Cricket......

[GLuvsMtb]

its always special when a player scores a maiden century. Well done Quinton de Kock 105* (129). Now to make the next 10 overs count.we should look at 280 from here.

[Prozac]

Well Done de Kock !

[GLuvsMtb]

What an awesome game of cricket last night. Its still early days, but it seems like we have found a rare talent in opening the batting. De Kock was lucky early on to have a catch in the slips dropped. A real sitter! But so it goes in cricket. He went on to score a very important maiden century for his side to get his team to 266. Pakistan started solidly. A 74 run partnership was broken by JP Duminy whereafter Tsotsobe and Tahir both striked in quick succession. Pakistan rebuilt with debutant Maqsood and Ul Haq at just under a run a ball to keep Pakistan in the hunt. The 37th over started and Pakistan were on 173/3. Dale Steyn was brought back into the attack and dismissed Maqsood on 56 off 54 balls. Morkel kept it tight during the 38th over and only conceded 2 runs. Steyn took advantage of Pakistan's indiscretion to send in Tanvir ahead of Umar Akmal to dismiss him in the 39th over. McLaren, Tsotsobe and Tahir were all introduced without success and with the start of the 47th over Pakistan were 228/5 with 39 required off 24 balls. Difficult, but do-able with two set batsmen. De Villiers brought back Steyn and he struck 3 times in the next 6 balls to dismiss Akmal, UI Haq and Ajmal to rip the ring out of the Pakistan chase.

 

The best of the 3 dismissals was a very inspired decision to push Morkel back from inside the ring to 3rd man where Akmal was caught just inside the boundary. I was watching how De Villiers and Steyn discussed this field placing and after the wicket my recurring thought was that they would probably not have been able to do this if AB was behind the stumps. I'm not sure if this was Dale's suggestion or what part AB had to play in this dismissal, but they doubled their chances of making a good call by conferring about the placement. This sort of detail was taking place throughout the match. Small subtleties that De Villiers missed in previous matches were now being attended to as he was able to focus on captaincy rather than keeping wicket.

 

SA now have an unassailable lead in the series and will be going to Sharjah with an opportunity to rest some front line players and to see what is lurking in the wings, particularly in the bowling reserves. The batting unit is building a solid foundation, but should not be tampered with too much as they have only really settled in last night's game. Perhaps we will see Parnell, Petersen and Philander get some game time for Morkel, Steyn and Tsotsobe.

[GLuvsMtb]

Another clinical performance by the Proteas last night. I was frustrated at times with our batting as it seemed that we just could not get the ball away in those first 20 overs, bu then de Villiers and McLarren accelerated beautifully to score 83 runs off 56 balls to give the innings some much needed momentum. Parnell and de Villiers sealed the deal with 25 off the final over to post 268. De Villiers scored 115 not out off 102 balls to score his 15th ODI century. He held the innings together splendidly and accelerated at the right time.

 

Pakistan only managed more than 200 once in the series and seemed unlikely to do so again. With Steyn, Tahir and Morkel rested Philander, Peterson and Parnell getting some game time it might have turned out to be a closer contest than the previous game. Philander and Parnell got some good returns with 8 overs - 2 wickets - 23 runs and 7 overs - 36 runs - 3 wickets respectively. Petersen would be disappointed with 5 overs - no wickets - 29 runs, but in such a star-studded attack, the Pakistan side was likely to target him for some runs. The show ended with the last 5 wickets falling for just 41 runs. 151 all out in the 36th over.

 

We now look forward to the two T20 games to see if the solid ODI form can be converted into some explosive T20 results.

[Christie]

It was a nice series, and a good win for SA. Some observations:

I agree with G, AB is a better captain when he is in the field. QdK should be give a good run (he dropped a sitter yesterday, though)

The odi team is getting a sorted feel - most players and positions have got a first choise player. They now need to play like this till the wc. Chopping and changing a lot to fit in old guys like Kallis and Smith is not the way to go. Smith is not a good limited overs batsmen imo, limitations in his technique can be exploited if he has to go after the new ball in the first powerplay. Kallis is a hero and everything, but if amla Amla, AB, JPD is on form, there is enough batting. If QdK and Faf finds consistent form, no extra batting is needed.

The bowling is more difficult to draw conclusions from. Pakistan batting was weak, so our second string bowlers could also look good. It is hard to say how they will perform against a side like India, though, based on this. Imo Tahir should always play ahead of Peterson. I prefer Philander to Tsotsobe to open with Steyn.

[Swim.Bike.Run]

+1, on all of the above.

 

Although Tsotso can be magnificent on the day...

If Philander has no assistance from the pitch against a good batting line up, he will go for many.

So tough call.

Edited November 12, 2013 by Spartan226

[DJ84]

It was a nice series, and a good win for SA. Some observations:

I agree with G, AB is a better captain when he is in the field. QdK should be give a good run (he dropped a sitter yesterday, though)

The odi team is getting a sorted feel - most players and positions have got a first choise player. They now need to play like this till the wc. Chopping and changing a lot to fit in old guys like Kallis and Smith is not the way to go. Smith is not a good limited overs batsmen imo, limitations in his technique can be exploited if he has to go after the new ball in the first powerplay. Kallis is a hero and everything, but if amla Amla, AB, JPD is on form, there is enough batting. If QdK and Faf finds consistent form, no extra batting is needed.

The bowling is more difficult to draw conclusions from. Pakistan batting was weak, so our second string bowlers could also look good. It is hard to say how they will perform against a side like India, though, based on this. Imo Tahir should always play ahead of Peterson. I prefer Philander to Tsotsobe to open with Steyn.

 

RSA has to be a bit imaginative sometimes,

we are short quality slip players with both Smith and Kallis out.

I would have Smith back in the team and either be a number 3 or 4,

both Faf and JP struggle up the order.

 

As for Philander,

he is likely to get pumped against a good batting line-up on a half decent pitch.

 

Thing about ODI's with bowling is you need variety,

if they settle into a bowler,

another similar bowler will receive the same punishment.

[Christie]

We were fortunate in the past with excellent slips, but they cant pick a player because he is a specialist slip fielder. There are too few overs bowled with a slip in place in limited overs. Perhaps we will see more slip fielding with the new rule change reducing fielders outside the circle.

I would rather take Kallis than Smith, if I have to choose one. Kallis gives a bowling option, and does not have technical flaws in his batting technique, alhough he scores on the slow side. I wonder how interested Killis is in odi cricket, perhaps that hunger for runs is not so strong in odi for him.

Smith struggles against left armers bowling into his pads when the ball is new, and also goes out a lot if he plays outside off away from his body. In test cricket he can leave a lot of balls and play defensively till the ball is older. In limited over cricket, slow scoring puts the team under pressure (Smit and Kallis batting together = lots of run rate pressure, often causing disaster later, like in previous WC2011), plus there are 2 new balls used now.

Because there are 2 new balls, and the next WC is in Australia, I prefer Philander to open with Steyn. The question would then be to choose between Morkel and Tsotsobe.

[DJ84]

I don't see how you could choose Kallis based on his bowling option over Smith,

he barely bowls anymore and when he does it is not consistent like it used to be.

At best he is going to bowl 5 overs and pick up a possible wicket,

SA will bowl JP as a part timer 95% of the time before Kallis even on flat pitches.

Look at the recent test where Kallis barely bowled or even battered for that matter.

 

With Smith and batting slow, I think he went through some bad form previously,

but apart from Quinton in this series he was the only opener to score and at a descent rate as well.

 

With the new laws you will see a lot more slips I think,

and with the world cup down under the ball does tend to go down that channel more than in the sub continent.

 

My Team

Q De kock

H Amla

G Smith

AB De Villiers

JP Duminy

Faf Du Plessis

R McLaren

D Steyn

M Morkel

L Tsotsobe

I Tahir

 

David Miller as spare batsman

Phillander Bowler

Parnel to come in for Mclaren specifically

[GLuvsMtb]

I don't see how you could choose Kallis based on his bowling option over Smith,

he barely bowls anymore and when he does it is not consistent like it used to be.

At best he is going to bowl 5 overs and pick up a possible wicket,

SA will bowl JP as a part timer 95% of the time before Kallis even on flat pitches.

Look at the recent test where Kallis barely bowled or even battered for that matter.

 

With Smith and batting slow, I think he went through some bad form previously,

but apart from Quinton in this series he was the only opener to score and at a descent rate as well.

 

With the new laws you will see a lot more slips I think,

and with the world cup down under the ball does tend to go down that channel more than in the sub continent.

 

My Team

Q De kock

H Amla

G Smith

AB De Villiers

JP Duminy

Faf Du Plessis

R McLaren

D Steyn

M Morkel

L Tsotsobe

I Tahir

 

David Miller as spare batsman

Phillander Bowler

Parnel to come in for Mclaren specifically

Perception is an interesting thing.

Kallis averages 45 with the bat at a strike rate of 73

Smith averages 38 with the bat at a strike rate of 81

 

Kallis looked rusty in the tests with bat and ball. a 2 Test series will never suite the older players like Kallis. I would still pick him above Smith at 3 or I would even gamble with the likes of Levi opening with De Kock and Amla dropping down to 3.

[DJ84]

You cant really compare averages or strike rates with a number 1 batsmen and a 3/4,

Opening is a really difficult position and in general average a lot lower than your number 3/4.

This goes in all formats of the game.

 

Smith can even go down to 6th if the batting line-up is going well,

look at Rohit Sharma who is an out and out opener who came in low for the Indians in the test and really played well.

 

Kallis is a great player,

I just think he is past his prime in ODI and should focus on his batting in the longer format.

 

Levi is another option but never really showed much potential apart from one or two innings,

Now Henry Davids on the other hand could be,

but as Christie said earlier, you don't want too much chopping and changing.

We need some uniformity, especially when swapping between the formats.

3 completely different teams does NOT work.

[Christie]

Levi has not got the technique to open. He has talent, but he tries to play everything to the leg side, and he is very poor against spin. Worthwile to develop though, could develop into a good batsmen.

 

Davids is another potential player to consider as opener, I like how he plays.

[Shebeen]

The one day team needs to be geared towards the next world cup, which is early 2015 in Australia/NZ.

If Kallis wants to play there like he says he does, then he needs to get himself into the one day team and prove that he’ll add to the team. He might need to sit out some test tours for this.

It’s actually a tricky squad to pick. You need your pace bowlers for the fast bouncy pitches in oz, and your slower options for the cabbage patches in maoriland. But the big games will be on the flat tops. I think it will always be looked at with rotation within the squad over an established 11.

Tsotsobe, steyn and morkel should all be in the team when fit. Duminy gives a spin option, but Robbie p and Tahir probably will probably fight over a single spot.

They’ve got to be lank careful with De Kock, he needs to work his butt off to get in and stay in the team. Don’t make him the keeper and let him get complacent…I like the AB option as backup only but someone else needs to be involved. Luckily we have loads of keepers who bat really well, all who would walk into other international squads (no surprise that the one day keepers for England and New Zealand both have matric). AB should never be the Test keeper, but that’s another story.

Smith/faf(and ingram) are going to need more chances and lots of runs to stay in the side. The batting lineup is more of an issue of structure than actual personnel. We don’t have a Klusener type basher, Miller will never fill this role. Levi/Albie morkel would be my dark horses to get back in the mix.

Parnell/Mclaren have got the allrounder hot seats for now. Plenty of pretenders here if they slip up.

15 man WC squad:

AB

Hash

JP

Miller

QdK

Parnell

Maclaren

M Morkel

Steyn

Lopsy

(Pick 2)

Biff

Faf

Ingram

Kallis

(pick 1)

Robbie P

Tahir

(pick 2)

Philander

De lange

Abbot

Kleinveldt

 

(wild cards)

Levi

A Morkel

D Vilas

Mosehle

['Dale]

Sachin Tendular to bow out out after 200 tests.

 

Wow Wow

[Christie]

India vs WI test looks a bit one sided. I wonder if India will bat for 3 days to keep the stadium full?

 

 

[Cellar]

India vs WI test looks a bit one sided.

 

So, just like the previous one last week, you mean?