***Official*** South Africa in Australia 2012

[Satyanash89]

Watching the clarke dismissal on loop. so, so good
Hope steyn rips out a few more in the fourth innings... been disappointing this series but he looked awesome today

 

[hendrix]

the highlights didn't show much of the amla/kallis partnership, was the bowling all short?

Yup. It really was atrocious bowling. They were bloody lucky to get Smith tbh.

Johnson was the only one who put a bit of pressure on, but even that was with a few well directed short balls that were nice and combative but unlikely to take a wicket.

One can understand bowlers overpitching, especially someone like Hastings if he's searching for swing, but I don't understand what they were trying to do with that short and wide rubbish. It was strange.

 

[Senile Sentry]

I think SA will post a 600 plus target tomorrow.

 

[Stapel]

More inclined to blame the batting. In any bookie's world 24 hours ago Australia would be 6 or 7 down.

Amla and Smith would have been a lot more circumspect without a first-innings lead that was gifted to them.

The same Johnson, Starc, Hastings, Lyon Watson skittled over the same SA lineup for 225 a day ago. The batsmen have handed back the initiative on a platter and the inexperienced bowlers have had to contend with two guys in peak form. The way Amla and Smith batted, one could almost feel a sense of payback for the first day humiliation in Adelaide. Amazing viewing for a neutral, what an off the rope kickback from SA...Rumble In The Jungle analogies all over the place

Obviously it is a bit easy to combine both your arguements and fight debate them as if they cam form the same poster, but still...., here I go.

IMHO, the SA 225 all-out was nothing but an accident. Sometimes, not-so-great bowlers bowl super spells. Sometimes great batting line-ups get out for just a few runs. Sometimes, things just happen against the odds. When England toured Aus 2 years ago, the Aus win was nothing but a blip in an otherwise totally England controlled series. Happens in cricket. Happens in any sport actually. If Holland play England 20 times in a cricket match, the Dutch will win one or two of those (one just has to get the timing right, for instance a World Cup opening match).

It is my opinion that the SA top 7 bating order is the best in the world at the moment. And it is my opinion that the Aussie attack is weaker than it has been for what........, 20 years? I dunno, since I've been watching cricket only since 1993. At the start of this series, I figured that the Aussies might have problems to take 20 SA wickets. Though that was a bit of a teaser (I posted it in this thread, I think), from where we are now, it seems bloody likely it will actually go that way. My point: the Australian bowlers are not good enough for Smith, Kallis, Amla, De Villiers & Du Plessis. Not having (fit) Cummins, Pattinson, Hilfenhaus & Siddle doesn't help.

Also, after day one, I never felt Aus were ahead.

@Arachnodouche,
I am, like you, a neutral viewer. I would have hoped for a more equal test. To kick in an open door: The Saffers will never ever allow the Aussies to get back into this test. Won't happen! And the only good thing about that is that I have no need to get out of bed at 6:10 am on a sunday pick up from the 2nd session. Third session starts at 8:30, which is just fine.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

and wide

Total rubbish

think there was a point when Clarke set a 6-3 field to Hastings plugging the whole cover region and the deliberate plan was to bowl outside off. Predicting that Amla moved to off before even the ball was released. The man won the mental battle too.

 

[Flametree]

snip..... Not having (fit) Cummins, Pattinson, Hilfenhaus & Siddle doesn't help.

Questions from a non-Aussie :

Will Ryan Harris ever play another test?
Ditto Doug Bollinger?

From what I've seen, these two plus Pattinson are the best bowlers in Australia when fit though I'm going back a wee way in Bollinger's case. So the current line-up could be called the third choice seam attack (Siddle, Hilf, and Cummins make up the second). I think it was the first innings outcome that was the surprising one, not yesterday's evening session.

 

[Pup Clarke]

His action is quite laboured.

Nah, that's Starc all over.

 

[Burgey]

Being on top of a team that has injuries for two tests and not taking advantage of it tells me that Aus:

1. Aus are not good enough with a one man advantage
2. SA are good enough with a reduced team

But nothing would please me more than seeing Ponting not only lose his last test and make another low score. Not because I am a SA fan, but because he is the last remainder of the Aus team who played the game in bad f spirit (yelling at umpires when decisions didn't go his way and excessive appealing. At least Clark and Hussey seem good spirited. And thank goodness for UDRS as I remember umpire Hair (fondly at moments like this) for what many believe to have robbed SA of a successful first tour of Aus after readmission.

Sorry to hear about your condition, but it does need to be pointed out you do seem bitter towards the Australian cricket team.

 

[jboss]

Sorry to hear about your condition, but it does need to be pointed out you do seem bitter towards the Australian cricket team.

Thank you, but I am bitter toward bitter people. From my point of view the spirit of cricket had deteriorated for a period from when I started watching SA in the 1992 WC where batsmen used to walk to the point where Smith was denied a runner by Strauss, but Strauss himself ironically almost a year later needed a runner for cramping. I have seen with my own eyes how the Aus dominance in the 90's lead to arrogance and rudeness on field and fans harassing players.

BTW I am a lover of cricket and if I have animosity toward any country, it would be my mother land SA for forcing me to live like a medical refugee because (this is not the place for politics....)

 

[GIMH]

Wasn't it three and a half years earlier when Strauss needed a runner?

 

[GotSpin]

Worst posting in this thread

 

[Burgey]

Thank you, but I am bitter toward bitter people. From my point of view the spirit of cricket had deteriorated for a period from when I started watching SA in the 1992 WC where batsmen used to walk to the point where Smith was denied a runner by Strauss, but Strauss himself ironically almost a year later needed a runner for cramping. I have seen with my own eyes how the Aus dominance in the 90's lead to arrogance and rudeness on field and fans harassing players.

BTW I am a lover of cricket and if I have animosity toward any country, it would be my mother land SA for forcing me to live like a medical refugee because (this is not the place for politics....)

If you think cricket was played in a spirit of wonderful bonhomie up to the 92 WC and only degenerated thereafter, you're really badly mistaken sorry.

And if you're right, the main thing which changed in the game after the early 90s was South Africa being readmitted.

Draw your own conclusions.

 

[jboss]

If you think cricket was played in a spirit of wonderful bonhomie up to the 92 WC and only degenerated thereafter, you're really badly mistaken sorry.

And if you're right, the main thing which changed in the game after the early 90s was South Africa being readmitted.

Draw your own conclusions.

If you think that I know the exact minute and day that sportsmanship deteriorated in cricket, you're really badly mistaken sorry.

I know however that Aus arrogance was off the charts for a long period and took the lack of sportsmanship to a whole new level. Commentators talk about how they had to turn off the stump mic(s) because the Aussies chirped over the top and excessive comments. One incident famously had someone fight back to McGrath insulting his wife who died of cancer later. Clearly the game has degraded from a gentleman's game to a game that is played in bad spirit for many factors that we don't see. But the Gavaskar incident, underarm bowling, Watson jumping like a **** recently and the Steve Bucknor incidents are not hidden from our eyes.

 

[Viscount Tom]

Smith was denied a runner by the umpires for the record.

Its hardly like all other teams have played with total gamesmanship it really isn't just the Aussies.

 

[robelinda]

Fairly humorous sunday morning reading.

 

[robelinda]

Pretty sure fixing matches is worse than Shane Watson celebrating like a douche when he got Gayle out 3 years ago.

 

[Bahnz]

Bowl well on the first morning, reduce opposition to 6/70, then bowl poorly for the next session and let one batsmen and the tail push the score up to a passable total. Then Saffer swing bowlers come on, make openers look rubbish and grab a couple before stumps. Next morning the top order completely collapses, and complete embarassment is only avoided by an agressive innings from the number 7. Then the bowlers, tired and demoralised by the batsmen undoing all their good work, bowl a bunch of pies and any chance of a win evaporates into thin air.

If it weren't for the baggy green caps I could swear I was watching New Zealand play.

 

[Top_Cat]

Except the rearguard would have come from the number 9 who should in reality be batting 7 if it were NZ.

Hmmm, SA 300 in front after day 2, good deck for batting, inexperienced attack, Kallis and Amla at the crease with Amla all but on a ton already. Sounds like a recipe for doing something other than watching the cricket today.

 

[hendrix]

I still think Aus have a slight chance of getting back into the game.

Kallis looked loose last night, De Villiers is miles out of form and Du Plessis is due a failure.

Bowl them out with a lead of 400 and there's plenty of time left in the match.

Whatever happens it's been a great series.

 

[robelinda]

Except the rearguard would have come from the number 9 who should in reality be batting 7 if it were NZ.

Hmmm, SA 300 in front after day 2, good deck for batting, inexperienced attack, Kallis and Amla at the crease with Amla all but on a ton already. Sounds like a recipe for doing something other than watching the cricket today.

yeah cant say im busting to turn on the tv at 1:30 today. might even clean the gutters or mow the lawn, and I *never* do that stuff, would rather go audition for a Nickelback tribute band and listen to One Direction in the car on the way there.