Cricket
- Thread starter summerisle
- Start date
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Rangana Herath to retire after first England Test
http://www.espncricinfo.com/st...rath-retire-first-england-test
'Rangana Herath, the most-successful left-arm bowler in Test history, will retire after the first Test in Galle, having told the selectors that he is reluctant to play through an entire three-Test series.
Galle is a sentimental venue for Herath - not only did he make his Test debut there in 1999, he also needs only one more wicket to join Muttiah Muralitharan in having taken 100 wickets at the ground. It was at this venue that Herath also reignited his career at the age of 31, taking 10 wickets in a Test against Pakistan in 2009, after having been suddenly
called up to the Test side while he was playing league cricket in England.
Herath, 40, has not played a complete three-Test series since January 2017, having since left two India series early due to injury, before playing no more than one of the three Tests in West Indies in June this year. Herath has had to manage knee injuries for several years now; the strain of carrying Sri Lanka's spin attack since the retirement of Muralitharan is understood to have caught up to him.
His retirement will leave a substantial hole in the Sri Lanka side, with offspinner Dilruwan Perera likeliest to replace him as leader of the spin attack, for the remainder of the England series at least. Sri Lanka also have three other spinners in the squad: all-sorts offspinner Akila Dananjaya, left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, and left-arm orthodox bowler Malinda Pushpakumara. Of the remaining spinners only Dilruwan has played more than 10 Tests, however.
A beloved figure across the island, Herath's retirement will also bring to an end one of the most remarkable careers in modern cricket. Not only is he the 10th most successful Test bowler in history with 430 wickets, all but 36 of those dismissals came after he had turned 31, with Herath having struggled to maintain a place in the Test side in the first decade of his career. No bowler has also taken as many as his 230 wickets after turning 35. If he takes five wickets in his final Test, he could move up to seventh on the all-time list, passing Richard Hadlee (431 wickets), Stuart Broad (433) and Kapil Dev (434).
Herath is also the last active Test cricketer to have made his debut in the 1990s.
The Galle Test begins on November 6.'
I can fairly confidently say that we shall never see his like again. What a delightful player to watch. Especially on the telly - because Ranga was too subtle for the eyes.
Even though he got our boys so often, I will miss Ranga.
Perhaps even more than I had missed some of my other favourites. This does feel like the end of an era.
A wonderful player and a magnificent servant to Sri Lankan and world cricket, and so another legend retires.
While it's only possible for one bowler to bowl 50% maximum of a sides' overs within an innings, and that only in the highly unlikely event of bowling completely unchanged from one end throughout, Ranga would often bowl up to 40% of Sri Lanka's total overs bowled, such is his threat to the opposition and his value to their side. It's as if a bomb has suddenly exploded under their hopes of winning the series.
This is such a game changer for the series, in which I had thought Sri Lanka would win 2 or 3 to nil, that I now think England favourites to edge it 1-2.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/st...rath-retire-first-england-test
'Rangana Herath, the most-successful left-arm bowler in Test history, will retire after the first Test in Galle, having told the selectors that he is reluctant to play through an entire three-Test series.
Galle is a sentimental venue for Herath - not only did he make his Test debut there in 1999, he also needs only one more wicket to join Muttiah Muralitharan in having taken 100 wickets at the ground. It was at this venue that Herath also reignited his career at the age of 31, taking 10 wickets in a Test against Pakistan in 2009, after having been suddenly
called up to the Test side while he was playing league cricket in England.
Herath, 40, has not played a complete three-Test series since January 2017, having since left two India series early due to injury, before playing no more than one of the three Tests in West Indies in June this year. Herath has had to manage knee injuries for several years now; the strain of carrying Sri Lanka's spin attack since the retirement of Muralitharan is understood to have caught up to him.
His retirement will leave a substantial hole in the Sri Lanka side, with offspinner Dilruwan Perera likeliest to replace him as leader of the spin attack, for the remainder of the England series at least. Sri Lanka also have three other spinners in the squad: all-sorts offspinner Akila Dananjaya, left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, and left-arm orthodox bowler Malinda Pushpakumara. Of the remaining spinners only Dilruwan has played more than 10 Tests, however.
A beloved figure across the island, Herath's retirement will also bring to an end one of the most remarkable careers in modern cricket. Not only is he the 10th most successful Test bowler in history with 430 wickets, all but 36 of those dismissals came after he had turned 31, with Herath having struggled to maintain a place in the Test side in the first decade of his career. No bowler has also taken as many as his 230 wickets after turning 35. If he takes five wickets in his final Test, he could move up to seventh on the all-time list, passing Richard Hadlee (431 wickets), Stuart Broad (433) and Kapil Dev (434).
Herath is also the last active Test cricketer to have made his debut in the 1990s.
The Galle Test begins on November 6.'
I can fairly confidently say that we shall never see his like again. What a delightful player to watch. Especially on the telly - because Ranga was too subtle for the eyes.
Even though he got our boys so often, I will miss Ranga.
Perhaps even more than I had missed some of my other favourites. This does feel like the end of an era.
A wonderful player and a magnificent servant to Sri Lankan and world cricket, and so another legend retires.
While it's only possible for one bowler to bowl 50% maximum of a sides' overs within an innings, and that only in the highly unlikely event of bowling completely unchanged from one end throughout, Ranga would often bowl up to 40% of Sri Lanka's total overs bowled, such is his threat to the opposition and his value to their side. It's as if a bomb has suddenly exploded under their hopes of winning the series.
This is such a game changer for the series, in which I had thought Sri Lanka would win 2 or 3 to nil, that I now think England favourites to edge it 1-2.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Flimsy, unsubstantiated and uncorroborated rumours possibly best describes them and that's being kind. The ECB normally takes any such claims of this nature very seriously indeed, especially where there is any chance of them actually being justified. The fact they and the ACB have dismissed them out of hand, despite passing them to the ICC, is pretty telling imo.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Mark Wood and/or others are talking of taking All Jazeera to the cleaners over what he claims is a “fake” recording of a phone call with a match-fixing mastermind.
Mark Wood has dismissed the Al Jazeera fixing claims as baseless and described them as “like the boy who cried wolf” as the game rounded on the investigative documentary aired on Sunday.
The ECB has also criticised the programme and, on Monday, the PCA issued a statement in support of its members facing “unsupported accusation's”.
“To be honest I don’t take a lot of notice,” said Wood. “Until Al Jazeera bring out anything concrete, where they name someone or show a piece of evidence, they keep saying there’s this and that there, but never producing anyone or saying there’s any evidence behind it. It’s a bit like the boy who cried wolf, and until they say something I’m not going to believe what they say,” said Wood.
“I haven't spoken to any of the other players about it,” said Wood. “It's not news to me. It had no sort of 'hit' to it. If they came up with concrete evidence or they said a name and they could prove something then I would be a bit more worried. But at the moment they keep making accusations and there's nothing behind it so I'm not too fussed.”
The ECB described the “limited information we have been given by Al Jazeera” as “poorly prepared and lacks clarity” but said it had been assessed by its integrity team. “Analysis of this by the ECB’s Integrity Team has cast no doubt on the integrity or behaviour of any England player, current or former.”
Mark Wood has dismissed the Al Jazeera fixing claims as baseless and described them as “like the boy who cried wolf” as the game rounded on the investigative documentary aired on Sunday.
The ECB has also criticised the programme and, on Monday, the PCA issued a statement in support of its members facing “unsupported accusation's”.
“To be honest I don’t take a lot of notice,” said Wood. “Until Al Jazeera bring out anything concrete, where they name someone or show a piece of evidence, they keep saying there’s this and that there, but never producing anyone or saying there’s any evidence behind it. It’s a bit like the boy who cried wolf, and until they say something I’m not going to believe what they say,” said Wood.
“I haven't spoken to any of the other players about it,” said Wood. “It's not news to me. It had no sort of 'hit' to it. If they came up with concrete evidence or they said a name and they could prove something then I would be a bit more worried. But at the moment they keep making accusations and there's nothing behind it so I'm not too fussed.”
The ECB described the “limited information we have been given by Al Jazeera” as “poorly prepared and lacks clarity” but said it had been assessed by its integrity team. “Analysis of this by the ECB’s Integrity Team has cast no doubt on the integrity or behaviour of any England player, current or former.”
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Last ODI, England bowling. Morgan rested so Jos Buttler captains and moves himself up to no.4.
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toffeejack
Player Valuation: £100m
... and getting battered, sri lanka 116-0 off 15 both openers on 50, will be a good tets to see if england can chase this. changed half their team for this game
toffeejack
Player Valuation: £100m
not quite sure why stokes hasn't bowled yet
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
139-1, Moeen with the wicket.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
In the one that doesn't matter a jot to anybody, Sri Lanka are putting in all their effort.
With substitutes Sam Curran and Plunkett proving the most expensive of all and the batting a batsman short and seriously weakened without Morgan, England are using this as little more than a useful net to give the untried men match practice.
For Sri Lanka, it's all a little too late and completely immaterial, such a pity they didnt perform in any that mattered.
Presenting the trophy after a dead rubber, and often a meaningless consolation, is a ludicrous situation that should have been reformed a long time ago.
A winning side should be presented with the laurels after they've won them, not after what could turn out to be a meaningless loss in the last game. Individual awards can be delayed but not the team's trophy.
With substitutes Sam Curran and Plunkett proving the most expensive of all and the batting a batsman short and seriously weakened without Morgan, England are using this as little more than a useful net to give the untried men match practice.
For Sri Lanka, it's all a little too late and completely immaterial, such a pity they didnt perform in any that mattered.
Presenting the trophy after a dead rubber, and often a meaningless consolation, is a ludicrous situation that should have been reformed a long time ago.
A winning side should be presented with the laurels after they've won them, not after what could turn out to be a meaningless loss in the last game. Individual awards can be delayed but not the team's trophy.
toffeejack
Player Valuation: £100m
sounds like an utter mare of a performance, dropping dolleys, plenty of extras etc, need 367 to win.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
Just the right time to have one though, do it when it means absolutely nothing to anybody.
Intensity goes when its all over before the match, whatever happens, the series losers are often the only ones bothered about dead matches
toffeejack
Player Valuation: £100m
4-3, jeez.
..disaster, but the way England play this type of collapse is likely now and then.
toffeejack
Player Valuation: £100m
and it's better to happen now, but this is a tad embarassing, heading for the biggets defeat ever.
Chris O'Connor
Player Valuation: £35m
I'm sure the players don't mean it to happen but when the intensity goes at that level, inevitably care free and careless shots and dropped catches happen, there's nothing on it, almost like a testimonial.
Its like the laughable and ridiculous 'crisis' after losing a warm up match to Scotland, some people take the wrong matches seriously.
Winning the ones that matter is far more important.
Despite all the words, the multiple team changes including the skipper dropping himself showed all about just how much England were putting on this match. This is the first game on this tour at this level for three of the team, its a glorified friendly.
England always used to win the last test in the 80s and 90s, the trouble was we were always 4-0 down, who cares.