Sri Lanka Cricket Discussion Thread

[Bada]

My posts had nothing to do with the mentality of teams like SL. It's just that Test cricket is shrinking even further. We had 8 good teams in the late 90s + ZIM who started well by winning Tests against PAK and IND. The format is becoming a club for a few due to various reasons we have discussed so many times. That's why I compared it to a small tea party rather than war.

[JamisBanda]

Regista might allow players take AK47s to a test matches if he's the coach.

[slcricfan1]

(1 hour ago)Keshan Wrote:  

(Yesterday, 08:45 AM)mugatiya Wrote:  Yea Hashan was one of the most defensive captains of all time for SL

I guess kind of like his batting.

Yeah true. I mean couldn't believe some of the decisions he made especially against England. Back then I didn't understand the game as I do now, but holy shit all of us were like wtf is going on.

Any examples?

[Keshan]

(43 minutes ago)slcricfan1 Wrote:  

(1 hour ago)Keshan Wrote:  Yeah true. I mean couldn't believe some of the decisions he made especially against England. Back then I didn't understand the game as I do now, but holy shit all of us were like wtf is going on.

Any examples?

I can't recall specific plays and all now. But in general on the field, he would start following the ball, place so many fielders on the boundary and focus on saving runs etc to extreme levels. I mean in that Australia series - in all 3 games Australia were behind on the first innings and still we lost and the damn series took place in SL lol The England series, we should have won more games and didn't purely on captaincy.

Some articles from back in the day:
- https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/a-day-when-tillakaratne-just-couldn-t-make-up-his-mind-139931
- https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/tillakaratne-retained-as-sri-lankan-captain-137774

[Bada]

At Kandy, December 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 2003. Drawn. Toss: Sri Lanka.

Maybe familiarity breeds contempt, but England's second great escape in consecutive matches somehow failed to capture the imagination in the manner of their magnificent rearguard at Galle. Maybe that is doing a gross disservice to Vaughan, who exuded such an inhumanly calm aura in compiling his first century as England captain that he made it all look too easy. But Sri Lanka themselves added to the anticlimax, with field placings on the final day that were defensive in the extreme and transmitted an air of indifference.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sri-lanka-v-england-155905

[Regista]

(20 minutes ago)Keshan Wrote:  

(43 minutes ago)slcricfan1 Wrote:  Any examples?

I can't recall specific plays and all now. But in general on the field, he would start following the ball, place so many fielders on the boundary and focus on saving runs etc to extreme levels. I mean in that Australia series - in all 3 games Australia were behind on the first innings  and still we lost and the damn series took place in SL lol The England series, we should have won more games and didn't purely on captaincy.

Some articles from back in the day:
- https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/a-day-when-tillakaratne-just-couldn-t-make-up-his-mind-139931
- https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/tillakaratne-retained-as-sri-lankan-captain-137774

If even cricinfo comments on the captaincy then you know it's bad...

I remember some people commented on Sangas captaincy being too defensive as well. But there was no special mention of his captaincy in cricinfo as far as I can remember.

[Bada]

Hashan became the most senior player once Aravinda retired. There was no one to really tell him what to do. You don't tell the senior guy anything unless he asks for your input. This hierarchy matters in SL cricket. It was the wrong call to give him Test captaincy in the first place. He was 36+. You should always think minimum 4-5 years when you appoint a captain. It just didn't make sense.