*Official* WTC FINAL Australia vs South Africa 2025

[Primrose_D12]

Let's not pull off a South Africa here guys. Calm down

It would be a very South Africa thing to... be South Africa. Go figure. :P

 

[SeamUp]

There is definitely a little nibble here after the over night rain.

 

[centurymaker]

If this was a T20 WC or ODI WC match, I'd back Australia to win but in a test match, there are no time/over constraints, so SA will win.

 

[SeamUp]

Australian A team selections are usually mystifying, so nothing's new there. And the strategy always seems to be 'work it out when the need arises'.

Richardson got a shoulder operation and probably wouldn't have played any four day games until the new season anyway. But don't know why they'd leave out Morris except that they're being hyper careful with his work load (wish they'd fix his runup, might actually reduce stress on his body). O'Neill is almost certainly looked upon as being too slow.

Some of the selections I like - Nisbet is like a combination of Alderman and McGrath in style and Jackson bowls a very heavy ball. Thornton's a very destructive bowler on his day but lacks consistency. Stanlake's been a disappointment, his lack of fitness (apparently partly self-inflicted) has been an issue. The blandest sections are Perry, who looked promising several years ago but has gone sideways since then, and Elliot, who isn't fast enough.

Vidler and Beardman are two bowlers of great potential who might have been better picks. I think the overall future fast bowlers will be fine fitness permitting (big if, that one), but it could take a considerable time to bed in a new attack and the selectors might actually need to consider rotating bowlers to find the best combination, something they don't do at the moment.

I haven't seen much of Nisbet so I'm looking forward to seeing a bit of him now. Saw Beardman and Vidler. We had Maphaka and Luus at the same U19 CWC. No other country came close to quick bowling of that level as you guys and us.

Bartlett only white-ball?

 

[wpdavid]

There is definitely a little nibble here after the over night rain.

It's also more humid, albeit only for a while. But the ball is old.

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

There is definitely a little nibble here after the over night rain.

True , but they also need to look to score , and Stubbs tends sometimes to just eat up dot balls and not look for boundaries when that isn't really how he normally scores runs

 

[SeamUp]

True , but they also need to look to score , and Stubbs tends sometimes to just eat up dot balls and not look for boundaries when that isn't really how he normally scores runs

I'm more in the camp of back your defensive technique but be positive in your scoring options at the same time. He hasn't done much wrong so far. Good solid defence and shouting No run can also ease the nerves. I don't want him to throw his wicket away.

 

[Johan]

played like a classic Lord's wicket on day 1

played like a Port Elizabeth wicket on day 2

played like an early Galle wicket on day 3

playing like an aged Queen's Park Oval wicket on day 4

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Plumb

 

[Chin Music]

I know Jhye has been but no idea if he currently is injured. There is a lot of rapping in cotton wool (I understand). He has been contracted by CA so there must be some hope.

I don’t know their current fitness status but there is only so much wrangling in cotton wool when they have only played 25/26 FC games their whole career.

 

[SkyBlue]

Poor innings from Stubbs so far. Caught on the crease and playing very tentatively. Playing like a typical South African batsman in a pressure cooker situation

 

[Starfighter]

I haven't seen much of Nisbet so I'm looking forward to seeing a bit of him now. Saw Beardman and Vidler. We had Maphaka and Luus at the same U19 CWC. No other country came close to quick bowling of that level as you guys and us.

Bartlett only white-ball?

Dunno about Bartlett, but I'd guess so. He's had injury problems his whole career. He's actually improved significantly as a bowler despite that, but also lost a few km/h.

Fast bowlers can mature late, especially if they're ironing out technical issues (like Nortje) so it's not always u19 reps who end up being the future, especially with injury always being a possibility.

I could be very wrong about Nisbet, could be a mediocrity who disappears in a few years. He's not easy on the eye but to me he has something that marks him out, like I saw with Gus Atkinson before he came to media attention.

 

[jcas0167]

Poor innings from Stubbs so far. Caught on the crease and playing very tentatively. Playing like a typical South African batsman in a pressure cooker situation

OTOH, if he tried to be more attacking and got out he would absolutely cop it.

EDIT: Then he almost runs himself out

 

[cascade]

I'm out to dinner so haven't watched anything but seems like today could have been very interesting with a few more runs to get? Disappointing that Australia have been sloppy at various points but South Africa have earned it.

 

[Jumno]

South Africa only need 42 runs!

 

[Daemon]

Burgey’s gone so quiet all of a sudden. He’s become what he accuses people of. Sad but hardly surprising.

 

[Johan]

Alright that was just desperate.

 

[cascade]

Alright that was just desperate.

Tactical review.

 

[SkyBlue]

**** innings from Stubbs

Was a matter of time before he got out

 

[Primrose_D12]

What garbage by Stubbs.