***Official*** Australia in South Africa

[Top_Cat]

Fair point about being overly-pessimistic. Everyone expected OZ to be dominated in SL and they won the series and I doubt anyone thought SA would lose a Test so kudos to the side for that.

What was good to see was the blokes most under pressure, even though they didn't dominate, still managed to contribute to the win. Genuine team effort.

 

[adub]

Yay, once again we'll paper over the cracks, and not improve one bit.

Can't believe South Africa lost that. Their mentality is whacked.

You can see it coming can't you. Three years from now we'll be wondering if the lastest barely adequate performance will be enough to save Ponting, Haddin and Johnson yet again.

 

[Sylvester]

Are we really going to sweep the all out for 47 under the carpet? It's not like that was a flash in the pan either, we have done it on two other occasions in the past 18 months. And deadset Johnson surely can't survive on his batting effort, that would be the biggest load of **** I've ever seen.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Blimey, they won?

Have fun putting up with Ponting and Johnson for another three years. Especially with a series against us coming up to bring them back into "form".

 

[Top_Cat]

Quote in 2013:

"I was going to retire after Johannesburg but winning that Test was just the boost I needed to get back into form and bring home the Ashes" said Ricky Ponting after breaking Bradman's 80-year old record for most runs in a series.

 

[robelinda]

Punter. Love him. And his future quotes.

Think I might upload some classic SA choke to celebrate today.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Quote in 2013:

"I was going to retire after Johannesburg but winning that Test was just the boost I needed to get back into form and bring home the Ashes" said Ricky Ponting after breaking Bradman's 80-year old record for most runs in a series.

Cut from the rest of the transcript...

"It's just a bloody shame we're still picking Phil Hughes to open, and he never once got past eight. Poor bastard keeps waking up in the middle of the night and screaming, "No, Jimmy, No, please take Watto instead." Then of course Watto gets scared and asks if he can come and sleep on the sofa in Clarkey's room... frankly it's a good job I can't get up the stairs any more, it's no surprise we didn't win a Test as those boys barely get any shut-eye at night..."

 

[Prince EWS]

Cut from the rest of the transcript...

"It's just a bloody shame we're still picking Phil Hughes to open, and he never once got past eight. Poor bastard keeps waking up in the middle of the night and screaming, "No, Jimmy, No, please take Watto instead." Then of course Watto gets scared and asks if he can come and sleep on the sofa in Clarkey's room... frankly it's a good job I can't get up the stairs any more, it's no surprise we didn't win a Test as those boys barely get any shut-eye at night..."

Would have been a much better post if T_C hadn't included the phrase "bring home the Ashes" in the original quote...

 

[Top_Cat]

:Klaus:

 

[howardj]

Quote in 2013:

"I was going to retire after Johannesburg but winning that Test was just the boost I needed to get back into form and bring home the Ashes" said Ricky Ponting after breaking Bradman's 80-year old record for most runs in a series.

Concludes with "It's like I write my own scripts"

 

[howardj]

Yay, once again we'll paper over the cracks, and not improve one bit.

Can't believe South Africa lost that. Their mentality is whacked.

Yeah, that's worrying that the cracks will be papered over.

Getting rid of Johnson, Ponting and Haddin would improve the team.

But, after last night, I suspect they will all hold on.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Would have been a much better post if T_C hadn't included the phrase "bring home the Ashes" in the original quote...

Would it be wrong to abuse the "edit post" button in this particular circumstance?

 

[Top_Cat]

Would make baby Hitler cry.

 

[Redbacks]

I call interview fixing. Clearly paid off by Siddle and Johnson there.

He would have been put into the hall of fame if he was honest and said: 'Yeah, I did carry the attack cause Sid and MJ were bowling ****'

 

[Prince EWS]

He would have been put into the hall of fame if he was honest and said: 'Yeah, I did carry the attack cause Sid and MJ were bowling ****'

I would have settled for a happy medium. I didn't mind him saying that he kept talking to them and asking for advice because I'm sure he did, but when he said they "bowled beautifully" in the match it crossed the line into the ridiculous.

 

[Redbacks]

Getting rid of ........ Haddin would improve the team.

Really? Another innings under fire and he has stood up and shown the value of experience. His hot and cold antics are still a big concern in a team falling over every couple of tests.

 

[adub]

Really? Another innings under fire and he has stood up and shown the value of experience. His hot and cold antics are still a big concern in a team falling over every couple of tests.

Yes really. He never was the greatest gloveman (although never as bad as he's been made out sometimes either), but he was always the man to take over from Gilly because he was clearly the best bet as No.7 bat.

But that's not the case anymore. Wade is clearly a superior bet for making runs at 7 over the next few years, so the raison d'etre for Haddin is now gone. Wade's glovework isn't going to be worse and his batting will be better so he should take Haddin's place as it improves the side.

 

[Spikey]

Penrith boy too, isn't he?

aussie rules boy more importantly

 

[Ruckus]

**** can't believe we won that! To take a 1-1 draw from that series is a pretty awesome result. Feels like a series win for us.

Without wanting to be pessimistic though, I really hope this result doesn't gloss over the major problems in the team - yet again. Let's just look at the performances for the 'on notice' players and see what has changed:

-Ponting: got a nice 50, but failed to convert. The nice 50 thing isn't new though. In recent times, he has also got nice looking 50's against England, India and Sri Lanka with the same result. Has anything actually changed, and does he deserve to stay on given his performance in this match? I doubt it. Using it as evidence of a return to form would only be ignoring so much of his recent past. Rebirth or not, it is time to introduce a new batsman permanently.
-Johnson: was complete fail with the ball, but managed to hit some match-winning runs with the bat. That's great that he did that and help the team to a win, but what is his true role in the team? It isn't being an allrounder, it is being a strike bowler with any runs being a nice bonus he offers. The fact is he didn't fulfill his main role in the team, and it doesn't take a genius to work out if he did, we wouldn't have been chasing so many runs in the first place. You can't just keep a player on simply because of the little extras they provide to the team. We need consistency/reliability at the moment, and he simply can't provide it. With the introduction of Cummins, the need for him in the team looks increasingly weak.
-Haddin: he might be the only one who partially deserves to stay on. But a lot of that is to do with the lack of better alternatives. Wade might be a better option, but how much more would he really add? After Wade, the cupboards start looking pretty bare. If Haddin saves himself after this test, and then can back it up it the following series' I'd be happy if he stayed in the team. But otherwise, his time might be up as well.

I really don't think any of the above is being overly pessimistic. Let's be honest, it was a pleasant suprise we won this match, but on another day we easily could have lost it too.

 

[adub]

aussie rules boy more importantly

knew there was something not quite right about him.