Once more we are reminded why Test cricket is the best form of the game.
It has a unique beauty.
It was the real winner.
It continues to show it's charms.
Five days of hard fought action still could not separate two sides, only ball 1 ball could however.
Gripping drama.
Inevitably England would be blamed for batting too long on a placid surface. They also lacked a front line specialist spinner which partly brought their downfall on the final day with a one dimensional seam dominated bowling attack. Their over-rate was also a cause of concern, but could have been prevented in the first place with the inclusion of a quality front line spinner.
Last day rearguard action from the Sri Lankans led by the veteran Sangakkara, who finally got his name of the honours board in the first innings. I don't think this will be the last time we see him in the whites at the Home of Cricket. Sri Lanka are due to tour in 2016. Sangakkara will retire from ODIs after the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, but has plans of prolonging his Test career by doing so. We could see him in 2016. I think we will.
Last day equation - War of attrition | Blockathon | Act of unflappability.
They had the technical quality, mental application and physical stamina to last a day without being bowled out.
England could not manage the 10 wickets when Sri Lanka had the chance to bore, frustrate and eke their way to safety as risk freely as possible.
They finished with just the 9.
Perhaps dangling the carrot would have been a better strategy as Michael Holding suggested on commentary. Setting an attainable target for the Sri Lankans where they would also be teased into chasing it down. Encouraging them to play their shots, creating wicket taking opportunities, making it easier for the bowlers to get them out, as opposed to pure dead batted denial at around two to the over.
This sets up the Leeds Test nicely for Friday in what is a decisive deciding Test, on what should be a more helpful bowling surface.
Gary Ballance, Joe Root and Liam Plunkett who all had a memorable Test for different reasons will get to play at their local venue in front of the Yorkshire faithful.
Root has a hundred against the Kiwis the last time he played at the venue last May. He will be oozing with confidence after a double century to guide England to a sizeable first innings total, from a position they were in a spot of bother at following the loss of 3 early wickets in the opening session, after Matthews inserted the home side on Thursday morning. Root got his Test summer off to the best possible start after a disappointing winter downunder.
He was back at his fluent best in the middle order, showing his versatility and excellent backfoot play. Certainly he likes batting at headquarters. Back to back 150+ scores here, batting in different positions. England needed to banish the memories during a winter of discontent. And Root led the way for them.
It was the latest Lords Test in several years in terms of the timing of the Test and generally the weather stayed warm by English standards for the duration of the Test with some overcast skies towards the latter stages of the game. Perhaps commencing the English international summer with the limited over leg of the tour is the way to go in the future.
Sam Robson had a disappointing first outing at his home ground, unable to make his mark, dismissed cheaply twice. Mark Butcher, Arjuna Ranatunga and Bob Willis feel he has serious technical deficiencies to overcome in order to survive at Test level.
Sri Lanka's 2014
Drew 1-1 vs Pakistan in Tests
Beat Bangladesh in all 3 formats in Bangladesh
Won the Asia Cup with 5/5 wins
Won the World T20 with 5/6 wins
Won the T20 in England
Won the ODIs 3-2 in England
Drew the Lords Test in England
A maiden Test series win on English shores would just add to a formidably outstanding year this has been for the Sri Lankan national team. They will certainly start favourities in the home series against South Africa, Pakistan across both formats after this tour and the five ODIs against England at the back end of the year. Things are falling into place nicely for a country hoping they go one better third time around at the World Cup after beaten finalists in 2007 and 2011.
Test Cricket is admittedly their weakest format since Murali has moved on and a draw at Lord's is a respectable result for them. It was a moral win from the position they found themselves in. They had to dig deep and get stuck in. And they managed, just about.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.