A-Mac Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Great night of cricket here, watching Victoria destroy Tasmania in 20/20. Brad Hodge just went totally nuts on his way to 90, good crowd to 43,125. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 (edited) How bitter would you be as part of the SA camp. Clearly better in three of the four tests, thwarted twice by a no. 11 and now by the weather. Topping batting and bowling averages yet still losing 0-1. Yeah, you'd have to wonder what some folk who were raging at the West Indies last year would say this time round. ************************************** Stumpa - Day 2 England 180 South Africa 215/2 (63.2 ov) Edited January 15, 2010 by btb 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reynard Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 A quite monstrous thunderstorm, the ground is under water, prospects for any play for the rest of the day "bleak". How bitter would you be as part of the SA camp. Clearly better in three of the four tests, thwarted twice by a no. 11 and now by the weather. Topping batting and bowling averages yet still losing 0-1. Very, hopefully. They are almost as legendary as the Aussies for not being bale to handle the wind blowing in their faces. Tearful Boks are a wonderful sight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 (edited) SA declare at 423/7 England lose 2 quick wickets and are currently 41/2 ************************************************ After a long Innings it's noticeable how often the incoming batting side lose a couple of wickets cheaply. I remember reading an article by Geoffrey Boycott about how to deal with this situation, he said when he was fielding and the end of the innings approached he'd start preparing for his batting and often wouldn't congratulate the bowlers for wickets 9 & 10 - our Geoffrey one of a kind! ************************************************ England 48/3 - Bad light stops play. Edited January 16, 2010 by btb 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Ah well, SA deserved to win one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kullibino Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Yeah, you'd have to wonder what some folk who were raging at the West Indies last year would say this time round. ************************************** Stumpa - Day 2 England 180 South Africa 215/2 (63.2 ov) The difference is the WIndies prepared boring pitches and it made for boring cricket, this series has been anything but dull! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 (edited) The difference is the WIndies prepared boring pitches and it made for boring cricket, this series has been anything but dull! **************************************** .........and to finish England bowled out for the second time in this Test for less than 200 in under 50 overs! Edited January 17, 2010 by btb 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 They are almost as legendary as the Aussies for not being bale to handle the wind blowing in their faces. Tearful Boks are a wonderful sight. Fair enough it was a bad decision but you couldn't get more whinging than England's reaction to Smith not being given out! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Ouch. Bit of a pasting that. I think even the biased English supporter would struggle to say South Africa didn't deserve to draw the series though. Fair play. I'm still in favour of the review system - we saw it working well in the third Test and clearly it didn't affect the result in the fourth - but it needs a bit of work yet, any system is only as good as the people operating it and I'm increasinlgy losing confidence in Darryl Harper's ability to do so. Hotspot cameras will be a big help though From an England point of view: I hope this performance at the end of the series will strengthen rather than weaken the argument for resting a few key players for the Bangladesh series coming up (Strauss, Anderson and Broad, certainly, maybe Collingwood, Prior and Swann too). Really busy year coming up with the Ashes at the end of it. Looks like the number three problem is far from being settle yet, and they really need to find a way of getting a fifth bowler in there. My team for Bangladesh would be something like: Cook, Denly, Trott, Pietersen, Carberry, Kieswetter, Wright, Rashid, Sidebottom, Onions, Plunkett / Tredwell dependsing on whether it needs two spinners (I presume it will, on the subcontinent). I suspscet they'd pick Davies ahead of Kieswetter behind the wicket though, and Prior may want the opportunity to play his way back into form with the bat though, while Collingwood and Swann have been in such good form they'd want to keep it going. The quick bowlers, at least those in both the Test and one-day sides who've been playing continuously for a year or more, shouldn't be given the option and should be told to rest up. South Africa: nearly a very good side. At the outset of the series I thought they were too reliant on Steyn, but Morkel has had a terrific series, and Parnell looks like he might provide excellent back-up. All they need to find is an opening batsman and a better spinner. Duminy has been the other weak point this series, which is a surprise, but he'll come good if they stick with him. I believe they're going to India shortly, which could make for a very interesting series. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I guess 1-1 is a good result if a little bit lucky. Some succeses some failures. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Phoenix Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I'm assuming Broad will get docked some of his match fee for his petulance on being given out (which he clearly was) by the 3rd Umpire. Just not cricket, old bean. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 (edited) Strauss - Poor series, one half century but still in credit. Cook - Made significant contributions to the second & third Tests but................. Trott - Like a lot of England's players his performances fell away, we still don't know if he's Test class or a flash in the pan. Pieterson - Too many silly ways to get out, does he have the focus to regain his form of 3/4 years ago? Collingwood - Street fighter, topped the batting averages! Bell - Made significant contributions to the second & third Tests but................. Prior - Average of 22.47 is a poor return from a Batsman/Wicketkeeper Broad - Bowled reasonably well, never a Test No.8 Swann - IMO Englands player of the series but World No. 3 'yer havin' a laff! Anderson - Took 16 wickets, the best of England's seamers. Onions - Two match saving performances with the bat but was dropped for the last Test which has probably enhanced his reputation Sidebottom - Least said................. As a team I reckon Swann should bat above Broad. Over the series I don't think the four man attack worked, they've got to find a batsman who can chip in with a couple of wickets. Edited January 17, 2010 by btb 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Oops, I didn't mean to leave Ian Bell out of my team for Bangladesh - put him in at five. I agree with most of what btb has just said, Trott still has something to prove, so does Bell. I wouldn't say Broad is "never" a number 8 but he didn't do well enough for it here, certainly. I believe Swann bats above him in their county side, and it'd be tempting to do the same,mbut I think maybe Swann gets a bit more freedom at nine, where Broad is seen as the better long term bet to dig in and play as something approaching a proper batsman. Prior is another one who has had a less than convincing series with the bat, but is due credit for his keeping, which is now first rate. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 A bit harsh on Broad, No.8 is probably about right for him at Test level but I'd still put Swann above him in the batting line up which would make him (Broad) No. 9 in the current England team. It would certainly take a major improvement for Broad to be capable of batting at 6 or 7 where getting runs in expected. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 There's not been as much change as I thought there would be for Bangladesh- Strauss and Anderson are the only ones rested. Carberry and Tredwell retain their places after being called in as backup for SA, and Ajmal Shahzad, a bowling all-rounder from Yorkshire comes in. Bangladesh on their own turf won't be a walkover- they just bowled India out for 243 but are 59/3 in reply. It'll be interesting to see how England's bowling stacks up in sub-continental conditions for the first time without the genuine pace of Flintoff / Harmison - presume the second spinner will be needed, and there is now expectation around Swann to do well rather than hope. Still can't see how Look Right is going to get a game. As an aside, of the England top 7 in the series just past, the 3 English born batsmen all outscored the 4 South African born players. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Stumps - Day 3 South Africa 558/6d India 233 & 66/2 (23.0 ov) Full Scorecard Makes England's recent series draw in SA look a lot more impressive. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I watched the highlights earlier, Steyn was outrageously good, the Indians had no idea how to handle the reverse swing. Hadn't been paying much attention beforehand, I assume Dravid and Laxman have been put out to pasture? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kullibino Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Both injured, and a balls up means their reserve keeper is playing as a specialist batsman. A total farce tbh, he's nowhere worth his place as a specialist. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I watched the highlights earlier, Steyn was outrageously good, the Indians had no idea how to handle the reverse swing. Hadn't been paying much attention beforehand, I assume Dravid and Laxman have been put out to pasture? Both out injured - Dravid probably for the series but Laxman was in the squad for this Test but not selected (finger injury). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 It's not been mentioned but Scotland failed miserably in their attempt to qualify for the latest T20 World Cup, losing all 3 group games to USA, Afghanistan, and Ireland. We're getting worse instead of better. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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