Tailender Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 With a population of just 20 million, SL along with NZ (pop 4 million) are two nations known to consistently punch above their weight. SL has a clear lack of talent when it comes to bowling but what they do is use their players efficiently. That is why their investments usually pay off. But their pace attack is particularly troubling right now. These are their recent investments: N. Pradeep: 4 matches, 3 wickets at 160 Lakmal: 14 matches, 20 wickets at 66 Prasad: 12 matches, 22 wickets at 59 Kulasekara: 20 matches, 46 wickets at 36 Eranga: 7 matches, 21 wickets at 37 Welegedara: 20 matches, 54 wickets at 40 (promising bowler - reason SL are the only Asian team to beat SA in SA in a Test Match over the last 2-3 years) ------------- This is all because their investments in bowlers like Mahroof, Fernando, and Malinga did not pay off. Do you guys think the bowlers above have it in them to become international standard over the next few years? At the moment these guys would struggle to make it into a Pakistani domestic team... It's a really worrying sign. Eranga, and Welegedara are the only two I see as long term prospects
G_B_ Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 Its not just the bowling. Sanga, Mahela, Herath etc are now 36 odd years old. Sri lanka are just not producing the youth for the longer formats. In the ODIs they have been buffered from Sanga and his sensational form. IMO Sri lanka is going to fade from being a test outfit. They will remain a very good limited overs outfit. its fair to say they deserve to be ranked number 1 in the T20s.
vvvslaxman Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 Their system is school system. Not first class system. So they depend on some unusual skills to make a mark at the international level.
alexander Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 It is wholly unfair to write off guys who have played 3-4-5 or so tests. It takes some time to adjust to test cricket, find your range, understand the nuances of the 5 day game. So those guys I will withhold judgement on at this time. It takes 15-20 odd tests to get a fair understanding of a players worth.
alexander Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 I will state that sometimes you see a guy and he just looks out of his league in test cricket. Mark Elham for example. But usually, it takes a bit of time.
cricketman Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 Unless there is something drastic, I think SL will be amongst the worst teams in international cricket for the next decade or so. No player is inspiring. Once Sanga, Mahela, Dilshan etc are gone for good SL cricket will be in real trouble. The financial situation with the SLC doesn't help either.
Pagalpanti Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 After the trio Dilshan(ODIs), Mahila and Sanga leave.. they'll become a minnow again. Might give BD a good competition.
alexander Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 They have some decent ODI players - especially as Malinga and co still operate in the short formats. Dilshan too. But pace bowling is a worry indeed. This is very sad as Sri Lanka is the nicest country I have ever been to in terms of people. Smiling, bubbly, cricket loving. Perhaps after England, they are my most favoured team.
Square Drive Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 SL U19 and U17 teams had successful tours to England in last couple years doing well in both youth test and youth ODI series. When u consider SL cricketers show their real age (so they are real U19s and U17s) unlike other SC countries :D that's pretty impressive result. But the 1st class system is very poor at the moment so not sure how well those players gonna develop. One thing for sure is that they'll have their WK batsman batting above #6 in the batting order in all formats for the next 6/7 years. Producing them like a factory. Current test team - Sanga, PJ, K. Silva and Chandimal, then Kusal Janith. Highest run scorer in recently finished premier league tournament - Niroshan Dickwella (coming from Sanga's school). Also surprisingly, not short of medium pace bowling all rounders bit like New Zealand team in the 90s. They'll serve well in LOIs at least. But the most hopeful thing is there are 100s of things to improve the standard of cricket in the country for a good cricket board.
Scarves Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 They need more tests, you gain experience with more tests and a better grassroot and domestic setup. They aren't that bad and they are pretty competitive overseas than people give them credit for. They just need more games.
kaptaan Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 After the trio Dilshan(ODIs)' date=' Mahila and Sanga leave.. they'll become a minnow again. Might give BD a good competition.[/quote'] they have kusal perera AKA new sanath :dance:
sillymidoff Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 it's great to see some of the new guys step up. actully the retirement of dilshan has strengthened the test team. i expect the same to happen when mahela retires. sanga and herath will be the big losses. i can see both of them being around for at least a couple more years in tests though.
rageaddict Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 Somehow they always avoid a series defeat against India at home. Have they ever lost a Test Series at home to India in the last 20 years ?
Zero_Unit Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 am curious to know aswell. Dilshan, Sanga and Mahela will retire in no time. I don't see malinga being around for more then 2-3 more years in the national team with all his injuries. They have a new team to build again. I guess they will go through what australia is going through after loosing their star players
Crookbond Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 it's great to see some of the new guys step up. actully the retirement of dilshan has strengthened the test team. i expect the same to happen when mahela retires. sanga and herath will be the big losses. i can see both of them being around for at least a couple more years in tests though. When the hell did Dilshan retire?
sillymidoff Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 dilshan retired from tests about 6 months ago. mahela has been living on borrowed time as a test player for about 2 years. the only worthwhile contribution from him in the last 2 years has been the 200 he scored against pakistan
Marut Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 They are already an extremely weak touring test side. When Mahela and Sanga retire, they will be a terrible touring team, probably on par with Bangladesh. Even Herath is not getting any younger. They will be a good side at home and in the shorter formats.
CrazyCric Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 They are already an extremely weak touring test side. When Mahela and Sanga retire' date=' they will be a terrible touring team, probably on par with Bangladesh. Even Herath is not getting any younger. They will be a good side at home and in the shorter formats.[/quote'] We have been a decent touring test side in the past 2-3 years , not great as AUS, SA or ENG at some times, but certainly were better than poor touring test sides such as ZIM, BAN or IND. When Mahela and Sanga retire , new faces will come. We survived when Arjuna and Aravinda retired so same will happen when Sanga and Mahela calls it a day.. youngsters will put their hand up and will fill the shoes. We have already proven ourselves in ODI /T20 arena in all kinds of conditions. I don't think any sane person will question that .
thongale Posted April 21, 2014 Posted April 21, 2014 At least we don;t get white washed with regularity.
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