Cricket......

[Stretch]

Oh dear. Another woeful team performance.

I wonder if the selectors will be brave enough and have a complete clean out of the team. It can't get any worse. My selection for the next test (using the selectors quota system)

1. Elgar

2. Cook

3. Rossouw

4. De Villiers

5. Amla

6. De Kock

7. Bavuma

8. Abbott

9. Piedt

10 Rabada

11. Morkel

I'd swap 4 and 5 around

[Stretch]

That was a pakslaai

[EmptyB]

AB must NOT play wicket keeper...he is just too good a batsman!!

[Joe Low]

I'd swap 4 and 5 around

 

I think that might be arranging deckchairs on the Titanic.

 

I didn't think Steyn was fit coming into this, now he's out for the foreseeable, who have you got to come in?

 

If Anderson is fit and we'll only play him if he is, the gap could well widen between the two sides.

 

Who's this Bavuma fella and it looks like DeVilliers head is not in the right place.

 

Was hoping for more of a contest.

[GLuvsMtb]

Oh dear. Another woeful team performance.

I wonder if the selectors will be brave enough and have a complete clean out of the team. It can't get any worse. My selection for the next test (using the selectors quota system)

1. Elgar

2. Cook

3. Rossouw

4. De Villiers

5. Amla

6. De Kock

7. Bavuma

8. Abbott

9. Piedt

10 Rabada

11. Morkel

With Abbott being doubtful I'd probably go for Morris at 8. I'm also hoping Viljoen gets a game somewhere. He's been bowling well in the Sunfoil games to date.

[Joe Low]

Ok  - I see Cricket SA have targets of 4 PoC in the team including 1 black african.

 

If Rabada replaces Steyn, that could be a credible move and i'd like to see what he can do.

 

With Amla and Duminy out of form, it's hard to drop them without more depth in the PoC ranks.

 

Getting a good side and a racially balanced side is a difficult trick to get right, but once started let's see CSA push the policy through at the lower levels so there are more good folk to choose from.

 

If it works according to the best theory and intentions, SA will have achieved something really commendable.

 

If it's done half-assed or for show, then it will be a horrible situation for a very long time.

 

 

 

['Dale]

Hoping for a powerful show by the Blommetjies ????????

['Dale]

Graeme Smith retired from international cricket in Cape Town at the end of the Test against Australia nearly two years ago and things have rarely felt the same since.

 

He returns as a batting consultant for the rest of the series, but it is hard to imagine that he will be concentrating on batting technique.

 

Smith's presence can be expected to stiffen the resolve of everybody in the South Africa camp - to address, indeed, the very frailties of morale that he identified a couple of days ago in his role as a TV pundit. That commentary role will continue, putting him in an awkward position.

 

Cricinfo

['Dale]

GO RABADAAAAAA ????

[Christie]

I think CSA got a bit arrogant with selection, having had several super star players in the squad (AB, Amla, Dale, Kallis, Philander in right conditions). This meant that they could stuff around with quotas and players out of position, with little risk if it does not work out.

 

Amla as captain is not working. This is the guy who resigned as vice captain of the odi squad some time ago to focus on his batting. Imo he is a batsmen who bats in a bubble of concentration, much like Kallis used to. I cant help feeling that he got the captaincy for the sake of race, rather than being the best man for the job. The captaincy distracts him.

 

AB as keeper: dumb idea to overload the only super star still performing with keeping duties. As I understood, they could not play QdK at Kingsmead because that would mean dropping Bavuma or JP, which would not make the quota. One of them will probably go if Rabada plays.

 

With Dale and Vern injured, that left no super stars free to focus on their speciality.

 

Together with the above, we have some more selection experiments running at the same time:

e

Non specialist openers: Elgar is settling in, Van Zyl not. When will they try a specialist?

Bavuma as quota player: Why play him as opener? Very risky and not fair.

 

Lastly, is Abbot the best pace bowler we have after the big 3? The selectors seem to be defaulting to him because he has been selected as back upto Philander for so long. Im glad Viljoen go called up, I hope he gets a game. Rabada only has 2 test wickets at an average of 55, which is not good, but he could do much better on a helpful pitch. A lot will depend on Morkel if he does not perform. The selection of the 3d pace bowler will be key - imo they must go for the best man for the job, perhaps Viljoen over Abbot and Morris ( but Morris is the better batsmen, and given our weak batting he may get the nod based on batting)

 

All of the above resulted in a lot of risk (perhaps arrogance?) at the same time which failed spectacularly in Durban. Perhaps they can turn the ship around?

[Christie]

O yes, i forgot to mention Domingo. Imo he isnot the best coach available, also possibly a quota selection.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Christie

[GLuvsMtb]

O yes, i forgot to mention Domingo. Imo he isnot the best coach available, also possibly a quota selection.

I fully agree, but the question is: who to replace him with? Adams have a good stint at the Cobras, admittedly with a very talented player pool. Toyana has done wonders with the Lions with ageing players and young talent leaving (such as De Kock). Walters also seems to have a good setup at the Titans. The first two meets the colour criteria and would be the conventional choice. I would lean towards a more unconventional route like perhaps a Jacques Kallis or Sean Pollock as head coach. While they have limited coaching experience, they are both brilliant cricketers. Kallis could work well with Amla as both are soft spoken individuals that go about their business quietly, where Pollock seems to have a more engaging personality. Another option could be Jonty. I unfortunalely do not know the coaches in other domestic series in Aus / England / India to comment on their credentials for a possible stint as head coach for the Proteas. Perhaps a home series loss against England is the catalyst required to have a major clean-out. Edited January 2, 2016 by GLuvsMtb

[Vetseun]

I think that might be arranging deckchairs on the Titanic.

 

I didn't think Steyn was fit coming into this, now he's out for the foreseeable, who have you got to come in?

 

If Anderson is fit and we'll only play him if he is, the gap could well widen between the two sides.

 

Who's this Bavuma fella and it looks like DeVilliers head is not in the right place.

 

Was hoping for more of a contest.

Bavuma is a quota player. Best of the not quite good enough to play international cricket. Surely they could drop Bavuma and put JP in to make place for De Kock.JP offers a bowling option as well. Anyway that is just IMO. Edited January 2, 2016 by Vetseun

[Christie]

Im in favour of a consortium of old hands to coach the test side. Smith, Kallis, Boucher, Rhodes comes to mind. Perhaps the sos to Smithis a sign of things to come.

Domingo can do the t20 and odis.

[Christie]

Here we go. Lets see if 2016 brings better results.

 

JPD out, QdK in. Morris in for Abbot, Rabada in for Steyn.

[Vetseun]

Would have been cool if they could have let young Radaba loose with the new ball.