What an amazing partnership. Full credit to Ronchi, amazing power, he times the ball so beautifully. He makes a real impact at #7, you know if he gets in for 3-4 overs even that even in that time he will surge the run rate up. Elliott, very clever innings again. His experience is paying off. I was, TBF, still surprised he did nothing in test cricket as a batsman because he has an unflappable temperament and a pretty solid technique. He gets forward and back well and can play with straight and cross bat strokes equally well. If he has a good World Cup I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a ticket for the England tour.
Pity Taylor didn't go on with the job, if he could have spent another 20 minutes in the middle it would have done his confidence the world of good. He seemed to have a bit of his old timing back with one or two cover drives and cuts. Seemed to enjoy the quicker surface.
Sri Lanka really bowled poorly, but they also had some unlucky moments. The toss was a big one to win, the ball was jagging all over the shop in the first hour and there were a lot of tentative strokes and plays and misses. After that though they were dreadful and I think it all changed when Jeevan Mendis bowled his first over of hit me balls. They have been pretty poor frankly as far as their bowlers go, particularly since the ICC changed the way the rules were regulated and decided you couldn't actually throw the ball anymore. Looking at all their averages, I can't see how they remain a relevant force particularly in test cricket when Sangakkara goes. It will essentially leave Angelo Matthews and 10 blokes who would be lucky to play reserve grade cricket in Sydney.
Great to see Boult finally get amongst the wickets in ODIs, McClenaghan is an effective wicket taker but his first over or two in a spell is usually ordinary, he needs to concentrate on hitting a length from the get go and building into a spell more patiently.
