What does "when tested" mean? Is that his overall average vs those nations?
Yep Even just a cm of seam movement is enough to do most batsmen. Not everyone is Sachin or Dravid. Such technically brilliant batters don't exist anymore. Such a shame it was good to watch such battles
Nothing too intense. Just remembered looking before this test and seeing he averaged 45 & thought it flattered him slightly.
Yeah that's 100% fair. He's definitely gone missing vs those teams at times. 2019 ashes and 2018 border Gavaskar when he was the senior bat come to mind. Also has a top score of 11 in the 2 WTC finals he's played. Even the recent border Gavaskar in AUS.
You’ve more posts about England in this thread than you have either of the two teams playing #obsessed
I really don't think it's a bad wicket, it's just that the two bowling attacks are massively superior to the batting units. Three all time great seamers for Australia, one of the very best SA has ever produced plus another who may go on to be that good too. Arguably, the worst batting line up Aus have put out since 2010 and a SA Top 6 that has gone largely untested against decent bowlers through the qualification period. It's not much of a surprise really what we're getting.
Just acknowledging the traditional owners of the ground the game is being played on.
Dude, come on. You could have three cardboard cut outs + head, Khawaja, smith and Carey on current form and it would still be infinitely better than some of the batting lineups we put up between sand paper gate and the Pakistan series in 2022. Does nobody remember the marsh brothers at 3 + 4, or that run between the 2019 ashes and covid border Gavaskar where our batting line-up was slightly out of smith + marnus and a prayer. FFS we had Joe burns and Matthew Wade opening the batting at one point with pre bogan head, start of career green and Paine either side of marnus and smith.
But on current form, Khawaja and Head join the cardboard cut out crew and even Smith is hardly the player he once was.
Head averaged 50+ against bumrah and made runs in SL opening over his last 2 series..... Smith has 3 hundreds in his last 6/7 tests and made runs this test.
So what you're saying is that South Africa will win by 3 wickets?
Head averages 34 in this WTC cycle, Smith 41, that's miles off his best, but he's the only one over 40. I know Head is very much an all or nothing player and will win you matches, but he's not been consistently that great. Labuschagne would've been dropped if there was another opener available who had started shaving anything more than bumfluff. Green is clearly not a 3 and Webster is just not Test quality. The fact that a keeper who averages 21 against England and 27 against India is one of those not in question raises even more alarm bells.
Isn't that always the case?
