valid, because if SA win against England, they anyway go out of reach on the points front.

Now, if SA lose, then they have to catch up with England. And England is further away on the NRR front (difference of 1.289 ... i.e. this will require a 580 run margin victory .. cumulatively over two matches).

So, I think, WI is practically out of it. It is down to Eng v/s SA. WI can only play spoiler for England.

[keep-it-cool]

Why have Aussies not taken the third powerplay?

[atticus]

I just looked up the tiebreaker rules for the WC and it seems so stupid. Apparently, head-head record is only 4th on the list even below the number of wickets taken per number of balls. I've never seen head-head record not being the number 1 rule to break ties in any sport before. Who came up with this idea and how does it make sense? Anyway, the result of this rule is that NZ cannot jump Aus on the table even if they beat them and end up with the same number of points (12) because Aus are so far ahead on the NRR.

Of couse NZ could beat Aus by 200 runs
 

[Cernunnos]

Chamara is a minnow basher. i will prove it.

 107*  -     -  - 1 L 4th ODI      v Ind in Ind 2006/07 at Visakhapatnam [2525]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  55*  -     -  - 1 W World Cup  4 v Ber in WI  2006/07 at Port of Spain [2534]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  52*  -     -  - 1 W World Cup 16 v BD  in WI  2006/07 at Port of Spain [2546]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  59   -     -  - 1 W World Cup 20 v Ind in WI  2006/07 at Port of Spain [2550]
   -  DNB    0  0 2

then he plays against the big teams and what happens?

   9   -     -  - 1 L World Cup 26 v SA  in WI  2006/07 at Providence [2556]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  23   -     -  - 1 W World Cup 30 v WI  in WI  2006/07 at Providence [2560]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
  23   -     -  - 1 W World Cup 33 v Eng in WI  2006/07 at North Sound [2563]
   -  DNB    0  0 2
   -  DNB    3  0 1 W World Cup 39 v NZ  in WI  2006/07 at St George's [2569]
  23   -     -  - 2

You forgot that Chamara had a superb 152 in the 2nd innings against Bond and Vettori to win a test in NZ. There is serious class in this guy.

Go Lanka! Go!

[poondu]

Aus 59/0 in 10 overs

SL following the same strategy they used against India in India . They are encouraging FTB's like Gilly and
Hayden (Australian Uthappa) and giving them false confidence.... 

[Zacked]

Hayden in absolute awesome form... Haydens comeback better than SGs???

[vincent]

This is all a matter of strategy which the great football teams have followed time and again at this point of the tournament. For SL it makes sense to rest key weapons and take it easy. They have nothing to lose. They will end up in SF with NZ anyway. So why waste energy?

[Zacked]

lol Haydos Gone...  

[cricinfo]

Hayden in absolute awesome form... Haydens comeback better than SGs???

i dont think there is any comparison, i personally feel he is much better player than SG and also the comparison might be a bit unfiar simply because Hayden had to deal purely with the problem of his form whereas SG not only had to deal with form but also other stupid stuff .

[Zacked]

Arnold strikes ..... Gilly gone...

[justforkix]

Vaas rested
Murali rested
Arnold gets a 2-fer

This game is FIXED !!!!!!

[fineleg]

Hayden in absolute awesome form... Haydens comeback better than SGs???

Absolutely.

[Zacked]

Puppa gone.... good low catch,,, bandar strikes

[justforkix]

Bandara gets Puppy. great catch !!!!!

[poondu]

Aussie Top order deliberately throwing away wickets to get Hussey and Symo batting practice.. 

[Zacked]

Ponting was out IMO... wat do u guys think

[poondu]

Zacked , what happened ? At work, not watching .

[justforkix]

Ponting was out IMO... wat do u guys think

1 missing frame got Punter the benefit of doubt.

[Zacked]

yep...at work ... watching though...

[Zacked]

Symmo Power on show... tremendous power...