***Official*** South Africa in England

[Uppercut]

How come they're still playing at 6.40? I thought half past was the cut-off time regardless of how many overs remain.

It was extended because they didn't get through all the over yesterday. Also isn't there usually extra play allowed when there's 9 wickets down?

 

[Shaggy Alfresco]

Hope they give the new ball to Pietersen after that wicket, who proceeds to york Smith first ball.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Pietersen must be thinking this bowling lark is easy

 

[open365]

It was extended because they didn't get through all the over yesterday. Also isn't there usually extra play allowed when there's 9 wickets down?

I think you're getting confused with the extra half hour allowed at the end of a day if the umpires feel a result can be forced so they don't have to come back tommorow.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Hope they give the new ball to Pietersen after that wicket, who proceeds to york Smith first ball.

Bouncer surely

 

[stumpski]

Hope they give the new ball to Pietersen after that wicket, who proceeds to york Smith first ball.

Would be good to see, but I might be minded to give it to Collingwood. Slow enough to keep them out there and might get a bit of movement.

 

[stumpski]

Panesar opening the bowling - Smith facing him for the first time? But that rain looks pretty steady to me.

 

[grecian]

Panesar opening the bowling - Smith facing him for the first time? But that rain looks pretty steady to me.

Will juice up the pitch though, all good for England.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Monty is actually a good candidate to open the bowling as a spinner compared to other spinners, as he relies a bit more on bounce than spin anyway.

 

[Uppercut]

I think you're getting confused with the extra half hour allowed at the end of a day if the umpires feel a result can be forced so they don't have to come back tommorow.

It can lead to taking a late lunch or tea too so the teams don't go for lunch, come back out, face one ball and have to go back to the dressing rooms again. Don't think it had anything to do with that though, was just the overs lost yesterday.

What a strange four overs of cricket that was... Two spinners opening the bowling with the extreme part-timer desperate to bowl at the opposition's opener.

 

[stumpski]

Rather surprising that TMS is still on air, they usually can't wait to finish when it over-runs - Channel 5 highlights starting in a couple of minutes.

 

[Manee]

Monty is actually a good candidate to open the bowling as a spinner compared to other spinners, as he relies a bit more on bounce than spin anyway.

Old ball bounce and new ball bounce are completely different prospects, imo.

 

[social]

Excellent performance by England - bowlers perervered, catching was really good and they had good plans

Vaughans captaincy annoys me at times because some of his field placings are soooo defensive - KP started with 4 men on the boundays in the second innings with a lead of over 400. Surely, they could've encouraged a shot or 2 without worrying about the runs

Prince, Mackenzie and De Villiers aside, SA were poor.

 

[Barney Rubble]

LOL @ KP taking the new ball. Bet he never does that again in his career.

Great day's play from England, really fantastic all-round performance. Anderson's catch to dismiss de Villiers off Panesar was outstanding. England's cricket has been almost faultless so far in this Test - as much as you can ask for against a strong side like South Africa. Here's hoping for an England win tomorrow - carn, lads.

 

[Manee]

It is interesting that Pietersen came to England because his bowling was not taken seriously as a serious option for Natal and now even he treats his own bowling as a joke.

 

[zaremba]

Three great days on the trot from England. I expect a backlash from SA in the 2nd Test.

Amla's dismissal surprised me because he had scored runs before the Test, and his shot to get out reminded me of a tailender in village cricket.

Poor old Graeme Smith eh? Won the toss and saw the opposition get nearly 600. Booed onto the pitch after the rain break on Day 2. Dismissed for next to nothing by a ball that bounced from nowhere. But let's face it he's a very very difficult man to feel sorry for.

 

[Richard]

Flintoff isnt a swing bowler. That he can swing the ball is not the issue, but anyone who is classified a swing bowler should be able to swing the ball more often than not and Flintoff doesnt do so.

I'm sure that Flintoff does not swing the ball as often as he could, but most of this is to do with length rather than seam position.

Flintoff, when he pitches a ball in the right condition on the right length, pretty well invariably swings it. And when he pitches too short, he's far less of a threat than when he pitches it up.

 

[Richard]

The conditions - in particular the state of the pitch, the state of the outfield and the weather - will have a massive effect on the condition of the ball. If it's wet, the ability to obtain either conventional or reverse swing will be affected; and the speed at which the ball scuffs will also be a major factor. So you can't artificially separate "the conditions" from "the condition of the ball".

Was purely relating to atmospheric conditions TBH. However, if a bowler can bowl both conventional- and reverse-swing (which near enough all the best exponents can these days) then there will only rarely be a time when the ball is not in the right condition for either. If the outfield and pitch allow the ball to be kept shiny on both sides, conventional-swing will result. If they ruff it up (and good shining is done, of course) then reverse will.

Obviously, a wet outfield will stop the damn thing swinging at all and I've only too much experience of such a thing myself. But at good levels, they don't play with a wet outfield except under remarkable circumstances. So it's not too much of an issue there.

Apart from that, do you not accept the commonly-held theories relating to atmospheric conditions and swing - eg that the ball will tend to swing more in humid conditions? (I know that this is poorly-understood, but it is a common assumption and I'd be interested to hear your view).

Atmosphere certainly can affect the amount of swing, but it's not like it goes from off to on. Swing is a gradual continuum, and good swing-bowlers can very easily get the ball, if in the right condition, to swing regardless of atmospheric conditions.

 

[fredfertang]

Poor old Graeme Smith eh? Won the toss and saw the opposition get nearly 600. Booed onto the pitch after the rain break on Day 2. Dismissed for next to nothing by a ball that bounced from nowhere. But let's face it he's a very very difficult man to feel sorry for.

There is absolutely nothing endearing about him he is:-

i) brash and arrogant

ii) an ugly sod with a gorgeous girlfriend

iii) a man who has scored far too many runs against England

I detest him but I fear he thrives on negative emotion - I wouldn't be at all surprised if the best way to "sledge" him wasn't to just smile at him and say not a word other than "well played" after every delivery

I still cant get over the way these last three days have gone - the rabble that played NZ look like a slick professional outfit and at Lords too!!!

Whatever has caused it I hope Moores has got a handle on it

Or is it just that Smith is such a ****

 

[Richard]

I do love being an oasis in a desert, which in being an England supporter who likes Graeme Smith I truly am.