Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series

[kevshat]

This series has crept up on us a bit. Having played out an interesting test series, England now go into multi-captain mode and play Sri Lanka in a T20 international and then a 5 match ODI series. The T20 is Saturday and the ODI series begins on Tuesday. All matches are on Sky so hopefully this weather pisses off and we can get cracking on making some serious wonga :ok. Schedule:

Sat Jun 25 13:30 GMT | 14:30 local 14:30 BST	Only T20I - England v Sri Lanka County Ground, Bristol	12 - 21° C
Tue Jun 28 12:00 GMT | 13:00 local 13:00 BST	1st ODI - England v Sri Lanka Kennington Oval, London	14 - 24° C
Fri Jul 1 09:45 GMT | 10:45 local 10:45 BST	2nd ODI - England v Sri Lanka Headingley, Leeds	N/A
Sun Jul 3 09:45 GMT | 10:45 local 10:45 BST	3rd ODI - England v Sri Lanka Lord's, London	N/A
Wed Jul 6 13:00 GMT | 14:00 local 14:00 BST	4th ODI - England v Sri Lanka Trent Bridge, Nottingham	N/A
Sat Jul 9 09:45 GMT | 10:45 local 10:45 BST	5th ODI - England v Sri Lanka Old Trafford, Manchester	N/A

[Rushdentom]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series C. Kieswetter Top Team Batsmen 7/2 Top quality Twenty20 batsman who can get on top of the poor quality Sri Lankan bowlers and get a high score England Highest Opening Partnership 10/11 Kieswetter and Lumb will want to prove they are international quality batsmen and will get on top of the previously stated poor quality Sri Lankan bowlers and will get a higher score than Jayasuriya and Jayawardene

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series A few for me in this match. 3pts Sri Lanka to win T20 match 5/4 Stan James Sri Lanka appear to have been written off here based on the test series but this limited overs leg of the tour will be completely different to that. For starters Sri Lanka have a competitive bowling attack for this series whereas England have rested one or two of their gun men particularly in this T20. England are going to go into this match with a seam attack of Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and either Steven Finn or Jade Dernbach so two of the three will be very inexperienced and fairly expensive even at domestic level and then there's the captain Stuart Broad who has rarely bowled near his best so far this summer. I like England with the bat but I am surprised they haven't picked Jon Trott to be the glue they all bat around. Sri Lanka have Lasith Malinga back in their side as is Angelo Mathews while at one stage Nuwan Kulasekera was the best ranked ODI bowler in the world. Suraj Randiv is a very clever spin bowler too. The likes of Jayawardene and Sangakkara are classy as we all know while Jayasuriya scored some in the warm up match. Mathews, Mendis and Perera can all belt a big ball so I think Sri Lanka, who battered England last time the two sides met in limited overs cricket in the world cup quarter final, are a big price here and I'm happy tot ake the 5/4. 3pts Sri Lanka Highest 1st 6 Overs 10/11 Blue Square I like Sri Lanka here. As I've said above England's seam attack is going to be inexperienced and relatively nervous. Even Broad will be nervous as he's skippering his country for the first time. Sanath Jayasuriya isn't the man you want to bowl at when you are nervous either. Jayawardene isn't the easiest man to face either. Sri Lanka have experience with the new ball. Lasith Malinga has already got those yorkers spearing in on this tour while Kulasekera and Mathews can be tight. England have a couple of quick scorers at the top of the order but both will be under pressure to prove their worth to the side whereas Jayasuriya plays his last ever T20 match so other than wanting to go out with a bang he has no pressure on him. I think the bowlers will win the first 6 overs for Sri Lanka and I'm kind of surprised they're not a fair bit shorter with the Malinga factor thrown in. 3pts Over 8.5 wides 5/6 William Hill This line looks reasonably low. Lasith Malinga is a serial widest when he gets going while the likes of Woakes, Finn and Dernbach can all spray the ball down the leg side for England. There's a good deal of left and right handers in both sides so bowlers will constantly have to keep changing their lines when the strike is rotated and that won't help them when it comes to bowling tight lines. I think we'll see a few wides on what can be a tricky pitch to control the ball on at Bristol and this line looks low enough to take the overs. 1pt ew E.Morgan Top England Batsman 5/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) Eoin Morgan could be batting as high as number four today which gives him a massive chance to top score. He should avoid the Malinga early burst and the way he plays spin I think he'll be coming in at just the right time. We've seen him maul the weaker element of this Sri Lanka attack in the test series and when he's in full flow it's probably only Kevin Pietersen who can match him for scoring rates. Morgan scored 71 in the Rose Bowl test and did it very easily and with the straight boundaries being relatively accessible here at Bristol I think he has an excellent chance to top score here, particularly if Malinga and partner can get stuck into the openers.

[BIG X]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Welll played Kev, A Full house with relative ease :clap

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Cheers mate. Got a bit of luck with a dropped catch for once which gave Morgan his top score. Hopefully I can transfer that good form into the county game now too.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Ok a decent start to the series for me. +14.98 for the T20. No real point in waiting for my first two bets of the ODI series. Nothing is going to happen between now and Tuesday to change my mind and the odds are only going to disappear. 4pts Sri Lanka to win ODI series 6/4 Betfred 1pt Sri Lanka to win ODI series 5-0 33/1 Betfred Even in English conditions I'm very surprised Sri Lanka are as big as 6/4 to win this ODI series. They showed in the T20 match that when it comes to limited overs cricket they just play a different game to us. We saw what they are all about when they demolished us in the World Cup quarter final and they repeated the dose in Bristol on Saturday. In those two matches, in the scheduled 70 overs we've taken one Sri Lankan wicket and he's only over here as a political move before retirement after the first ODI. Ok England should be a lot better with the bat in this series with Cook, Trott and Bell - England's run machines - coming in for Lumb, Wright and I would imagine Bopara but with the ball I cringe. Jimmy Anderson is going to come in as attack leader but he's been getting slapped around the park in ODI cricket for far too long recently while Woakes and Dernbach are expensive at county level. I don't think I'll ever get Jade Dernbach's 'qualities'. So he bowls a slower ball. Whoopee do. All that means is it gets to the boundary slightly slower than his 'quicker' ball. Sri Lanka tucked into this rotten bowling attack in the T20 and their chief feaster is still to come back into the side in Dilshan. Their bowling attack has good variety and we ain't going to score too many off Malinga in this series. I fully expect Sri Lanka to win the series. Last time they were over here for an ODI series they won it 5-0 and I can see this one going the same way. The only match I give us a chance in would be Lords but even then they can go well there. The other four matches conditions will be right up their street with the ball doing next to naff all. If Dilshan comes back in the form he was in during the tests then with the likes of Jayawardene and Sangakkara in good nick and players like Mathews and Mendis able to score runs at 5 and 6 then I think Sri Lanka could do the clean sweep, especially if England start looking towards their series with India in a few weeks and making sure all their bowlers are fit for that. At 33/1 I'll pay to see how many of the 5 the tourists can win.

[Leeds Legend]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series I think I'll run with the 5-0 too. Looks generous to me.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series One more outright for me before the series begins. 2pts K.Pietersen Top England Series Batsman 4/1 Skybet Normally Kevin Pietersen is the first person I'd dismiss but that's mainly on the price but now he's hit a price where I'm happy to include him in my calculations. I'm particularly happy to include him because there's doubts about the 3 men above him in the order. Alastair Cook has the captaincy duties to deal with and isn't a natural one day batsman despite him being a test match run machine. Craig Kieswetter is coming back into the side and has something to prove and is under pressure to do so while Jonathan Trott isn't in brilliant nick given that since his double ton in Cardiff in his four innings in all cricket 3 have seen him out for less than 5. The other issue I'd have with Trott over Pietersen would be the respective scoring rates. Kevin Pietersen is in excellent touch at the minute and could've had a couple of tons in the test series had it not been for unselfish batting trying to propel the team score. He looked good again in the T20 and now is the time for him to come good in the ODI format. He's no longer a shoo in where this side in concerned anymore and many more failures and he could be binned for a Taylor or a Hildreth so I think we'll see a good series from KP. His main dangers look to be Morgan and Bell to me but both will bat below him so I'm quite happy to take KP at a price we've probably not been able to get on him at since he carted the Aussies all over England in 2005.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series 4 for me in the opening ODI. Surprised at some of the prices/lines on offer so far. 4pts England Most 6's 11/10 Skybet I think we saw in the World Cup that Sri Lanka aren't a big hitting side and that was on wickets which were true and which could be trusted. I suppose you could say this one will be like that too but the hot atmospheric conditions might make the ball wobble a bit. England have no such problems on the hitting front. Craig Kieswetter can do it up top while Pietersen, Morgan and Bell have feasted on this Sri Lankan attack in the test series while someone like Patel can clear the shortish boundaries to the OCS Stand here. When you consider Sangakkara and Jayawardene will probably bat a significant proportion of this test match and neither are naturally big or destructive hitters then the 11/10 for England to hit the most 6's are is big and a price which I'm happy to take. 3pts Sri Lanka Highest 1st 15 Overs 10/11 Bet365 Happy to take this price at Bet365 where the tie isn't included. In the T20 on Saturday Sri Lanka won the 6 over bet by over 20 runs yet even with England bringing in two plodders in their top 3 in this match they are still the same price. Sri Lanka have been boosted in the 15 over regard by Dilshan being passed fit because he will get on with it, as will Jayasuriya and you'd think the way the ball races across the square here he'll tuck in nicely on some very nice England bowling early doors. Ok Anderson's back and he might be a bit tighter than we were on Saturday but there's talk of Dernbach playing so he and Broad will bowl in the 15 overs at some point. This is Jade Dernbach with a domestic economy rate of 6.21. Carnage could ensue when he gets the ball. Lasith Malinga will bowl some of the opening 15 for Sri Lanka which will make England's task even harder and when you consider Cook and Trott are military slow scorers I think this is a fantastic price for Sri Lanka to lead after 15 when their openers play a different game to ours and when their attack has Malinga in it. 3pts A.Mathews Performance Pts - Under 40 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. I'm a massive fan of Angelo Mathews but I think this line could be a touch high for him as he's still not fully fit enough to bowl. That would mean he would need to score 40 runs batting at number 6 where you'd have to say on a good Oval deck it's no gimme that he even gets into bat or if he does it maybe too late into the piece to get 40 or he'll have to take a few catches. Given the one he dropped at Bristol on Saturday I'm not too confident he'll do that either so the unders are a natural pick for me. A fully fit, able to bowl Angelo Mathews and this line would be well within his reach. Take out his bowling and factor in his likely lack of batting time and we've got ourselves a nice under here. 1pt T.Dilshan Man of the Match 12/1 William Hill The price is too big for me here on a batsman who will catch the eye if he scores a few. And the chances are he will score a few. He scored a ton in the World Cup quarter final where he looked fantastic and he's already piled up plenty of runs on this tour. I don't think he's fit enough to bowl which is why I'll stick to 1pt and probably why we're getting 12/1 but England won't throw anything he can't handle at him early doors and if he gets in and up to and past 40 he can be a pain in the arse to get out as we saw in Colombo and Lords. I expect Sri Lanka to win this match so barring a Malinga wonderspell you would think we're getting 12/1 on Dilshan top scoring with a chunky score. Opening the batting gives him the chance to get just that so at the price I can't ignore a small wager on the Sri Lankan captain here.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series One of those annoying nights tonight when my two winning bets were both voided and my two losing bets both stood :wall. Conditions went right against Sri Lanka so the 5-0 went at the first opportunity as well so -5 on the night and back to +9.98 for the series now.

[BIG X]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Unlucky Kev. One of those nights when nearly everything went England's way. I think your analysis of the two teams is still bang on though and I will be looking to get on Sri Lanka for the next match. Hopefully after such a big win we might even get a juicy price for Sri Lanka?? On a brighter note I see your Barath bet came in with a 3 :lol

[BIG X]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series

I think your analysis of the two teams is still bang on though and I will be looking to get on Sri Lanka for the next match. Hopefully after such a big win we might even get a juicy price for Sri Lanka??

Just had a search around and found a best price of 2.30. I'm happy to play this with medium stakes. 2nd ODI England v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Win @ 2.30 with Bet365 I think England played really well today and they coped with the conditions and the break in play much better than Sri Lanka. Whilst England played well, for whatever reason Sri Lanka never got going with all their top batsmen falling cheaply. I just don't see that happening again and at the current prices then for me Sri Lanka have got to be a decent value bet. I think SL are the better side here and I expect them to come back strong after today's heavy defeat. IMO England are still a long way from being a consistent one day side and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they followed today up with a poor performance.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Good luck Big X. I'm going to restrain myself in going for Sri Lanka. Not because I don't think they'll win but because I'm effectively on them to win outright as they ain't winning the series from 2-0 down. I will go with 3 though. 5pts England Most 6's 10/11 William Hill This is going to be a regular bet for me in this series I think while the price remains a backable one. Pretty much everything I've said whenever these two sides have played in ODI's be it against each other or other sides continue to play true. Sri Lanka don't hit many 6's and one of their dangers in Jayasuriya has packed up now. England hit a lot more 6's under the Flower regime than we ever did. We trust our batting line up while there's still an element or two of this Sri Lankan attack which can go round the park and they've got to find Jayasuriya's overs from somewhere now as well. I expect this to be a high scoring match and one which England can hit the most 6's in. 3pts T.Bresnan's Performance Pts - 40&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Tim Bresnan is on his home track here so he'll want to go well and I think this line is low enough for someone who should play a reasonable key role in the match. He'll take the new ball and probably bowl throughout the powerplay overs as well as at the death so there's every chance he'll pick up the two wickets we need for him to cover this target in cheap fashion but even if he doesn't the stats suggest he'll get a bat. Only once since the opening ODI against Bangladesh last summer - some 22 ODI's ago - have England not lost 6 wickets in an ODI innings. Bresnan will come in when England are 5 down. The only time we didn't lose that many wickets was against Holland in the World Cup which barely counts you'd say. So that gives him a 2nd scoring option and with the Sri Lankan's hitting 360 degrees he's always got a 3rd option with a catch or two. He contributed a bit of everything at The Oval where he made up a total of 53pts and on his home ground he can cover 40pts as well. 1pt E.Morgan Top England Batsman 6/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) I'm always happy to take Eoin Morgan with the place terms on offer here. He's such a good one day batsman and a confident one as well. He's been in good form all summer so far and that includes a top score in the T20 match. I would expect Sri Lanka to play an extra spinner here to try and contain England a bit more and that would play into Morgan's strengths as he plays spin brilliantly. He plays seam just as well and if all goes to plan he'll avoid the baulk of Malinga's overs which would appear to be the most dangerous time to bat so at 6/1 with such good place terms Morgan looks a very good each way bet to me, especially having already top scored in the coloured clothing this week.

[Wanderer89]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Morgan looks such a threat every time he bats, was a close call but no doubt about it that he was the only player that looked like taking it to Sri Lanka. Another good call along with the 6's :ok

[BIG X]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series

Just had a search around and found a best price of 2.30. I'm happy to play this with medium stakes. 2nd ODI England v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Win @ 2.30 with Bet365 I think England played really well today and they coped with the conditions and the break in play much better than Sri Lanka. Whilst England played well, for whatever reason Sri Lanka never got going with all their top batsmen falling cheaply. I just don't see that happening again and at the current prices then for me Sri Lanka have got to be a decent value bet. I think SL are the better side here and I expect them to come back strong after today's heavy defeat. IMO England are still a long way from being a consistent one day side and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they followed today up with a poor performance.

Happy with that win, and a decent game of cricket. It's shaping up to be a competitive series and that should provide some more value opportunities on the betting front. I'm almost getting sick of saying it... but well done Kev some more good shouts. :ok

[BankofKauto]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Sri Lanka can still be backed @ 6/5 to win the series which looks like a nice price to me as I would make them favs. England still have those overs in the middle of the game where they cant score quickly enough against spin. Add to this the fact that needing to score runs off Malinga at the end of as innings is so difficult I give the edge to Sri Lanka. Well done to the guys who took the 6/4 at the start of the series.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Good shout with Sri Lanka on Friday Mr X :clap. Was a good day for me too with Morgan and England 6's safely in. Bresnan's performance was denied by a dropped catch by Swann in the slips but it was still a +8.75 match which puts me +18.73 for the series now. Taking 4 in the 3rd ODI on Sunday. 4pts Sri Lanka to win 3rd ODI 11/10 Boylesports Don't think I need to elaborate too much on what I've said in the series win write up really. Sri Lanka showed again on Friday that they play a different game to us when the sun is out and the sun will be out at Lords on Sunday. They've walloped us chasing in the World Cup and T20 and walloped us batting first. England, as I said in the series write up, have massive issues for me in their bowling attack. We don't take enough wickets and we bowl so much crap at the death that teams continually get away from us. Yet despite conceding 310 all the calls are for dropping either Trott or Cook cos they don't score quickly enough :lol. Get rid of sacks of shit like Dernbach and rediscover the Stuart Broad that pitches the ball up and we've got half a chance. That won't happen before this game though so I'm firmly on Sri Lanka's side here. 7pts Under 5.5 6's 5/6 William Hill One of my favourite Lords bets this as anyone who has followed me in the past will know. Lords is a huge outfield and even with the good batting wickets it's rare two big hitting sides cover this line. We can all but take on Sri Lanka from this equation. They hit their only 6 in the 50th over on Friday on a ground which is a lot smaller than this one is. They only hit one in their knock at The Oval too. The likes of Jayawardene and Sangakkara just don't hit 6's. England have a couple in Cook and Trott who don't as well so this 6's line looks pretty safe to me. 1pt ew E.Morgan Top England Batsman 5/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) Another bet I can't really elaborate on. Everything I said in the Headingley write up remains true with this bet. If all goes to plan Morgan will come in against the spin which he plays so well and once he's in a big score often follows. Morgan's brought home the bacon twice in this limited overs stint already so I'll take him to complete the hat trick here. 1pt S.Randiv Top Sri Lanka Bowler 9/2 William Hill I think this is a nice price. It's a price which is bigger than it would normally be because of the Malinga presence but I'm happy to bypass Malinga. Let's be honest England's ability to play spin in limited overs cricket, Eoin Morgan aside, is an utter joke. None of our batsman can play it and I actually think Suraj Randiv is a very good bowler. He's got the top spinner, the off spinner and the googly and with the slope at Lords all 3 can be effective. We've had a dry spell this last few days so I expect a wicket which will turn a bit here. The sun will be out so the ball shouldn't hoop around for the likes of Lakmal and Kulasekera so at 9/2 I'll take Sri Lanka's number one spinner to take the most wickets in England's innings here.

[Spooner]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series England v Sri Lanka [3rd ODI] - 2pts A.Cook Top England Batsman 4/1 Boylesports Alastair Cook stuggled in the first ODI but played a little better at Headingley scoring 48 from 52 balls, tried to go for the big shot which was his downfall and was pretty much the story of England's innings. I think will see another good knock from Cook here and hopefully the bigger shots come off today, its an important series for him as captain.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Good shout on Cook, Spooner :clap:clap. I'm going in again on Sri Lanka. 4pts Sri Lanka to win 3rd ODI 4/5 Stan James Absolutely no idea what this price is all about because England's 246/7 is a good 50 short of par on this wicket. The ball has done nothing and England have gone in with the same expensive bowling attack. If Dilshan comes off, on a ground he's already walloped 190 odd at on this tour, then this target will be reduced to nothing in no time. It's low enough for Jayawardene and Sangakkara to bat at their own pace and they also have the likes of Mathews in hand. England's attack is there for the taking anyway and with Sri Lanka not having to push the boat out to get to this total 4/5 looks a massive price.

[Spooner]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Cheers, doesn't look to comfortable when he has to start upping it though does he. In his defence he wasn't supported very well today from the others. Agree that this total should not be enough and the above price is on the generous side.

[RussP]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Great calls Kev on what transpired to almost be 2 max bets. Both never in doubt either, superb stuff mate:clap:clap Nice call on Cookie too, Spooner:clap Great day in this thread again:ok

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series That has to be about as embarassing as it can get for England. To have a pair messing about like that for 5 overs literally taking the piss out of them is a shambles. Our 'bowling attack' continues to surprise me with it's ineptitude. On the betting front, twas a good day for me although the player bets didn't go to plan Sri Lanka and the 6's did. +10.43 for the match and +29.16 for the series overall and surely on the evidence of the last 3 days, it won't be long before the SL series win bet comes in as well.

[BIG X]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series I was out and about yesterday so I didn't get to post. Looks like another good day in here though so well done to all backers. You are right about it being embarrassing. I can't remember the last time I saw anything quite like that. Surprising thing for me is that Sri Lanka are still at Evens. I can't find any reason to move away from backing them again. Am I missing something here?? Maybe the conditions will favour England? Dilshan still hasn't come off in this series and I don't think that can continue. Chandimal will now be full of confidence while Jayawardene is just playing beautifully. I think Sri Lanka could have easily chased another 50 - 80 runs if required. While England are still getting bogged down in their scoring rate and without the white ball swinging don't look a very potent attack. The only real concern I have is that England are sure to be stung from the way Sri Lanka took the mick at the end of the match. We could see an England response, but my betting still has to come down to the fact I believe Sri Lanka are much the better side and I am again getting them at Evens.

[Gizmo722]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series I see changes with the England team for the next ODI. Either Trott or Bell will be dropped due to the massive imbalance to the batting line up. I think the penny has dropped that having 2 dawdlers in the top 3 doesnt work in the 50 over format. Patel could come in for either. On the bowling front Dernbach might be rested. Bought in for his magical slower ball, at international level the batters pick it easily. He has looked county standard at best and with Finn waiting it might be the time to play a bowler that takes wickets. With the changes that might be made and the odds falling a bit SL odds dont look as tempting as the last 2 games. I really cant see England being as bad as they have been in the last 2. Goodluck all :hope

[Leeds Legend]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series I can't fathom our inability to score at 5.5 per over in the first 20 overs, especially on a good pitch like the one at Lords against a largely inoccuous attack. Cook shouldn't be in the side, he scores too slowly and makes the man at the other end make mistakes. Either Pietersen or Morgan should open the innings with Kieswetter. Have Bell at #3 with Collingwood back in the side. One of Bresnan or Broad must go, preferably Broad. He's got a seriously bad attitude and doesn't look like taking wickets. A spell in the cooler wouldn't do him any harm. What I don't get is why we copy other sides with tactics, it's either the keeper opening the innings or picking batters that can bowl. Just look at the best players we have and start from there. Preferably with Bopara as far away from the side as possible. The day of the pinchhitter has passed, yet we've barely tried it. If they want to go down that route they might as well shove Swann at the top of the order. Dernbach is terrible, get rid.

[TheBigWheelerDealer]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series 4th One day International England vs Sri Lanka I don't really see what England are going to do differently to win this game. Sri Lanka are on a roll here and are extremely confident. Like BigX said, Dilshan has yet to score big and I see every reason why he won't do so on the 6th of July when a SriLankan victory will seal a win for a side who finished a poor second in the Tests. They would like to salvage something form this tour and winning the 4th ODI is a huge incentive. England are still tinkering around looking for a winning combination. I can't believe they are yet again favourites to win and I'd have taken Sri Lanka with massive stakes at 8/11 so Evens with various bookmakers is a gift. Jump on it now because I think this will definitely shorten to 5/6 on the morning of the game.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Some interesting points. I don't disagree with too many. It's fair enough that England want a quick scoring opener but they really need to realise that Kieswetter's Taunton record is a lot better than his non-Taunton record. I've said for a long time that one day cricket needs specialists and that would mean our keeper being James Foster but that won't happen. I think part of the reason why we don't score quickly to begin with in our innings is because we currently have Tim Bresnan in at 7 so we can't really take many risks because if he's in somewhere between 25-35 overs we're fcuked. I'd make 2 changes for the next game. Patel/Bopara (depending on the nature of the wicket) for Broad and Finn for that useless shitheap Dernbach. Quite how Chris Tremlett was left out of this squad having battered them for 3 tests is beyond me :eek. I think Sri Lanka will win the game all things being equal. England are a bit like Andy Murray. Looks good against the weaker sides but when they come up against the very best in ODI's they are found to be massively short. I'm going to wait before I back the tourists though because there are showers forecast for Wednesday which could make an impact on things.

[Leeds Legend]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series I think we get too drawn into this idea that straight up and down bowlers like Tremlett are fodder in limited overs cricket, which is of course absolute bollocks. Alright, he's not in the same class as McGrath or Pollock, but could quite easily do a good job with the new ball and in the middle overs. Our captaincy is negative. If I wanted a blueprint for England to copy it would be Australia 2007. Four wicket takers in the attack, the best fielding side realistically possible and packed with batting. Hayden Gilchrist Ponting Clarke Symonds Hussey Watson Hogg Bracken Tait McGrath In that side you've got men at the top that can score quickly and accumulators in the middle that score at 5.5 easily, then men at the end who can hit boundaries and good between the wickets. Fielding wise, Bracken and McGrath are probably the worst fielders in that side, and they are average at worst. Bowling wise you've got two wicket takers with the new ball and a master at first change. You've got an unorthodox spinner in Hogg and plenty of medium pace/off spin options too. They backed themselves to bowl teams out and make up the 5th bowler through part timers. England do have those kinds of players. F**king use them instead of using it as a teeth cutting exercise before graduation to the Test side. Foster (wk) Pietersen Trott Morgan Bell Collingwood Rashid Swann Bresnan Shahzad Tremlett Better batting line-up, better fielding unit and a more penetrative attack.

[TheBigWheelerDealer]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series Kevshat, please, sir, I really need your input for this 4th ODI. I know you've said you'd like to wait until the day so I'll be checking back regularly for your views but I'd like to go into this one with very, very large stakes so your input is very critical! Thank you very much, Kevshat.

[staffy]

Re: Cricket: England vs Sri Lanka T20 International & ODI Series

Kevshat' date=' please, sir, I really need your input for this 4th ODI. I know you've said you'd like to wait until the day so I'll be checking back regularly for your views but I'd like to go into this one with very, very large stakes so your input is very critical! Thank you very much, Kevshat.[/quote'] Hi I am not knocking Kev because I think his tipping is superb but I find your post strange. You are going to follow Kev with very big stakes. How about posting your views and then see what Kev thinks. That way you could be placing your money on what you think not sure relying on others. What if Kev is wrong?