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Use the force, Luke
By Ian last year, at the start of August, Comments
I was a little sceptical about Luke Wright’s succession to the England 20-20 squad on the basis that he scored the most runs in this year’s campaign, not least because Chris Schofield was picked for taking the most wickets. Graeme Swann must be uber-gutted! But while I am delighted the selectors have decided to go with a specialist squad, I had developed the opinion that Wright was just a slogger-got-lucky.
Not for the first time, I was dead wrong. His 60-ball hundred last night for Sussex against Gloucestershire was stunning. While there was the odd smear and hoik, almost every shot was orthodox, including a dreamy cover drive and on drive, all hit with terrible power and timing. Gloucestershire are not the very worst of attacks – I’m sure Wright will meet some worse bowlers at the 20-20 World Cup – but he made them look inept. Even Michael Atherton was purring by the end, shifting his stance from, “if you’re good enough for international 50 over cricket, you’re good enough for 20-20†to “if this lad’s good enough for 20-20, he should be good enough for 50 overs too.â€
There were various comparisons, such as he grips and rips like Tendulkar or has the speed of hands through the ball as Ali Brown. Indeed, not since Brown have I seen an Englishman so dismantle an attack in the way Jayasuriya or Gilchrist do for fun. As a right-hander, he had something of Michael Slater about him, although I’ll go for a more modern Aussie as a comparison, who likewise has plenty more to prove. Shane Watson batted in a very similar fashion in the World Cup, matching power and timing with elegance. He bowls a bit too and has the same bottle blond hair. Time will tell whether Luke Wright can mix it on the same stage.
CommentsJayasuriya included in Sri Lanka squad
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of June, Comments
The third and final Test between England and Sri Lanka gets underway at Trent Bridge tomorrow, and Sanath Jayasuriya has been included in a 12-man squad for Sri Lanka. For the visitors, who must be delighted at the forecasters’ prediction of hot weather over the next week, all hope once again rests on the shoulders of their white-eyed maestro Muttiah Muralitharan. Only he stands in the way of a series victory for England.
Meanwhile England will continue to experiment with their young players, and I’m particularly keen on keeping a close eye on Sajid Mahmood. Our colleage at Cricinfo, the venerable Gnasher, is a proud Lancastrian which brings with it inevitable calls of “Coom on Sajy!” every time Mahmood warms up. And though he showed promise at Lord’s, he was convincingly outbowled by Liam Plunkett at Edgbaston who has had the better series of the two. His often-discussed lower-order batting potential has get to flourish - well, he’s not had much of a chance - but only a really poor performance at Nottingham will mark an otherwise blemish-free card. He looks a fine prospect.
Rock on, I say.
CommentsEngland v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Edgbaston, 1st day
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of May, Comments
Well, the weather forecast (as of 20.00 Wednesday) is okay for Thursday in Birmingham…but it’s looking cruddy for Friday and the bank holiday weekend. Sanath Jayasuriya will miss out. If you must(!), you may depart these shores to briefly check on the scorecard, but hurry back and enter into some intelligent discourse among yourselves. Chat, in other words.
CommentsSanath Jayasuriya announces retirement
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of March, Comments
Retired from Tests. Shame, but he’s getting on a bit…
CommentsSouth Africa v Sri Lanka, VB Series, Perth
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of January, Comments
What a dull match. It threatened interest when Murali grabbed a couple during South Africa’s run chase, but ultimately Sri Lanka were doomed after the 20th over (thereabouts; I’ve been up since 4am bulletining the game, so forgive any tiredness-induced inaccuracies). They lost 9 for 85! Utter carnage, and such a waste too.
Sanath Jayasuriya played beautifully, and ought to have been raising his bat to the crowds for another hundred; his lazy cut into the hands of seemed to send shivers down the Sri Lankans’ spines. To a man, their response to Jayasuriya’s downfall was to replicate it to the best of their ability: poor shots; lazy shots; silly shots; and the running between the wickets was laughable.
It’s a shame when teams let themselves down. Sri Lanka have so much ability, you do wonder how good they could become if they added consistency and responsibility to their bow. Now go and read my bulletin.
CommentsSomerset v Australia
By Will 3 years ago, mid-June, Comments
I think Somerset’s pitch at Taunton might just be a belter. Australia compiled (for compiled, read “Smashed”) 342 from their 50 overs. 2 of their players, Ponting and Hayden, clearly felt they were in such good nick that they retired.
But
Somerset, in reply, are fast approaching 200 without loss: 197-0. Have a read of these:
Bowling O M R W Lee 4 0 26 0 McGrath 6 0 38 0 (1nb, 1w) Kasprowicz 6 0 61 0 (2nb) Watson 3 0 41 0 (1w) Clarke 2 0 16 0 Hussey 1 0 9 0
The destroyers are Graeme Smith (Captain) and someone called Jayasuriya - Smith, in particular, batted brilliantly yesterday. Looks like he’s in seriously good form, and if Somerset win this game, he might just receive a thank-you from Michael Vaughan…
UPDATE: the curse of the blogger. Smith now out for a magnificent 108 from just 74 balls
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