[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Asif_k: *
Well it's not. Waise he still needs 20 odd overs to catch up Kapildev. :)
[/QUOTE]
Well his strike rate and average is better than Kapil.So there you go.
- the 7 wickets he took in this test match a revised total of ** 466 ** by the looks of things he will become the all time leading wicket taker in test match history, although shane warne will give him a fight for his money.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by #let uz chat#: *
- the 7 wickets he took in this test match a revised total of ** 466 ** by the looks of things he will become the all time leading wicket taker in test match history, although shane warne will give him a fight for his money. [/QUOTE]
Yes if Shane keeps his zipper locked.
well if you are the only wicket taker in the team, you are bound to get five wicket hauls more often than other teams where there are more than one, two genuine strike bowlers..
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by saby: *
well if you are the only wicket taker in the team, you are bound to get five wicket hauls more often than other teams where there are more than one, two genuine strike bowlers..
[/QUOTE]
How do you explain this...
Lille,Thomson
Wasim ,Waqr
Marshal,Holding
Macgrath,Shane
Botham,Willis
^^ yep thats why above mentioned bolwers' records were more impressive because they used to take five wicket hauls in presensce of other wicket-taking bowlers
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by saby: *
^^ yep thats why above mentioned bolwers' records were more impressive because they used to take five wicket hauls in presensce of other wicket-taking bowlers
[/QUOTE]
Well if someone is only strike bowler in team then obviously he gets to bowl more and you bowl more so you get more wickets.But if your srtike rate and average is good then you can counter that arguement saying that " what if I bowl more I give less run/wicket and I bowl less bowl/wicket".
So comparision criteria shouldnot be if someone is main strike bowler or not.Only criteria should be Stricke rate and Average and how you perform in different conditions(This will eliminate bowlers like Kumble). :)
^^ I think that presence of other strike owlers does make a difference though it should nto be the only reason to judge a bowler, Murali is a master of his art but i just wonder if his number of wickets could have been this high had there been a consistent genuine wicket-taker in SL team? (vaas shines but sporadically)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by saby: *
^^ I think that presence of other strike owlers does make a difference though it should nto be the only reason to judge a bowler, Murali is a master of his art but i just wonder if his number of wickets could have been this high had there been a consistent genuine wicket-taker in SL team? (vaas shines but sporadically)
[/QUOTE]
From a different point of view..having another strike bowler actually helps because then bastmen dont get a breathing time.They have no choice. They cant play one cautiously and hit other guy.Thats why its called Bowlers works best in Tandem.Thats why
Lille-Thomson,Waqar-Wasim and Marshall-Holding were so deadly.
actually the saying is' FAST bowlers hunt in pairs'. there is never room for slow bowlers in that statement But that is out of discussion.
having another strike bowler defintely helps But that divides the wickets, thats why Wasim's record is far mroe impressive because he reached those heights having Waqar at the other end. There used to be race for wickets between those two but Murali will bowl 40 overs from oen end and being such a master he accomplishes that , hats off to him. I cant imagine his record this impressive bowling with some bowler of Wasim or Mcgrath or even Lee-Shoaib's calibre.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by saby: *
actually the saying is' FAST bowlers hunt in pairs'. there is never room for slow bowlers in that statement But that is out of discussion.
having another strike bowler defintely helps But that divides the wickets, thats why Wasim's record is far mroe impressive because he reached those heights having Waqar at the other end. There used to be race for wickets between those two but Murali will bowl 40 overs from oen end and being such a master he accomplishes that , hats off to him. I cant imagine his record this impressive bowling with some bowler of Wasim or Mcgrath or even Lee-Shoaib's calibre.
[/QUOTE]
I do think your arguement is valid if you are ** only ** comparing the no of wickets.
Like Comparing Waqar and Kapil on just basis of no of wicket will be misleading.
But if you compare no of wicket,average and strike rate then whether you bowled in pair or not hardly matters.
@ stumps day - 4
SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS
226 all out
sri lankan batsmen making solid contributions:
Atapattu 35, Jayawardene 87* (7 * 4)
Successful english bowlers:
Giles 40 overs 4/64 :k:
(Ashley Giles took four wickets in the second innings gaining his first ever eight-wicket haul.)
Batty 23.2 overs 3/55
england r set a winning target of 323 with 1 days play left…
ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS
4 / 0 (1 over) (run rate 4.0)
**England require another 319 runs with 10 wickets remaining!!!~ scorecard @ stumps day - 4 ~](http://www.cricinfo.com/db/NEW/LIVE/frames/ENG_SL_T1_02-06DEC2003.html) **
this match was evenly split but now i think it has turned in the favour of Sri Lanka. It will be hard for England to win now - they do have a massive total to chase. It would be the second highest chase in Sri Lanka and England now only have a day in which to get the runs - though i guess with the form Marcus Trescothic has been in lately you never know - a quickfire hundred from him and its still possible.
I think England need to break it down into proportions - if they wanna win this match then they have to plan it out. I think that they would need to aim for say 100 runs or thereabouts in each session - and i don't think they can afford to lose more than 2 wickets in each session either - if they are say 6 or 7 down by Tea and even if they have say 120 to win it won't be possible with say Richard Johnson and Ashley Giles at the crease - or well fairly unlikely anyway. Also the same thing will also be possible for Sri Lanka - of course they say can break it down to 3 or so wickets per session then they could stand a chance to win the match too. And of course the thing is that if they are say too far behind schedule at Lunch or Tea or whatever then they can of course go on the defensive and try to draw out the match. That is of course assuming that both sides are setting out to win it in the first place. ;)
Actually come to think of it the weather could possibly take the decision out of both teams' hands - andcould well do both sides a favour.
England fighting to survive
128/5 (56.0 ov) and 42 Overs to go
**England battle out for a tense draw **](http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/DEC/006617_SLENG2003-04_06DEC2003.html)
England 235 and 210 for 9 (Butcher 54, Collingwood 36) drew with Sri Lanka 331 and 226
England held on for a fighting draw in a tense finish to a closely fought opening Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. After fighting efforts from Mark Butcher, Paul Collingwood and the lower order, the umpires offered England the light with four overs to go and nine wickets down. They didn’t need a second invitation, and a timely downpour put paid to any chances of a resumption.
The light certainly came to their rescue, but England’s draw represented an impressive display of tough concentration and commitment to the cause, especially against Muttiah Muralitharan on a wearing pitch. And as always in these situations, England will feel like champions and take plenty of heart with them to the next Test, at Kandy. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be ruing their inability to finish the job off, and may wonder about their slow batting on the fourth day.
England had started the final day needing an improbable 319 runs for victory, or more likely, needing to survive for the best part of six hours, or until any rain came to their rescue later on. But it didn’t, and from the moment Dinusha Fernando resumed with the new ball, England realised they were up against it.
Michael Vaughan was never allowed to settle as Fernando worked him over outside off stump. He squirted an attempted leave through third man for four, then, after one sweet pull through midwicket, he propped forward to an immaculate full-length outswinger, and Hashan Tillakaratne at first slip grabbed the edge at the second attempt (16 for 1).
Marcus Trescothick was in no mood to be dominated. He cracked a half-volley from Chaminda Vaas through the covers, and helped put a dent in Fernando’s figures with a bullet of a cut shot. But his positive intent proved his downfall, when he danced down the track to Sanath Jayasuriya, failed to make contact and was bowled through the gate for 24 (62 for 2).
Murali by this stage had barely bothered to warm up, but he was never going to be kept out of the limelight for long. Sure enough, he popped up with the prize scalp of the morning. Graham Thorpe was easing into his stride when he badly misread Murali’s doosra, and top-edged a simple chance to Vaas, who nonetheless made a meal of it as he ran in from mid-off (73 for 3).
Butcher and Collingwood provided stern resistance and ate up valuable time. Both batsmen showed good concentration and discipline against accurate bowling, led by Murali and Jayasuriya. But it wasn’t all just blocking. Butcher launched Kumar Dharmasena for six over mid-on, and then stroked an elegant straight drive off Murali to bring up a well-deserved half-century. Collingwood provided good support at the other end, playing with a calm concentration, as the pair put together a valuable fifty partnership.
England’s bid for survival was slowly starting to take shape, but back came Vaas to put a double dent in their progress. Vaas landed one on a perfect length outside off and Butcher nibbled at the ball as it went through to Kumar Sangakkara (125 for 4). In his next over, Andrew Flintoff drove Vaas loosely to Tillakaratne at point for a duck, and suddenly England were hanging on at 125 for 5.
Chris Read refused to lie down, and swept his way to 14, including a six over midwicket. Collingwood continued to stand firm, putting away anything short or wide to the boundary. The clouds began to roll over the ground, but if England had any thoughts of scrambling to safety, that man Murali made them think again. Read propped forward to defend another big offspinner, but only gloved the ball via the pad to Mahela Jayawardene at short-leg (148 for 6).
Gareth Batty knuckled down to give Collingwood good support, and found time to clip Dharmasena effortlessly over midwicket for six and thwack Murali past midwicket. The rain started to trickle down, but the umpires decided to stay on. It was a big call, as just before tea England lost their anchor in Collingwood. He pressed forward to Dharmasena and was superbly caught by Tillakaratne low to his left at silly point (170 for 7) for a gutsy 36. It was a big blow, as shown by the Sri Lankans’ shrieks of delight.
Batty and Ashley Giles made sure the floodgates didn’t open, though. They scrapped it out together for 50 minutes after tea, before Batty threw all his hard work away in a moment of madness. He gifted Murali another wicket when he played a vile heave across the line and was bowled middle stump (204 for 8). Batty stayed on his knees for a few seconds, realising the foolishness of the shot at such a crucial time.
The light slowly deteriorated, and the umpires continually checked their lightmeters, but the show went on. Richard Johnson put away his attacking instincts and admirably played one big block for 35 balls. But with seven overs remaining, he tried to leave one from Murali but under-edged it into his leg stump, and it was left to Giles and Matthew Hoggard to save the day as the tension mounted.
Giles refused to buckle under the pressure, and took the brunt of the strike. The umpires continued to deliberate on the state of the light at the end of each over, and after what felt like an age for England, they offered the light - and the batsmen were off like a shot. Giles finished with an invaluable 17 not out to add to his eight wickets in the match, and as he looked up to the darkening skies, he knew England had done just enough to escape with a hard-earned and exciting draw.
I think England got lucky this time, umpires called for lights when England was really in trouble.
SL should have won this test. oh well. well played by SL and the umpires. 
:k:
i have to say that certain members of the England side really did throw their wicket away!
What the hell was Gareth Batty thinking? Michael Vaughan - what happened? Mark Butcher did so well though - as did Paul Collingwood and Ashley Giles. Andrew Flintoff has been flooped so far in the series.
Nasser Hussian should be back in the next match - dunno about the fitness of Jim Anderson - i have no sympathy with the Sri Lankans - damn you Muttiah - if they(Sri Lanka) wanted to win the match then possibly they shouldn't have had the 28 bowling changes they did in the match.
Anyway onto the next Match which is in Kandy in a couple of days.
~ “murali’ misses net session” ~](BBC SPORT | Cricket | Sri v Eng | Murali misses net session)
- Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will play in the second Test against England despite missing Tuesday’s practice session in Kandy.
He did not bowl in the nets and was given ice treatment on his shoulder, but coach John Dyson was quick to scotch any concerns about his fitness.
“There is no problem at all. It’s just a standard procedure,” said Dyson.
“There is no need for him to bowl the day before a Test. There is absolutely no doubt he will play.”
The Australian told BBC Sport: “Bowlers these days come off the field and go into an ice bath. Murali’s just put a pack on his shoulder - it’s just a precautionary measure.”
Muralitharan was named Man of the Match for the drawn first Test at Galle.
He achieved match figures of 11-93, the 12th time he has taken 10 wickets or more in a Test.
“It is not easy to take 11 wickets on any type of pitch. I think I am bowling well at the moment,” he said.
Tests in Kandy have a special significance for the 31-year-old, as it is his home town.
Dyson queries England approach
He has taken 64 wickets in 10 appearances at the Agiriya Stadium at a magnificent average of 17.8, and he holds the key to Sri Lanka’s hopes of victory.
But Muralitharan is also urging the Sri Lankan batsmen to take a more aggressive approach when facing England’s spin bowlers.
“We played tense cricket (in Galle). We didn’t play freely and go for our shots,” he commented. *
England in Sri Lanka, 2003-04, 2nd Test
Sri Lanka v England
Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy
10,11,12,13,14 December 2003 (5-day match)
3-Test series level 0-0
Sri Lanka won toss and elected to bat 1st!!!
@ Close of Play Day - 1
Sri Lanka 1st innings 277/7 (Dilshan 63 {10 * 4} , Tillakaratne 45*, Jayawardene 45 , Dharmasena 1* , 90 overs )
@ Close of Play Day - 2
**Sri Lanka 382 all out ** <<< the tail ranking up 105 runs between them :eek: not 4 the 1st time we r witnessing the english bowlers incapability to finish of the tail…
sri lankan batsmen making solid contributions:
(Dilshan 63 {10 * 4} , Tillakaratne 45, Jayawardene 45,
Fernando 51 {7 * 4} )
promising english bowlers:
**Giles ** 37.4 overs 5 maidens ** 5 / 116 ** :k:
Freddie 24 overs 5 maidens 2 / 60
ENGLAND 1st innings
England 163/4 (Vaughan 52 {8 * 4} , Thorpe 20*, Collingwood 19*; 51 overs)
@ Close of Play Day - 3
**England 294 all out **
english batsmen making solid contributions:
(Thorpy 57 { 5 * 4} , Vaughan 52 {8 * 4} , Batty 38, Tresco’ 36)
promising sri lankan bowlers:
**Murali’ ** 40 overs 18 maidens ** 4 / 60 ** :k: very economical once again :smooth:
Vaas 24.2 overs 4 maidens 4 / 77 :k: murali’ well supported by vaas
SRI LANKA 2nd innings
Sri Lanka 39/1 (@ crease Jayasuriya 25*, Sangakkara 1*; 16 overs)
1 batsmen out so far is the out of form attapatu for 8 llb by giles.
** ~ Sri Lanka lead by 127 runs with 9 wickets remaining @ stumps on day - 3 ~ **
:flower1: scorecard :flower1:](http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/NEW/LIVE/frames/ENG_SL_T2_10-14DEC2003.html)
DUH, England needs 12 overs to survive with 3 wkts in hand.
One-man-team wont win this match either, ugly cricket ugly results 
Murali is a great bowler but look at his figures 48-23-59-4 Great figures but Wasim and Waqar and Even Warne could have taken 15 wickets in those 48 overs..