**Official** West Indies in South Africa Thread

[garage flower]

Well another disappointing overseas tour comes to an end, but there were still a few positives to cling to:

tests

Gayle had his most encouraging overseas test series and Sarwan rubber-stamped his claim to be a world class batsman.

Dwayne Smith and, to some extent, the under-used Mohammed showed they have international class potential.

1 dayers

Powell actually looks like he might make a top 6 specialist bat rather than a slogger/fielder.

Chanderpaul should now have secured his spot at the top of the order.

Rampaul showed talent, maturity and enthusiasm. He was handled very well throughout the tour (i.e. protected during the test series). Actually caused Kallis a great deal of discomfort when such a feat seemd to be impossible.

The best catch of all-time by BCL!?


negatives

Ridiculous string of injuries.

Embarrasingly inept fielding from day 1, encapsulated in the pathetic moment during yesterday's finale that should serve as the epitaph to fat Ryan Hurley's international career. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. Sacking Logie is the obvious place to start.

Very poor bowling on the whole, delivered by what appear to be very average bowlers. Fidel was overworked and burdened with unrealistic expectations, but he was still a big disappointment.

Still 1 opener short in test cricket.

Ridley's batting. A couple of decent knocks, but seems to me to be in terminal decline.

FINAL POSITIVE: We're still good enough to beat England!

 

[Jono]

49.1 Gayle to Boucher, one run, beats diving Rampual at mid-wicket, but only take single
49.2 Gayle to Pollock, FOUR, miss-field on the cover boundary, four!
49.3 Gayle to Pollock, two runs, fumble on the long-on boundary
49.4 Gayle to Pollock, SIX, South African's highest score against the West Indies and a series win

---

How bad were those two misfields? Were they tough or was it a stupid simple mistake? It seems like it cost them the game considering they only gave away one run in the 49th over.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

How bad were those two misfields? Were they tough or was it a stupid simple mistake? It seems like it cost them the game considering they only gave away one run in the 49th over.

Just to clarify that as far as I'm concerned Hurley is a brilliant fielder, but he made an amateur mistake.

He didn't have to slide to field the ball, but seemingly in the pressure of the situation and the absolute desire not to let it go past, he went for an unneeded slide and messed it up. A more experienced fielder would have done otherwise.

Dillon's was very slack and coming from an experienced fielder it's inexcusable. IMO Dillon is one of the better fielding fast bowlers though, although he does make some silly errors occasionally.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Ridley's batting. A couple of decent knocks, but seems to me to be in terminal decline.

Batting at seven is not the easiest place to score buckets. I expect someone to counter me with Adam Gilchrist, but it's easier to come in at 7 with the score at 400/5 than to come in at 7 with the score at 100/5. I still think he's a valuable asset because he comes through when all else fail.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

should serve as the epitaph to fat Ryan Hurley's international career. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY.

Well fat Ryan Hurley is one of the quicker and certainly one of the better fielders on the team. If we judged fielders on their worst moment then some of the best would be rubbish. He also bowled well IMO, but was mishandled in the late overs.

 

[garage flower]

One of the better fielders unless he's under pressure (which pretty much comes with the territory in international cricket), an ordinary, defensive spin bowler and - contrary to expectations - a complete mug with the bat. It's not like there aren't other spin bowling or bowling all-rounder options (Mohammed, McGarrell, Benn, Breese, Banks when he recovers, Bradshaw) available. He's got to go.

 

[garage flower]

Batting at seven is not the easiest place to score buckets. I expect someone to counter me with Adam Gilchrist, but it's easier to come in at 7 with the score at 400/5 than to come in at 7 with the score at 100/5. I still think he's a valuable asset because he comes through when all else fail.

At the very least, he should be replaced for the 1-dayers this season. His potential replacements (Baugh, Hibbert, Browne) need top-level exposure. Ridley looks shotless and severely lacking in confidence.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

One of the better fielders unless he's under pressure (which pretty much comes with the territory in international cricket), an ordinary, defensive spin bowler and - contrary to expectations - a complete mug with the bat. It's not like there aren't other spin bowling or bowling all-rounder options (Mohammed, McGarrell, Benn, Breese, Banks when he recovers, Bradshaw) available. He's got to go.

He's not been under pressure all that much in his international career to date and the one time he truly is and he fails you write him off? Well done. You're sounding a great deal like Richard.

Also, I wouldn't write off his batting yet.

 

[garage flower]

You're sounding a great deal like Richard.

Mr M, please I can handle being called all the names under the sun, but not that. Anything but that.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh on Burley - I mean Hurley, but really he just looks like an ordinary cricketer to me. I suppose his domestic record suggests there is potential improvement with the bat, but he looked clueless.

Any thoughts on Powell's performances at no 3?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Mr M, please I can handle being called all the names under the sun, but not that. Anything but that.

Lol.

Any thoughts on Powell's performances at no 3?

He looked a great deal more mature than I've ever seen him. Then he played a typical hurricane innings in the last one.

 

[Langeveldt]

I suppose I shouldn't blame a South African for trying to black out the memory of the World Cup, but come on! These 2 teams had a better game then and a better game in the last Champions Trophy or whatever it's called.

Nah I still maintain thats the best ODI i have ever seen... Ive never seen the pendulum swing so many times in a single innings.. amazing stuff..

In terms of atmosphere/spectacle, I think the Wanderers game was incredible..

I guess people would say the WC semi Final in 99 at Edgbaston.. Well that amazing match was all clouded up for me by the ending, nip and tuck i guess...

 

[Langeveldt]

Liam. shouldnt BCL's batting be in your positives? It was pretty scary from an SA point of view



SA Positives

The batting unit - Looks as solid as ever... Gibbs, Smith and Kallis could do awesome things for South Africa..

Andre Nel - Aside all the frolics and acting, a very fine bowler is beginning to emerge.. Hes bowling quicker than I have ever seen him bowl

Makhaya Ntini - His transformation from tearaway quick to seasoned international pro seems complete...


SA Negatives

Spinners - With no Nicky Boje, the spin cupboard looked bare.. And Robbie Peterson playing in the worlds number 2 side is quite frankly a joke..

The crowd - Well I see they got rid of Bloem' from the international calendar, in an effort to get rid of the lack of crowd from the test summer.. But the Wanderers and Durban crowds were abysmal.. At least things livened up at CT.... Its cheap to go, and SA are doing very well... I think SABC should follow the aussie route and not show cricket in provinces where the test is on..

Jacques Rudolph/Neil McKenzie - The former performed excellently in the ODI's.. but they still have selectorial question marks over them...

 

[marc71178]

Lol.

He looked a great deal more mature than I've ever seen him. Then he played a typical hurricane innings in the last one.

Can you blame him?

The situation was set up for him to throw caution to the wind, and he did!