Freelance

I'm not normally one to bet big on the T20, let alone make any bold predictions because most games of T20 these days may as well be decided by flipping a coin as they can be so unpredicatable. However, now that the preliminary games are over in the Champions League, there's less chance of a fix and there are a few things lining up ahead of tonites game of Bangalore vs NSW that even I (a self-confessed T20 skeptic) can't ignore in good conscience. Both teams are on a winning streak, but the way in which Bangalore won thier last match was not only spectacular, but it's the sort of win that can really forge a teams resolve. I'm no huge fan of the IPL teams (I'm actually a NSW supporter), largely because they seem to pull a lot of big name international players together who can draw crowds...

The end of Day 3 sees the Australian bowlers tired and wilting in the hot Sri Lankan conditions as the hosts enjoy thier strongest batting performance of the series so far. Watson got the early breakthrough with his reverse swing and when Siddle took Sangakarra soon after it looked like the Aussies might have averted disaster, but the rest of the attack was fairly feeble and even the lower order Sri Lanka batsmen have been able to get runs. Tommorrow morning the Aussie bowlers will be fresher and with the 2nd new ball due I'd expect they should be able to close out the Sri Lanka innings before lunch with Siddle the most likely wrecker. Then the big question is whether Australia can bat for 4 sessions to prevent a Sri Lankan victory. I think the pitch is still playing fairly true and...

No surprises from the first 2 days of this test match. Australian batsmen getting out to loose shots and underperforming on a pitch that should have been ripe for a 400+ 1st innings score. Hughes failing miserably again, but luckily Marsh and Hussey carried on from the 2nd test otherwise the Aussie score could have been much lower. Also expected was the Aussie attack struggling in the absence of Harris. Siddle has done well (all things considered) and atleast the Aussies can trust that he'll keep trying, but some of the other bowlers are in danger of allowing frustration to take them out of the game as they have a tendency to be mentally fragile in these situations. I think the best Aussie hope will be the reverse swing of Watson. Sangakarra and Jayawardene could put on a big ...

With Harris ruled out of the 3rd test there goes my "Series Aussie Wicket Taker" bet and along with it goes a fair amount of the potency in Australias bowling attack. This has probably helped the pre-match odds on the draw into 1.71 favourite and yet with the Sri Lankans 0-1 down with 1 test to go, you'd have to expect that they will be pushing for a result. I'm wondering if they may try and serve up another dusty wicket to see if they can't ambush the high flying Aussies who would be feeling they deserved the win last test, but were robbed by the weather. (That's certainly how I feel anyway !) There were enough positives in the 2nd test for Sri Lanka to draw some confidence. 2nd Innings they fared a lot better than many expected and the old firm of Jayawardene/Sangakarra are showing...

Day 3 is not over yet, but it's raining and so there's a break in play. Unsurprisingly, the draw price has crashed as a result even though there have been wickets falling. Despite the fact that there may be no more play today, there is still 2 more days and so there's plenty of time for Australia to bowl out Sri Lanka a 2nd time. The Aussies may be wound up around the 450 mark, which is lower than I had expected, but still enough to put significant pressure on Sri Lanka for their 2nd innings. We are starting to see some turn in this pitch and there's enough in it for the bowlers to cause more problems for this wilting Sri Lankan line-up. As such I've shifted my position, laying off much of my draw position at 2.64 and putting it back into Australia at 1.62. I'm still keeping Sri...

Steady going for Australia on Day 2 with a fantastic partnership between Marsh and Hussey who were both denied opportunity to reach the century mark by bad light. The first hour of Day 3 is pretty important for Sri Lanka, because if these two get re-settled they could both go on to make big hundreds and the test will be pretty much gone for Sri Lanka who will then be fighting just to survive. Sri Lanka don't look like a team with a lot of fight in them, however.... The short days have helped to keep the draw price down and there isn't much hope of a full days play for the remainder of the test, so in combination with a pitch that still looks reasonably good I'm maintaining my largest green on the draw and am cheering for Aussie runs. Regardless of my Draw/Aust bias I've now covered...

I was expecting Australia to dominate this test, but the Day 1 result of Sri Lanka all out for 174 with Australia 60/0 in reply was even more one-sided then I had imagined. Not that I'm complaining... I'm starting to get the feeling that this series may end up similarly to the recent England vs India series - with a sub-continent team tired and wilting in the face of mounting pressure from an enthusiastic and determined team on the rise. There's a big differrence in the pitch quality from the 1st test which is good to see. I'm expecting the Aussies to be able to put on some very decent runs in the 1st innings and if the pitch starts to flatten they might even get as far as a declaration some time after tea on Day 3 with a couple of centurions amongst the top 6. The big question...

I'm getting in early for the 2nd test while the going is good. With Sri Lanka facing sanctions for the poor 1st test pitch we should expect a much more conventional pitch for the 2nd test, which is great news for Aussie backers. Sri Lankas strength is in the spin department, but thier seam and pace is lacking and thier batting is currently fragile, so a move toward a more conventional pitch is going to make Australia even harder to beat. Add to that the confidence the Aussies will take from the "character building" adversity of the 1st test and it's hard to see Sri Lanka bouncing back with a win in the 2nd test. I'm very happy to see Ryan Harris fit and returning to form. He's a player to watch as he tends to thrive in sub-continent conditions. I'd back him for player of the series...

Here we are at the end of Day 2 and this Test match is already nearly over. After predicting a decent Australian total for the 1st innings I was wearing a bit of egg on the face when the Aussies struggled on Day 1, but the poor quality of the pitch really put this effort into perspective on Day 2 when the Sri Lankans brittle batting lineup fared even worse. Pre-game I couldn't understand why the media was reporting the pitch as a raging turner, yet the markets had the Draw as odds on favourite. In those situations I usually trust the markets over the media, but I don't think anyone foresaw such a poor strip for cricket. Personally, I find it disgraceful and the general state of the ground that this match is being played on just as bad. It seems indicative of the state of Sri Lankan...