Ashes 2009 - Sri Lanka to [wear down]/[play into form]* The England in 2009

*delete as appropriate.

Yes that's right! England's gloriously crickety 2009 took a crickety turn for the better today when it was announced that Sri Lanka will tour England next year in place of Zimbabwe. They'll be playing two tests and three ODIs, and a bunch of tour matches. In fact, here's the schedule:

April 21-23: Leicestershire (Leicester)
April 25-27: Essex (Chelmsford)
April 29-May 3: England Lions (Derby)
May 7-11: 1st Test (Lord's)
May 15-19: 2nd Test (Chester-le-Street)
May 21: Somerset (Taunton)
May 24: 1st ODI (Bristol)
May 27: 2nd ODI (Edgbaston)
May 30: 3rd ODI (Headingley)

My view on this is: "YAY!".

But, of course, the real news story is: what does this mean for the ASHES? Will the (metaphorical) plane bringing the Ashes (metaphorically) back to England merely be making a stop for refuelling, or will it be hijacked and returned to Australia?

Last time Sri Lanka came to England, they started unpromisingly (collapsing in the first innings at Lords), dug in for a rearguard that still gives me the shivers when I think about it, lost the second Test, but won the final Test with Murali wreaking absolute havoc on the last day.

Then came a 5 - 0 victory in the ODI series, finished off with a particularly brutal Sanath Jayasuriya special at Headingley when the Lankans reached England's total of 321 with a redonkulous 12 overs to spare.

Then in the return series last year, Sri Lanka won the tests 1 - 0, a scorecard which is generous to England, who conceded 499 in the first innings of the third Test before being all out for 81 (who remembers the Lankan openers, Vandort and Tharanga, sprinting back to the pavilion as if to suggest that they weren't going to enforce the follow-on? That was funny!).

England did, though, win the ODI series.

SO. Do we think that the Lankans will:

(a) cement this England side and play them into tiptop form for the Ashes; or

(b) grind England down into the dirt and instill so much fear that the first ball bowled by an Englishman in the Ashes series will make the Harmison Wide appear as accurate as that arrow that splits the other arrow in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves?

Something tells me that England might find themselves pining for the Zimbos. www.cricketwithballs.com

Now with new proper english lady blogger.