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South Africa Thread
- Thread starter Richard
- Start date
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
expected 15 i'd say:
1. Smith
2. Boucher
3. Dippenaar
4. Gibbs
5. Kallis
6. De Villiers
7. Kemp
8. Prince
9. Pollock
10. Hall
11. Van der wath
12. Boje
13. Ntini
14. Nel
15. Telemachus or Langeveldt
Very powerful side, along with Pakistan are Australia's biggest challengers.
1. Smith
2. Boucher
3. Dippenaar
4. Gibbs
5. Kallis
6. De Villiers
7. Kemp
8. Prince
9. Pollock
10. Hall
11. Van der wath
12. Boje
13. Ntini
14. Nel
15. Telemachus or Langeveldt
Very powerful side, along with Pakistan are Australia's biggest challengers.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
Frankly, I still hope we might see a Smith-Gibbs opening partnership - for the last time - this Cup. de Villiers has plenty of time, he doesn't need to be the finished act yet (and isn't - in ODIs at least).
I've always thought Kallis was best utilised at three and it's best, for me, if he nails down a certain place as soon as.
I simply can't see a place for both Kallis and Dippenaar in the same side. Boeta is a very, very fine run-scorer, and while he can score quickly he just doesn't do it often enough. We can afford to have 1 player striking at 70, but I don't think we can afford 2. At least, not where there are faster-scoring options elsewhere. Kallis, too, is better equipped to up the pace where neccessary.
Neil McKenzie is certainly not finished in my mind. Currently his best chances look like getting a place in the Test side, but every time Prince looks like he's on the road to being dropped he always comes-up with something.
Jacques Rudolph, too, simply must be in the picture. He's always scored runs for fun in one-day cricket, and it'd be foolish to leave him out of the picture.
Clearly, the three front-line seamers are all assured of a place. Nonetheless, I always have worries about Nel and Ntini, good as they can be - both, especially in one-dayers, have too many off-days. Kallis must be prepared to bowl 10 overs, even if he goes for plenty.
Hall is looking increasingly assured of a place, what with his recent record. Equally, there's no doubt over the wicketkeeper's place.
I'm not completely sure when South Africa's next ODI cricket is. It's a bit of a worry, really, if there's nothing for a long time, because they really IMO need to get back to normality quickly, after THAT game. It'll do no-one any good to rest on that for a long time.
Clearly, there needs to be ONE spinner in the squad, and that 1 spinner I'd pick would be Boje. I'd not have him pencilled-in for an automatic spot, but slow and turning pitches in West Indies are not unusual and that basis needs to be covered.
I'd say anyone who writes-off Justin Kemp is a fool. He may have struggled badly against the Sri Lankans but the fact is these days he looks like a batsman, rather than just a lower-order swinger. I'd back him to score plenty of runs on decent pitches against most bowling-attacks.
At present I'd go...
Smith
Gibbs
Kallis
McKenzie
Rudolph
Kemp
Hall
Boucher
Pollock
Ntini
Nel
With the last 2 rabbits, there must be plenty of depth in the batting. The one shame I find is that there now seems no chance at all left of Klusener having one last fling with ODIs in West Indies. A shame, as he actually bowled well on his most recent appearence, and I think his bowling could be very useful in West Indies, while his batting might be too.
I've always thought Kallis was best utilised at three and it's best, for me, if he nails down a certain place as soon as.
I simply can't see a place for both Kallis and Dippenaar in the same side. Boeta is a very, very fine run-scorer, and while he can score quickly he just doesn't do it often enough. We can afford to have 1 player striking at 70, but I don't think we can afford 2. At least, not where there are faster-scoring options elsewhere. Kallis, too, is better equipped to up the pace where neccessary.
Neil McKenzie is certainly not finished in my mind. Currently his best chances look like getting a place in the Test side, but every time Prince looks like he's on the road to being dropped he always comes-up with something.
Jacques Rudolph, too, simply must be in the picture. He's always scored runs for fun in one-day cricket, and it'd be foolish to leave him out of the picture.
Clearly, the three front-line seamers are all assured of a place. Nonetheless, I always have worries about Nel and Ntini, good as they can be - both, especially in one-dayers, have too many off-days. Kallis must be prepared to bowl 10 overs, even if he goes for plenty.
Hall is looking increasingly assured of a place, what with his recent record. Equally, there's no doubt over the wicketkeeper's place.
I'm not completely sure when South Africa's next ODI cricket is. It's a bit of a worry, really, if there's nothing for a long time, because they really IMO need to get back to normality quickly, after THAT game. It'll do no-one any good to rest on that for a long time.
Clearly, there needs to be ONE spinner in the squad, and that 1 spinner I'd pick would be Boje. I'd not have him pencilled-in for an automatic spot, but slow and turning pitches in West Indies are not unusual and that basis needs to be covered.
I'd say anyone who writes-off Justin Kemp is a fool. He may have struggled badly against the Sri Lankans but the fact is these days he looks like a batsman, rather than just a lower-order swinger. I'd back him to score plenty of runs on decent pitches against most bowling-attacks.
At present I'd go...
Smith
Gibbs
Kallis
McKenzie
Rudolph
Kemp
Hall
Boucher
Pollock
Ntini
Nel
With the last 2 rabbits, there must be plenty of depth in the batting. The one shame I find is that there now seems no chance at all left of Klusener having one last fling with ODIs in West Indies. A shame, as he actually bowled well on his most recent appearence, and I think his bowling could be very useful in West Indies, while his batting might be too.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
I must be a fool then because Kemp can not only not play pace, seen in his troubles of getting away Brett Lee and even Stuart Clark but Kemp has to be the worst player of spin in South Africa. Sure he is a big hitter but so is Roger Telemachus does not mean he should bat at six either, he does not have the technique to bat so high (can not play the short ball, bouncy West Indian wickets will trouble him) and because his bowling has gone to pot he should not be selected.Richard said:
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
Well for one thing, West Indian pitches don't tend to be the most bouncy around. Least, maybe.TT Boy said:
I can think of plenty of worse players of spin in South Africa - Kemp, I might remind you, kept Shane Warne at bay for something like 150 deliveries on a turning pitch at The WACA not so long ago. I'd back Kemp to get away most seamers, too.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Personally I can not think of worse players of spin in South Africa, maybe van der Wath who looked just as clueless as Kemp against Murali and Bandara. Kemp other than the his prolonged second innings at Perth (where he did not face 150 deliverers of spin, more like 80) he has struggled badly against spin. Mickey Mouse bowlers, the Kabir Ali's and James Anderson's of this world, he will own but any bowler with a decent brain, yorker or bouncer will have Kemp out pretty easily.Richard said:
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
The bouncer was used sporadically but effectively by the Australians against Kemp in the VB series and he never looked like comfortable against it, holed out a few times to deep fine leg.Richard said:
Ashwell Prince is a funny one because come the end of the Australian series, Warne was not getting him out, or really troubling him. Prince was just getting himself out, by dancing down the wicket and batting over aggressively, he lost the plot so to speak and Warne's presence not actual performances was the factor. Ontong have not seen much of him though his record suggest he does like getting out to spin. McKenzie has improved no end and AB's performance against spin minus Warne have not been that bad, just a judgement thing with the kid. Whilst Andrew Hall is not a particularly good player of anything so that's a no brainier.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
Exactly.
It'd be a shame if ABdeV turned-out to be another Rhodes, Boucher, etc. - because I'm perfectly confident he has the ability to work on his play against spin.
Right now, though, he looks a pretty bad player of spin, and it'll be interesting to see how he goes if he faces Murali any time soon.
It'd be a shame if ABdeV turned-out to be another Rhodes, Boucher, etc. - because I'm perfectly confident he has the ability to work on his play against spin.
Right now, though, he looks a pretty bad player of spin, and it'll be interesting to see how he goes if he faces Murali any time soon.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
He's better than he used to be, I'll give him that, but he's still far from the best player in the side - Kallis is clearly better, and so I'd say are Smith and Rudolph (when he gets picked - which currently he shouldn't be).
Of course, his batting against spin used to be something of a laughing-stock.
Of course, his batting against spin used to be something of a laughing-stock.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Well, considering only Aussie predicated the 15 who would go (we were both selecting are favoured players not the ones expected), his the genius. And other than Boje and van der Wath, the 15 he expected looks genuinely prophetic in thought.
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