by sussexpob » Mon Mar 22, 2021 12:28 pm
There was definitely help on offer for the Windies, but to their credit Roach and Holder got their lengths and lines pretty spot on to continually challenge the SL batsman. Many got out to balls that might not look great, but they were set up for the fall by good preparatory bowling. The pick was Da Silva being castled by Roach, Roach had him chasing air outside off ball after ball, then directed the perfect inswinger clipping his off stump at the top; Da Silva got nowhere near it, but the quality of the bowling on display was top notch.
Windies fielding however wasnt great, as they put down chances; Blackwood's drop of Thiramanne right near the start cost Windies a lot of runs, and it was the simplest of catches. If Windies had fielded with as much ruthlessness as they bowled, SL might have been faced with disaster. SL needed luck just to get to 169, a few edges fell short or into gaps. Even with 70, Thirmanne was mostly outclassed and played with little control.
Will it turn for SL? Cornwall came on very early in the SL innings, so I guess Windies must have believed before their seamers massacred SL that spin might be the way to go. Its not unplayable, but there is something out there, SL need to learn a lesson from the WIndies pacers and focus on getting the ball in the right areas, then letting conditions do the rest.
On a seperate note, Chandimal's review of his wicket must go down as a noticeably terrible decision; he'd clearly edged it, there was no debate. How could he not know he'd edged it? Very selfish
2010 French Open fantasy league guru 2010 Wimbledon fantasy league guru 2014 Masters golf fantasy guru 2015 Players Championship FL Guru 2016 Masters Golf Fantasy Guru
And a hat and bra to you too, my good sirs!