Cricket- the sport not the insect

[Cyivel]

Expecting England to get whitewashed in India as well.

Maybe I should be positive and hope they have learned to play spin in the last few weeks.

 

[hoerpi]

Meanwhile NZ and SL get washed away by the rain... You guys from England in here, who do you think should keep your wickets against India?

 

[Cyivel]

I'd have Prior keeping wicket.

My team would be: Cook, Compton, Trott, KP, Bell, Prior, Patel, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Finn.

Assuming Broad, Finn and Swann are all OK.

Well done Jacques Kallis!

 

[42x16ss]

Australia are recovering well in response to South Africa's 450. 4/344 after being 3/40.

Cowan out for 136, Hussey warming up on 28 and ACF's favourite player is on 136, after being caught behind on a no-ball last over. Looks like another high scoring draw folks *yawn*

 

[auscyclefan94]

Australia are recovering well in response to South Africa's 450. 4/344 after being 3/40.

Cowan out for 136, Hussey warming up on 28 and ACF's favourite player is on 136, after being caught behind on a no-ball last over. Looks like another high scoring draw folks *yawn*

Another Gabba snooze fest.

 

[42x16ss]

Another Gabba snooze fest.

Yep. I'm always so annoyed that the "sporting press" carry on like a bunch of prats the second a pitch actually has something in it for the bowlers. Gabba and Adelaide oval are just roads, WACA is losing more of it's legendary bounce each year and the MCG and SCG are turning less than ever.

May as well replace Aussie wickets with matted strips FFS.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Yep. I'm always so annoyed that the "sporting press" carry on like a bunch of prats the second a pitch actually has something in it for the bowlers. Gabba and Adelaide oval are just roads, WACA is losing more of it's legendary bounce each year and the MCG and SCG are turning less than ever.

May as well replace Aussie wickets with matted strips FFS.

Luckily we still have Tasmania....great pitch.

 

[42x16ss]

Luckily we still have Tasmania....great pitch.

True, Bellerive is the last venue that usually guarantees a result. Just enough swing and turn to trouble while still being playable. Melbourne and Adelaide used to be very similar until about 10-15 years ago.

 

[42x16ss]

Aus 4/487 at stumps day 4

Clarke 218 n.o.
Hussey 86 n.o. and looking VERY good.

 

[thrawn]

To be fair quite a lot of green pitches were produced last year. Was good to watch.

 

[hoerpi]

I'd have Prior keeping wicket.

My team would be: Cook, Compton, Trott, KP, Bell, Prior, Patel, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Finn.

Assuming Broad, Finn and Swann are all OK.

Well done Jacques Kallis!

You almost got your team but except for Cook, Swann and Prior the team has been very weak both bowling and batting. Since there will be no Bell next game it will be interesting to see the team, will it be five bowlers with Panersar added and Finn instead of Bresnan? There are many alternatives, you could always dith KP for an extra bowler...

Tim Southee is turning into one of the finest pace bowlers of the game.

 

[Alphabet]

Luckily we still have Tasmania....great pitch.

I agree, Hobart really is brilliant.

But we shouldn't be complaining about **** pitches in Australia, they are miles ahead of a lot of places in the world. For example, try watching a test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. That place seems to exist for no other reason than to permit Mahela Jayawardene to keep his test average above 50. No bowler has a decent record there other than Muttiah Muralitharan, and he probably would have been battered as well had he not been the best bowler in the history of the sport.

 

[42x16ss]

I agree, Hobart really is brilliant.

But we shouldn't be complaining about **** pitches in Australia, they are miles ahead of a lot of places in the world. For example, try watching a test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. That place seems to exist for no other reason than to permit Mahela Jayawardene to keep his test average above 50. No bowler has a decent record there other than Muttiah Muralitharan, and he probably would have been battered as well had he not been the best bowler in the history of the sport.

True, at least Australian pitches break up after a few days and offer something to aim at. Too many flat, dusty tracks in the subcontinent. Especially Colombo

 

[Alphabet]

There isn't a problem with dusty/low/spin friendly pitches per se, so long as they offer enough for batsmen to score well if they take their time getting used to the conditions. Where subcontinental pitches get it wrong is that short of a miracle in the second innings (see what Dravid and Laxman did to us in 2001 at Calcutta), you will lose the match if you can't score 500 in the first innings.

 

[Alphabet]

Goodness me, Imran Tahir is a terrible cricketer . How can there not be a better spinner in South Africa?

 

[hoerpi]

Living in CET is not very good if you want to watch cricket atm, but the game in Australia seems to be over since SA lost Kallis on top of Australia's batting.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Next session is crucial for both sides. RSA can't afford to lose any wickets this session.

 

[greenedge]

I wonder whether Australia can bowl out SA again without Pattinson.

 

[movingtarget]

I wonder whether Australia can bowl out SA again without Pattinson.

They have plenty of time as long as the rain stays away. Our bowlers will have to bowl really well. Not a hard pitch to bat on.

 

[Alphabet]

India getting a thrashing on home turf is always gratifying.

 

[Frosty]

India getting a thrashing on home turf is always gratifying.

Game aint over yet Wouldnt surprise me to see england struggle to chase a small total - ive seen england collapse in the last innings a few times before. Bit of egg on the face for the selectors for leaving Panesar out of the first test - he's now got 5 wickets in both innings.

 

[ferryman]

India getting a thrashing on home turf is always gratifying.

Speak for yourself India spinning on home turf does it for me every time

 

[Cyivel]

Fantastic rearguard from South Africa here.

If India could get 100 lead it could be interesting but hopefully England will win and set the series up nicely.

 

[42x16ss]

Fantastic rearguard from South Africa here.

Du Plessis is having an excellent debut! The guy has grit and talent.

Aus has no excuses for not finishing the tail.

 

[auscyclefan94]

South Africa did well today. Well done to Du Plessis and Kallis continued to show his class in the test match. The final half hour was entertaining but otherwise the final day was quite boring. Siddle was absolutely stuffed by the end of the day. It will be interesting how the bowlers pull up in Perth. They will be tired. I do agree with 42x16ss that Australia's bowlers should have cleaned the tail up. I am putting my money on South Africa to win the final test considering that Mitchell Johnson has been selected for the final test. Runs galore for South Africa.