The Cricket Thread

[i_amtrunks]

It pains me to admit it, but Clarke did very well this test, finally stood up when needed and is now bowling okay on a pitch that suits his style. Still he should not be VC and should never be the captain, but for some reason CA love him.

And why did Morkel open the batting, he would have been useful later on in the innings, like the first innings.

We will lose today, Ponting has made this test competitive (strange since he never declares a competitive total) and this is South Africa's Test to win now. if Ponting had have batted another hour or so and then had an hour at the South Africans last night I think the Ausise total (with Haddin, Johnson and co to come) would have been deemed unobtainable and the South Africans would have played defensive boring cricket today and played for the draw.

They might still do it, but with their line up they can also play for the win. especially if DeVilliers finds his Perth form.

Ponting, Hayden and Katich all threw their wickets away, I cannot remember another test where so many Batsmen got out by playing onto their stumps, especially when the shots have been so attacking rather than defending. Wish Ponting had have allowed Hussey to get 50, it would have helped his confidence.

Katich needs to bowl today, he Clarke and Hauritz really need to tie up one end and strangle the runs to allow Siddle and Johnson a go at the other end. plus the more overs they bowl, the better the chance is to get the South Africans out, 90 overs a day is only the minimum.

Clark needs to return to the side and Hilfenhaus and Krezja need to be in the extended test side for South Africa, Hauritz might be better off like Bracken, a one day specialist. Lee and McDonald need more state time, we can use Johnson and Krezja as out allrounders, coming in at 7 and 8.

Should be an interesting days play, I think South Africa will win, unless Australia take 3 wickets or more in the first session, something they have struggled to do.

Will be interested to see the ODI squad. If Noffke is fit and not picked there is something very wrong with our selectors.

[Fungal Infection]

That was an awesome match and a thrilling finish. Ponting's declaration yesterday was a good call to give the team enough time to bowl out the South Africans. Smith's appearance totally shocked me and I'd have to rate it as one of the top 5 greatest moments in sports that I have ever seen. SA thoroughly deserved to win this series but what made this series great for me was the lack of politics, unlike the India series last summer which was mired with threats to abandon the tour if India didn't get their way. Both teams in this series just went out played cricket in the spirit of the game. I just wish the selectors knew what they were doing when selecting the team......

[i_amtrunks]

Well aren't I glad to be proven wrong!

I missed the last hour thanks to a train derailment (damn cityfail) pretty peeved right now, but I did get to see the ball Johson got Smith with, it was a cracker, and I think it would have caused problems for Smith even if he hadn't had a broken finger and a seized elbow.

Kallis's wicket was an interesting one, I'm not sure if he was out or not, but he took it gracefully even though he was only a dozen runs off 10,000. He now has to wait till the last day of February to get another chance at it.

Overall it was great series that Australia could have been far more competitive if the selectors grew a pair and made the tough decisions instead of relying on injuries to force changers.
We would not have won this last test if Lee and Symonds had not injured themselves.

Australia managed to lose the first test and helped South Africa win the second, but I still think South Africa was the better team (and the best team in the world) and deserved the series win, as Australia were unable to play cricket for more than a session at a time, and always managed to lose whatever advantage they had gained.

And I agree with Fungal, it's been great to have the South Africans out here just to play cricket and not whinge, whine and sook like spoilt brats whenever they werent allowed to cheat and get their own way. Bring on the 2020 and ODI's I expect South Africa to belt us in those too.

[STL]

And why did Morkel open the batting, he would have been useful later on in the innings, like the first innings.

A lot of conjecture was so that it wouldn't upset the balance of the batting line up and I'd agree. Even playing at juniors, it annoyed me to come in at 4 or 5th as opposed to my usual spot. He wasn't handy but at the least it didn't change the rhythm for the rest of the team.

Should be an interesting days play, I think South Africa will win, unless Australia take 3 wickets or more in the first session, something they have struggled to do.

Very prophetic.

Will be interested to see the ODI squad. If Noffke is fit and not picked there is something very wrong with our selectors.

Damn straight.

I have to admit though my ODI interest is waning incredibly. I love test matches and 20/20 but the ODI format is boring me to tears. I think its become far too clinical and systematic. You know the exact way teams will bat and structure their line up and I've just fallen out of love with ODI. Not to say 20/20 is better for the skill and grace of the game but its certainly more watchable.

Smith's appearance totally shocked me and I'd have to rate it as one of the top 5 greatest moments in sports that I have ever seen.

Agreed entirely. We were watching and it was just one of those quiet moments were your in absolute awe and Smith has come a long way. My memories were always McGrath and Warne always got under his skin and would make him their bunny and he'd react impetuously. But this time around, years on, his maturity, poise, courage and leadership have come out. I have a lot of respect for the fella.

As for Australia, they really almost did not deserve to win this match. They couldn't convincingly clean up the tail and that's just not good enough. The fact they won takes a lot of focus away from the batsman who were again saved by the tail in the first innings. Johnson, Haurtiz and Siddle put on very important runs that essentially amounted to more than the lead on the 1st innings.

That delivery from Johnson hit a serious crack and that was what Johnson I had suspect had been trying for in the previous over he'd bowled wide of the stumps. It was fortunate but it didn't convince me. Stump to stump bowling outside the zone would've been much better. Especially in such a precarious situation. I understood why Johnson bowled wide but it was tough to stomach seeing him gamble on a crack in the wicket rather than his skill and the injured state of Smith and the skill-less Ntini.

Hauritz. No. Just no. He wasn't even being picked by his State side. And he barely was threatening and failed in the 1st innings to keep the runs down when the match was in the balance which is his stated job. He just doesn't cut it and Australia need to give a young bowler a chance. I've seen McGain and he is bloody good but he is too old. I'm not an ageist but we need to plan for the future now and the Ashes. It's not a long way away at all and we already screwed up with our opening batsman this series. We can't afford to waste the spinners position.

McDonald. I don't know. Very good, better than I've seen him do at state level but just not sure what was up with Hopes? Is he injured cos I don't recall him playing for Qld lately either.

Ponting's captaincy again was questionable. Why did he give each bowler an over at the death? Fact is, you NEED a few balls before you even hit your stride. Doesn't matter how mnay overs u've already bowled, you still need the time to get into rhythm. It was stupid captaincy.

I look forward to late Feb, now for the return test series. This series was an absolute delight and I'm glad Australia got beaten. It's raised serious issues and knocked us out of complacency.

[jacksplatt11]

Even playing at juniors, it annoyed me to come in at 4 or 5th as opposed to my usual spot.

11?



Haha, but yeah, didn't Smith cut an imposing figure coming in at 11, even while injured. The looks on the AUS players faces were priceless when they thought they had it won, only to see one of the worlds best current batsmen coming out. Turns out it only delayed the inevitable by an over or two, but the fact that Smith came out, with a dodgy elbow and a broken finger, really gained him a lot of respect not just from me, but I dare say from most Cricket fans, and as Fungal alluded to, sports fans in general. You could see every ball from the fast bowlers, even MacDonald at his 125kmh-ish deliveries, was hurting him, but he still came out knowing it would. Would be interesting to see if Ponting would have done the same thing if he was in that situation, given it was a dead rubber and whether RSA won, lost or drew, they already had the series sewn up.

Overall, it was a good series, I know we lost, but we were able to see Johnson improve, Siddle improve considerably from the match in Perth to this match (hopefully the selectors persist with him and he is an AUS opening bowler for at least the next 6-7 years, bar injuries), and hopefully we've seen the last of Hayden and Lee. Both past it. Clark when fit back in for Bollinger, and Krejza back in for Hauritz (not really a fan of Krejza, but I think he is the best we've got at a relatively young age at the moment, and Hauritz is rubbish). I would love to see Hilfenhaus in there but I don't know where to fit him in. For Hayden's replacement, the Victorian in me says Rogers, but the AUS in me says Hughes will be better for the long run, and the sooner he is in the better.

Anyway, yeah 20/20s and ODIs, like STL said, the ODIs have become pretty repetitive and every team now has the same plan and team selection, but I still love seeing situations like 30 needed off the last 20 balls and the like, makes for good viewing. And yeah, Noffke should be in, but we all know what the AUS selectors are like...

This series was an absolute delight and I'm glad Australia got beaten. It's raised serious issues and knocked us out of complacency.

Plus one.

[i_amtrunks]

Would be interesting to see if Ponting would have done the same thing if he was in that situation, given it was a dead rubber and whether RSA won, lost or drew, they already had the series sewn up.

I'm a Ponting (as a batsman and fielder, not as captain) fan, and I would have to say that he wouldn't, his choice of bowling his part timers ahead of the seamers in India showed his character, he may love the team, but he feels he is more important than the result.
Strangely I think that any other player in the Aussie team would come out and bat no matter how wounded if it would mean they might be able to save the team from a loss. Especially Hayden, Hussey or any of the quicks.

I was surpirsed Smith came out, since South Africa could not win the game and a draw or loss would still leave them as the #2 side. I was expecting him to bat if South Africa needed only a handful of runs to win the series and take the #1 spot, but not to simply attempt to draw the test. Big Kudos to him.

[STL]

Saw the Vics on Thursday night and they were pretty classy though Jacksplatt11 myself couldn't help pissing ourselves as we watched Cam White pick up 4 wickets for nothing. I don't think I've seen district cricketers bowl pies like he does. They were pretty damned terrible. Yet ironically two of his better balls were scored off.

Saw the Aussies tonight too thanks to the missus agreeing as a last moment thing since a mate was stuck with an extra ticket. (And they were not cheap! ) Warner absolutely knocked the house down. Very glad that we're giving youth a shot. Tait was his usual self. Brilliant one moment, awkward the next. I can't say that I'm particularly enthralled by the skill at this level, its more just fun. But there were moments of brilliance like Duminy's innings was a delight. Kallis had a great classy four too that was just masterful before being dismissed. The rest of the Aussies tried to get one w/ the job but I think that after they lost 3 quick wickets, they should've tried to steady teh ship instead of continuing to go all out. Could've reached 200 but w/ the lack of hitting the SA side seems to have, they were never going to be a threat I guess.