Mntboy

And I don't find this in the least bit surprising and that includes the quotes attributed to Kohli in the article. SA vs India 3rd Test - No formal charges filed against India for Newlands DRS bust-up (espncricinfo.com)

All I know is, is that poor Victor Mpitsang is going to have a hard time nailing down who makes up our first choice bowling unit. We seem to have a fair few really good options especially where the quicks are concerned. All told this is one area we seem to be in rude health in.

Good point w.r.t. Markram. I reckon Malan will definitely get a go. He does seem to have nailed himself the other opening batter berth in the ODI team. Wouldn't mind seeing Hamza get to have a go as well. He is another guy who has potential to be a long term prospect.

I reckon both had decent series against the Indians. Neither did justice to their potential but they made contributions basically every innings and I'm sure Mark & Dean will be on them to produce more. Bavuma should be chuffed with the way he helped get us over the line at the Wanderers and at Newlands but he needs to do more for sure. As far as the batting goes I am really really impressed with how well Petersen has gone. I said before he made his debut that I reckon he's a quality player. So stoked that he has had a great series and a worthy Man of the Series winner. Also extremely impressed with what I've seen from Marco Jansen. He just looks the part as well.

Agreed 100%! I have a rather large looney grin on my face because Kohli's got to swallow that his team lost to one that's seen as being weaker than his one. His outbursts and that of Rahul and Ashwin shows just how aware they are/were that they were meant to be the series winning team. I kinda expect that there's going to be celebrations long into the night by the Proteas.

A couple games on the domestic circuit in the hopes that that gets him in the right headspace? If yes, who would you open with Elgar? Personally I would let Markram get some runs in the four day comp and give Erwee a run. At this point he probably won't do any worse than Markram. And I'm saying that as an unabashed Markram fan.

The stories from the players with credibility was heart breaking. I particularly felt for Ashwell Prince as I view him as one of the best to have represented our country. There's plenty to work on from that point of view. I agree with you regarding CSA. I've taken to referring to them as the Carelessly Silly Administrators given how things have gone in recent years. That said I am hoping that this new group will rise to the challenge of winning back our trust by showing us that they are competent and capable of running the game, otherwise headhunting Smith to help their reputation would prove to be a colossal waste of time and money. The person I have been most impressed with this past week has been Temba Bavuma. He has handled this incredibly well and shown immense leadership and diplomacy when it has been most needed. I can see why Quinny spoke so highly of him in his statement. England will be a big challenge but perhaps for once our guys can play with freedom given that most of us don't see them progressing past the group stage and score an unlikely upset victory over the Poms. I will still be keeping my fingers crossed that the Aussies somehow slip up against one or both of Bangladesh and West Indies but I'm not counting on it.

I get that you are disappointed with Quinny and his actions last week. As am I. However to absolve CSA of any blame is more a reflection of how badly let down you are by Quinny than anything else. Remember that at the start of last summer the Proteas were given permission by CSA to show support to BLM by either taking the knee, raising a fist or standing to attention. CSA has been in such turmoil ito running the game (and trying to keep the administration out of government hands) it takes them months to realise the disunited nature such options shows the world. Instead of getting in touch with the team and sorting things out ahead of time they send what was essentially an ultimatum hours before a crucial match. The fact that CSA even admits that they were wrong in their timing shows (to me at least) that there was a lot of unhappiness amongst the other players as well, not just Quinny and I have to wonder how widespread that unhappiness might've been. The circumstances for the events of last week came from CSA and CSA definitely needs to take some of the blame, not all, with this although Quinny needed to his stance clear far far earlier than what he eventually did. That said I am hoping that this will be a watershed moment within our cricket and that it will lead to a much greater unity not only within the team but also our the rest of cricketing structures.

This squares from how I read his body language on the field towards his teammates of all races and what he generally puts out on social media. I generally get the impression that as from a moral point view that QdK definitely believes in treating everyone with decency and respect irrespective of race. Personally I am still waiting for Quinny to put out a statement regarding all this and until then I am going to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. He deserves as much from the cricketing world.

True but she should hopefully be able to race the second edition. Also the small matter of the Road Worlds tomorrow - she could be a not so surprise surprise winner. The course could play to her advantage much like the Women's PR would. The rider I'm sad that won't make the PR start line is Anna Van Der Breggen. World's will be her last professional race if her posts on Social media is to be believed. She would definitely have been one of the favourites for the win. The Dutch are truly blessed with incredible depth in their team.

I am not sure which I am more excited about: that we are having a Roubaix this year (the cycling season doesn't quite feel complete without it) or the fact that it now also includes a women's race as well!!!!

They certainly could, it's whether they want to do so or whether they have access to the funds to do so. Both scenarios seem likely to me. Obviously we can't have the UCI giving every Saffer a chance and the WCC team seems to be a way they (UCI) try to give deserving athletes from around the globe that exact chance to learn and grow. So it would definitely be down to CSA to give that kind of assistance in having a team or teams racing over in Europe while being based there. Good on you and your wife for having helped the young mountain biker. That was a wonderful gesture on your part.

The UCI has the WCC team which is essentially what you are advocating that CSA should do. Frances Jansen Van Rensburg has been riding for them for the past few months and gotten some good results. She got 38th to go with Haley Preen's 40th in the Women's ITT. Both these young ladies should be proud of how well they did. All things considered.

Yeah that's a pretty solid performance from Haley. You can be right proud of your team mate! I'm also pleased for Frances Jansen Van Rensburg as well. I'm sure they both learned a lot from the experience so far. Would be great if Haley could join Frances at the WCC team. Frances really seems to have grown in confidence since joining them. Won a few, albeit small, races riding for them iirc.

Tendo has been an amazingly consistent cricketer for the various teams he has represented and still going strong over in the UK. A very fine allrounder. Probably the best to have not played at Test level. Was trying to access Statsguru as well but struggled due to the ship's slow WiFi. Didn't take the Wikipedia article as an exhaustive or authoritative list. Will have a look at the links provided because I remember that Dale Benkenstein used to be a regular heavy contributor to the Dolphin's cause when he played for them.

According to Wikipedia (I know the objections you might raise with that) nobody has done that in our main domestic 4 day comp. Rilee Rossouw has the most runs for a season at 1189 and Vasbert Drakes once took 60 wickets in a season. Both Rilee and Vasbert went on to play International Cricket with varying degrees of success. The records listed makes for interesting reading and it seems that making 800 plus runs a season isn't an easy feat unless your name is Barry Richards. Ditto taking 50 plus wickets a season unless your name is Mike Proctor. All that said, I do agree with the point your making with regards to our domestic system and the need for a strong comp to produce good, well rounded cricketers.

My 2cs on the highlighted portions: Andile has at times shown glimpses of being a capable international allrounder but hasn't really made good on that and as you point out he wasn't the only one on this tour in particular. Markram's improved from his previous tour. I think there's still aspects he is working out and devising plans for. We were also missing three players who might've made a difference in QdK, Miller and Ngidi. So perhaps the balance of the team got thrown out a bit as well. And then losing Bavuma during the first game didn't help things either. I don't think our issue is a talent one but rather team balance and skills application thing. Boucher still has a lot of work to do with this team. We could seriously do with another Bob Woolmer type coach! Simply put we just don't put bums on seats. So ja, economics giving us a spanking there unfortunately.

And then our batsmen failed the bowlers drastically. We should've been able to get to 204 with relative ease. That said well played Sri Lanka on defending such a meagre target and with it the series. Stops a series of ODI series wins for us over there.

One to keep an eye on. Has signed for the SD Worx team so hopefully she'll progress well in her various disciplines.

Also stoked for Candice Lill at bettering her previous placing at London.

What a race by the Swiss ladies. A clean sweep of the podium and very well deserved. Just loved the way the ladies came to congratulate Jolanda as soon as they crossed the line, shows in what regard she's held by the others. A fantastic race today in tough, almost brutal conditions.

Wouldn't put it past him to go and give all of those a proper bash and to do really well at it too. Incredibly gifted young rider!!!

Barring a bad fall the gold will be going to Pidcock. What a ride by the young man.

And Silver. He's got it in him to close the gap but if he'll be able to contest for a medal is the real question. Either way: GO HATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a phenomenal rider he has been on the biggest stage for his various teams. He has been fun to watch and his rivalry with Cav was something else during his best years. The Gorilla will be missed!