YorksLanka
Well-known member
Sri Lanka - still no stable opening partnership, lower middle order v inconsistent, bowlers cant take wickets(apart from that their great lol) oh and tail needs directions on which end of the bat to hold...
Eh? Dilshan + Thirimanne is decent. Kula+Malinga+Herath is a pretty good core attack. Your lower middle order and lack of decent 3rd seamer is probably your biggest weakness.Sri Lanka - still no stable opening partnership, lower middle order v inconsistent, bowlers cant take wickets(apart from that their great lol) oh and tail needs directions on which end of the bat to hold...
Australia have the fewest weaknesses for the conditions but if you were gonna be picky I would suggest a lack of a real outstanding odi bat.Australia - hard to see many, but I feel we're too much icing, not enough cake, we don't have a gun spinner and it remains to be seen how well we replace Faulkner (I suspect he'll be back by the quarter-finals though)
You honestly think Finch is a stronger batsman than Watson?Australia's biggest weakness is Shane Watson IMO. If he doesn't bat and bowl well then it's something other teams should look to exploit.
Not at all, I think Shane Watson is a class act with bat and ball and has been the greatest allrounder in the world a few times throughout his career. However I think he has been pretty out of form for a while now.You honestly think Finch is a stronger batsman than Watson?
Kulasekara is a proper decent ODI bowler. Mathews is the worlds best ODI allrounder.Sri Lanka:
Very thin bowling after Malinga and Herath. If Perera and Mendis are our 4/5 bowlers we will get murdered by NZ, Ind, Aus, SA.
I actually agree with him. Kulasekera is not at his best and conditions don't suit him. Mathews is a top all rounder but only because his batting is so strong. He's only a part time bowler who's coming back from injury, 5 overs max from him. I get the feeling he's reluctant to bowl himself these days.Kulasekara is a proper decent ODI bowler. Mathews is the worlds best ODI allrounder.
I think you're selling the bowling a bit short. But yeah you're definitely lacking a 3rd specialist seamer. Dilshan/Perera should be the ones to make up the remaining overs. I'd say if this WC was being played in SL conditions you'd be right up there with one of the better attacks.
Bit of a shame that next time you get the chance in more helpful home conditions you'll be missing so many ATG SL players.
Thats not true he's miles better at home then anywhere else and NZ is becoming quite a batmans paradise.Conditions suit Kulasekara more than anywhere else apart from England.
Thats not true he's better at home then anywhere else and NZ is becoming quite a batmans paradise.Conditions suit Kulasekara more than anywhere else apart from England.
dilly, yes, but Thirri hasnt proven any consistency yet as for the bowlers, Malinga- not fit yet(if ever),Kula- lost pace, can make it wobble but if he gets it wrong he becomes a 120k's military medium and herath- yes good but more about economy than ripping through a team in these conditions..Eh? Dilshan + Thirimanne is decent. Kula+Malinga+Herath is a pretty good core attack. Your lower middle order and lack of decent 3rd seamer is probably your biggest weakness.
No what I mean is Dilshan is legitimately one of the best in the world, he makes up for the mild direness of thiri.dilly, yes, but Thirri hasnt proven any consistency yet as for the bowlers, Malinga- not fit yet(if ever),Kula- lost pace, can make it wobble but if he gets it wrong he becomes a 120k's military medium and herath- yes good but more about economy than ripping through a team in these conditions..
Don't forget the classic semi final collapse against a subcontinental side.Wouldn't be surprised if NZ's traditional weaknesses make a starring appearance at the wrong time during the tournament:
- facing genuinely fast bowling
- bowling at the death
I don't think there's been much stress-testing of either of the above in our warm-ups or last six months.
Despite this curmudgeonly post I'm still feeling unhealthily optimistic though.