3rd Test: Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (SSC) on Aug 13-17, 2016 - SRI LANKA WON BY 163 RUNS

[Bazal]

Why???? We have batted like this since the 2005 Ashes, no gives a crap as long as we are hard to beat at home. Roads will be prepared so CA can have 5 day borefests and nine can have 5 day wankfests.

Also, have we ever batted well on turning wickets? Not that this is a raging turner, but we also had a bloke who hasn't played all year at 5 leading into essentially our tail at 6 thanks to the selectors....

 

[JJ]

I know it's a prolonged thing, but the continuous rolling over whenever the ball turns or moves off the pitch is really quite staggering...

Then people argue that some of these bats are 'great', they are great at making big scores when conditions suit them.. admittedly I wish my lot were better at that...

Guess I just grew up watching Border and others scrap away for every run in all conditions - some have likened Smith to Border and Waugh (S)... not saying he's not a quality player, but he's not half the player his record suggests

 

[Bazal]

Not that I'm suggesting Smith is anywhere near Waugh or Border yet, but Steve Waugh averaged 16 in Sri Lanka....granted he only played a handful of Tests, but still.

Smith averages over 40 in every country he's played in bar one test in Wales

 

[Pete Cash]

I know it's a prolonged thing, but the continuous rolling over whenever the ball turns or moves off the pitch is really quite staggering...

Then people argue that some of these bats are 'great', they are great at making big scores when conditions suit them.. admittedly I wish my lot were better at that...

Guess I just grew up watching Border and others scrap away for every run in all conditions - some have likened Smith to Border and Waugh (S)... not saying he's not a quality player, but he's not half the player his record suggests

I thought your lads were going to show him up in nz ? Instead he didnt score under 50.

Smith averages as well in england versus england as anyone over the last 5 years. Yeah i would like him to maybe average 5 or 6 more runs in asia but how many batsmen averaged 50 in every country

For the record in asia

Smith and Waugh have pretty comparable records in asia. Smith playing for worse australian sides averages slightly more than waugh did in asia so far and lets remember his asian experience so far has been thrown in after homework gate, grimly hanging on to try and draw tests in the uae and this unfortunate series

 

[hineyrulz]

Not that I'm suggesting Smith is anywhere near Waugh or Border yet, but Steve Waugh averaged 16 in Sri Lanka....granted he only played a handful of Tests, but still.

Smith averages over 40 in every country he's played in bar one test in Wales

Waugh did badly break his nose on that Tour and probably should of went home.

I reckon Smith has the chance to become an all time great. But the difference between him and AB or Tugger he doesn't know how to get ugly runs. In tough conditions and when they were struggling for form they would still find a way to eek out a tough 30 or 40. Actually not many players do these days Kallis and Dravid were probably the last of them.

 

[Pete Cash]

Thats very harsh imo.

Smith has a brain snap in him for sure but he scored a 50 this very test series in tough conditions. He also has batted for hours trying to draw absolute lost causes in the uae.

Remember even though it was a dead rubber he looked like he had dead set forgotten how to bat early in his innings at the oval last ashes but he toughed through it and scored a century.

Obviously he isnt as conditioned to play long innings like batsmen in the past but thats the nature of the modern beast.

 

[Tommy Smith]

Of the Aussie bats I've seen, I'd still place the likes of Langer and Martyn above Clarke and Smith.

Smith puzzles me. The way he bats is disgusting. I'd rather watch sumo wrestlers f**k.

And yet, to his credit, he does score lots of runs. Albeit not when it matters away from home but that can change.

I'm probably, no wait, I AM prejudiced against him purely because of his technique.

 

[Pete Cash]

What countries in particular do you think he needs to do better in ?

Weren't you sure he was going to struggle in nz.

I get the guy looks weird but runs are runs. That's all that matters.

 

[Bazal]

I've never understood the obsession with a pretty technique....it's just an arbitrary reason to not like a player IMO. Smith is one of many great examples of batting to your strengths, bugger what the textbooks say.

Lol at Martyn being better than Smith or Clarke too

 

[hineyrulz]

Thats very harsh imo.

Smith has a brain snap in him for sure but he scored a 50 this very test series in tough conditions. He also has batted for hours trying to draw absolute lost causes in the uae.

Remember even though it was a dead rubber he looked like he had dead set forgotten how to bat early in his innings at the oval last ashes but he toughed through it and scored a century.

Obviously he isnt as conditioned to play long innings like batsmen in the past but thats the nature of the modern beast.

Dont think its harsh at all, some of those shots he played in England when we needed him to knuckle down and score one of those tough 30 or 40's I was talking about. Same as some of the shots he has played this series. Hey I rate the guy and think he is world class but he needs to get some of the silly shots out of his game. Especially to spinners he doesn't rate.

 

[hineyrulz]

Of the Aussie bats I've seen, I'd still place the likes of Langer and Martyn above Clarke and Smith.

Smith puzzles me. The way he bats is disgusting. I'd rather watch sumo wrestlers f**k.

And yet, to his credit, he does score lots of runs. Albeit not when it matters away from home but that can change.

I'm probably, no wait, I AM prejudiced against him purely because of his technique.

Hey I think Root is a smarmy little Homo, doesn't mean I don't think he can't play. Even though he was shown up out here last tour.

 

[JJ]

Waugh did badly break his nose on that Tour and probably should of went home.

I reckon Smith has the chance to become an all time great. But the difference between him and AB or Tugger he doesn't know how to get ugly runs. In tough conditions and when they were struggling for form they would still find a way to eek out a tough 30 or 40. Actually not many players do these days Kallis and Dravid were probably the last of them.

That's it in a nutshell...

 

[Pete Cash]

Dont think its harsh at all, some of those shots he played in England when we needed him to knuckle down and score one of those tough 30 or 40's I was talking about. Same as some of the shots he has played this series. Hey I rate the guy and think he is world class but he needs to get some of the silly shots out of his game. Especially to spinners he doesn't rate.

Waugh and ab had a bad shot in them. Yeah the ball he wacked to point at trent bridge or edgbaston was loose but hey batsmen do that sometimes. The idea that he cant knuckle down is silly though.

His century v england at the waca and the scg, his two 50s against pakistan in the uae, the 90 he scored against india in india and his century against south africa were all tough runs.

I agree that he needs to get the dumb bullshit against spinners out of his game but i also feel that smith is held to an absurdly high standard because he bats weird lol

 

[Bazal]

Every batsman in the history of the world has had a bad shot in them, Smith is no different and I don't reckon it's at a higher rate than anyone else. His major issue, as mentioned, is that he tries to bully spinners he doesn't rate (and some he does rate) and should probably relax a bit and not try and hit part timers out of the attack.

If anything in Test cricket you want to keep part timers in the attack IMO, you can tick the strike over comfortably and just back off a bit mentally, help stave off fatigue

 

[TheParraboy]

SL 1/30 - Lead by 6

lyon turning them square


they get more than 140+ ahead, i fear it will be way too much

 

[Pete Cash]

Haha yeah we are f**ked

 

[TheParraboy]

stupid batsman

 

[Bazal]

Cluey keeping from Nevill though

 

[TheParraboy]

lyon and Neville on fire

 

[hineyrulz]

It's time for Lyon to bowl us to a victory.