Cricket......

[gemmerbal]

@babse @Shebeen

you guys had me in stitches! haha... BUT I LOVE TO SEE KOHLI LOSE so I was watching...

Look, I watched some of the SA A vs India cricket prior to the Test Series started (out of pure boredom) and I said to one of my mates this Jansen laaitie looks impressive. My word, has he stepped up to the big boy game in commendable fashion - what I saw in that 2nd test was awesome, to see a youngster fronting up like that gave me goosebumps! KG also needed to be reminded that HE is now the leader of our attack, and after Bouchie/Elgar had that chat with him, you can see he has regained some of the fire that's been missing for the last while. Ngidi also impressed, massive spell he bowled yesterday. I expected more from Olivier after he has been lighting up the domestic competition, he looked military medium at times, I will gladly see him make way for Anna (Nortje) when the latter is fit. Poor Kesh didn't have a massive role to play in this series, but he remains a vital member of our bowling attack.

Our batting had me worried, and if we look at the 1st innings scores I think that was proven to be justified. Markram has a lot of expectation resting on hits shoulders and so it should after he lead the juniors to WC glory. Darryl Cullinan made a good point - maybe we should slide him down the order where his attacking nature can be more suited and invite Pieter Malan - who had done nothing wrong when given the opportunity - to open the batting for us. But if we slide Markram down the order, who do we leave out? Maybe Markram should be asked to earn his spot back, is that not maybe the best option?

Elgar is never going to be pretty, but he is a streetfighter and we NEED someone like him leading this team forward, this is not even negotiable in my view.

KP - slowly finding his feet, and boy did he do well in this crunch game! Consistent performances amidst an average batting lineup ensured he deservedly got the player-of-the series award. I like the look of him, Hamza was in there for a while but he couldn't cut the mustart, so well done to KP for grabbing the chance.

Rassie/Temba did OK, not great, but OK. Rassie has the makings of a fine test batsman, steely determination, if he gets a better platform maybe we will see the best of him. Temba unfortunately doesn't look like a number 5 that can dominate a bowling attack like a Steve Waugh did, or even the late Hansie Cronje. For me, number 4 and 5 should be guys that can get in and score big runs, and I just don't get that vibe from Temba. He doesn't lack the heart though, which is something that is also valuable of course.

Keyle Verreyne; well he was solid behind the stumps the little that I saw. He will unfortunately need time to find his own mojo in this side.

All in all, what an impressive TEAM performance as Elgar mentioned during the post match presentation. Lots of potential and it's just great to see the guys finally get on the park to play some cricket with all the BS that's been going on behind the scenes. Well done to our boys! The Protea Fire is not dead yet...

On the whole DRS/Kohli issue I will quote our friend DJ Cullinan once again: "for too long Virat has got away with behaviour that is unacceptable" - or something to that effet. Kohli is nothing short of an arrogant so-and-so and he likes to moan when things dont go their way. Pujara or whoever it was complaining that its 11 players against a nation, and thats correct, thats the way it should be when you play an away series. What the hell does he think happens when we play in a packed Mumbai Kolkata Stadium with 80000 rampant Indian fans cheering on the home team? What idiots... the Indians are the WORST losers in the modern game, even worse than the convicts with their sandpaper!

And low and behold, no action to be taken against the Indians... Now you see @Shebeen ???

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sa-vs-india-3rd-test-no-formal-charges-filed-against-india-for-newlands-drs-bust-up-1296994

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by gemmerbal

[gemmerbal]

4 minutes ago, Mntboy said:

I think a big part of the problem is that India tours and the TV rights for said tours generate a great deal of money for the various broadcasters and boards hence the ICC's soft approach. There's a tendency to forget that India needs the countries they tour in as much as those countries need them. So the whole goose gander analogy should very much apply but unfortunately the money is doing the talking here. As much as I enjoy watching Kohli bat I will not be shedding a tear when he retires as his conduct has largely been that of a spoilt brat in need of a hiding. The fact that he and AB are such good friends lowers my opinion of AB a good deal too.

correct, the sponsors logos we saw on the field were all Indian companies as far as I know. we don't even have a f...ing sponsor on our shirt anymore!!! no thanks to the ADMINISTRATORS who ducked everything up properly!

[gemmerbal]

4 hours ago, Shebeen said:

@gemmerbalis not a fan of indian cricket at large, i think he will be justifiably in the pub till tuesday!

 

The match referee Pycroft could still report them on it.

What happens from then who knows, but to have capt, vice cpt and a senior player talking into the stump mic with allgeations is not something the ICC want going forward - and i don't think the BCCI top brass will be impressed either.

 

there could also be some slow over rate penalties coming too.

 

 

 

another sidenote: Kohli has not been having it all his way with the BCCI for the last while, there's some friction there after the whole ODI captaincy debacle and all that, and given that Kohli himself has not scored a 100 for almost 2 years now, MAYBE there's a chance they will stop treating him like and Indian Jesus...

[gemmerbal]

HHAHAHAHHAHAHA

[gemmerbal]

I must be honest I quite enjoy Cummins as the new Aussie skipper...

[Mntboy]

39 minutes ago, gemmerbal said:

another sidenote: Kohli has not been having it all his way with the BCCI for the last while, there's some friction there after the whole ODI captaincy debacle and all that, and given that Kohli himself has not scored a 100 for almost 2 years now, MAYBE there's a chance they will stop treating him like and Indian Jesus...

More so with Ganguly who is generally credited with transforming the Indian team from gentle, friendly near pushovers to a more streetwise and tough team. Will be interesting to see how this particular feud plays out. Not that I think that Kohli is a good captain but having the rug pulled from under his feet in that fashion must've stung.  

[justinafrika]

January 2021:  India win the test series in Australia.

March 2021:  India win the test series in England.

January 2022:  India in SA...

 

I’ll see meself out...

Edited January 14, 2022 by justinafrika

[Mntboy]

1 hour ago, gemmerbal said:

@babse @Shebeen

you guys had me in stitches! haha... BUT I LOVE TO SEE KOHLI LOSE so I was watching...

Look, I watched some of the SA A vs India cricket prior to the Test Series started (out of pure boredom) and I said to one of my mates this Jansen laaitie looks impressive. My word, has he stepped up to the big boy game in commendable fashion - what I saw in that 2nd test was awesome, to see a youngster fronting up like that gave me goosebumps! KG also needed to be reminded that HE is now the leader of our attack, and after Bouchie/Elgar had that chat with him, you can see he has regained some of the fire that's been missing for the last while. Ngidi also impressed, massive spell he bowled yesterday. I expected more from Olivier after he has been lighting up the domestic competition, he looked military medium at times, I will gladly see him make way for Anna (Nortje) when the latter is fit. Poor Kesh didn't have a massive role to play in this series, but he remains a vital member of our bowling attack.

Our batting had me worried, and if we look at the 1st innings scores I think that was proven to be justified. Markram has a lot of expectation resting on hits shoulders and so it should after he lead the juniors to WC glory. Darryl Cullinan made a good point - maybe we should slide him down the order where his attacking nature can be more suited and invite Pieter Malan - who had done nothing wrong when given the opportunity - to open the batting for us. But if we slide Markram down the order, who do we leave out? Maybe Markram should be asked to earn his spot back, is that not maybe the best option?

Elgar is never going to be pretty, but he is a streetfighter and we NEED someone like him leading this team forward, this is not even negotiable in my view.

KP - slowly finding his feet, and boy did he do well in this crunch game! Consistent performances amidst an average batting lineup ensured he deservedly got the player-of-the series award. I like the look of him, Hamza was in there for a while but he couldn't cut the mustart, so well done to KP for grabbing the chance.

Rassie/Temba did OK, not great, but OK. Rassie has the makings of a fine test batsman, steely determination, if he gets a better platform maybe we will see the best of him. Temba unfortunately doesn't look like a number 5 that can dominate a bowling attack like a Steve Waugh did, or even the late Hansie Cronje. For me, number 4 and 5 should be guys that can get in and score big runs, and I just don't get that vibe from Temba. He doesn't lack the heart though, which is something that is also valuable of course.

Keyle Verreyne; well he was solid behind the stumps the little that I saw. He will unfortunately need time to find his own mojo in this side.

All in all, what an impressive TEAM performance as Elgar mentioned during the post match presentation. Lots of potential and it's just great to see the guys finally get on the park to play some cricket with all the BS that's been going on behind the scenes. Well done to our boys! The Protea Fire is not dead yet...

On the whole DRS/Kohli issue I will quote our friend DJ Cullinan once again: "for too long Virat has got away with behaviour that is unacceptable" - or something to that effet. Kohli is nothing short of an arrogant so-and-so and he likes to moan when things dont go their way. Pujara or whoever it was complaining that its 11 players against a nation, and thats correct, thats the way it should be when you play an away series. What the hell does he think happens when we play in a packed Mumbai Kolkata Stadium with 80000 rampant Indian fans cheering on the home team? What idiots... the Indians are the WORST losers in the modern game, even worse than the convicts with their sandpaper!

And low and behold, no action to be taken against the Indians... Now you see @Shebeen ???

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sa-vs-india-3rd-test-no-formal-charges-filed-against-india-for-newlands-drs-bust-up-1296994

 

A pretty good summation of how our guys went in the series and some of the things that need to be worked on as well. After the struggles that we've had both on and off the field the series result is one I'm really pleased about. We are far from the finished article but I think we saw enough positive signs to say that going into the next series that we will be competitive and not just get beaten by a wide margin by stronger teams.

Just also want to point out that in the chases Temba's innings were pretty crucial in protecting Verreyne, who is still finding his feet in test cricket batting wise, and our lengthy tail who can blow pretty hot and cold with the bat. Especially given that the pitches were pretty hard to bat on early on for the batsmen new to the crease. Although I do agree with you that both Temba and Rassie need to contribute more with the bat. Maybe they could also do with swopping out batting positions i.e. Temba bats 4, Rassie bats 5 - might be a bit more natural to both. That's just an idea I don't know if that would work in practicality. I like KP at 3, he's used to it from domestic cricket and I for one can not find a fault with his technique and he did earn high praise from AB, friendship with Kohli aside, who knows a thing or two about being a good batsman at International level. Markram is a conundrum but hopefully Boucher, Smith and Mpitsang and company can find a way to get him to fulfil that wonderful natural talent that he has. Such a fantastic batsman to watch when in full flow.  

With Jansen I really admired just how natural and easy his bowling action was/is and his attitude on the field is also a big positive. In some ways he reminds me of Donald and in others he reminds me of Akram. When he got his lengths right he is a major handful and I suspect that the Aussies might not enjoy facing his bowling much or the fact that he'll give as good as he gets. His batting looks handy too, needs a bit of polishing of course but the raw ingredients is there. Mark Nicholas suggested that he could become an allrounder in the Shaun Pollock mould and I can definitely see that happening. 

Prior to the series starting I wanted to see signs of positive progression from the Proteas and I think that's what we got. Still plenty left to do - more runs (including hundreds) from the batsmen chief among them but I'm really happy with what we got and it has me hopeful that we will see more like it in the near future.

[gemmerbal]

13 minutes ago, Mntboy said:

A pretty good summation of how our guys went in the series and some of the things that need to be worked on as well. After the struggles that we've had both on and off the field the series result is one I'm really pleased about. We are far from the finished article but I think we saw enough positive signs to say that going into the next series that we will be competitive and not just get beaten by a wide margin by stronger teams.

Just also want to point out that in the chases Temba's innings were pretty crucial in protecting Verreyne, who is still finding his feet in test cricket batting wise, and our lengthy tail who can blow pretty hot and cold with the bat. Especially given that the pitches were pretty hard to bat on early on for the batsmen new to the crease. Although I do agree with you that both Temba and Rassie need to contribute more with the bat. Maybe they could also do with swopping out batting positions i.e. Temba bats 4, Rassie bats 5 - might be a bit more natural to both. That's just an idea I don't know if that would work in practicality. I like KP at 3, he's used to it from domestic cricket and I for one can not find a fault with his technique and he did earn high praise from AB, friendship with Kohli aside, who knows a thing or two about being a good batsman at International level. Markram is a conundrum but hopefully Boucher, Smith and Mpitsang and company can find a way to get him to fulfil that wonderful natural talent that he has. Such a fantastic batsman to watch when in full flow.  

With Jansen I really admired just how natural and easy his bowling action was/is and his attitude on the field is also a big positive. In some ways he reminds me of Donald and in others he reminds me of Akram. When he got his lengths right he is a major handful and I suspect that the Aussies might not enjoy facing his bowling much or the fact that he'll give as good as he gets. His batting looks handy too, needs a bit of polishing of course but the raw ingredients is there. Mark Nicholas suggested that he could become an allrounder in the Shaun Pollock mould and I can definitely see that happening. 

Prior to the series starting I wanted to see signs of positive progression from the Proteas and I think that's what we got. Still plenty left to do - more runs (including hundreds) from the batsmen chief among them but I'm really happy with what we got and it has me hopeful that we will see more like it in the near future.

Spot on!

I forgot to say that I think Jansen shouldn’t be playing in the ODI series, purely because he is still very young and we don’t want to be overloading him this early in his career. I would like to see him ply his trade in the longer format, maybe because I’m a purist, but also maybe because playing mik-en-moer cricket won’t help him develop into a top test bowler where bowling consistent lines end lengths and staying patient is a skill on its own. That’s just my thoughts on that. Kudos to Mpitsang for pulling the young man in when they did though, but look after him, being a leftie he is a precious commodity! He has such a pure bowling action coming right over his front leg, and that is where real pace comes from. I watch a lot of test cricket and I see so many bowlers with a bend in their front leg, that’s where injuries start but also where pace is lost. 
 

Another shoutout to Ngidi, looking at his performances in this series he has really stepped up a notch. 

Lastly, agreed about Temba, he did make crucial runs. I like your suggestion of swopping him and Rassie, let’s see what the future holds. As you so rightly mention, lots to be positive about. 

[Mntboy]

15 minutes ago, gemmerbal said:

Spot on!

I forgot to say that I think Jansen shouldn’t be playing in the ODI series, purely because he is still very young and we don’t want to be overloading him this early in his career. I would like to see him ply his trade in the longer format, maybe because I’m a purist, but also maybe because playing mik-en-moer cricket won’t help him develop into a top test bowler where bowling consistent lines end lengths and staying patient is a skill on its own. That’s just my thoughts on that. Kudos to Mpitsang for pulling the young man in when they did though, but look after him, being a leftie he is a precious commodity! He has such a pure bowling action coming right over his front leg, and that is where real pace comes from. I watch a lot of test cricket and I see so many bowlers with a bend in their front leg, that’s where injuries start but also where pace is lost. 
 

Another shoutout to Ngidi, looking at his performances in this series he has really stepped up a notch. 

Lastly, agreed about Temba, he did make crucial runs. I like your suggestion of swopping him and Rassie, let’s see what the future holds. As you so rightly mention, lots to be positive about. 

I was thinking this morning that he had seemed to improve on his ability to keep an end quiet only to see a comment on facebook that he had the best rpo amongst the bowlers. Rather happy with that as well, given the source of the information. He has been good all series and his attitude towards doing the graft work required to succeed (that spell up at centurion was fantastic as was his spell in the Indian second innings at Newlands) has been pleasing as well. Plenty to be happy about from a South African perspective especially in the light of the off field stuff. 

Let's just also acknowledge Langeveldt who has worked hard to help his bowlers improve and put in the good consistent performances we seen the past while. Similarly I think Ontong has done a fantastic job w.r.t our fielding as well. It's often easy to overlook the contributions of the coaches. If you think about we really only had one poor day of test cricket throughout the series and the coaching staff got the guys to knuckle down and perform well throughout the rest of it.

I think Mpitsang is going to be a good chief selector and it was a brave call putting a young guy like Jansen in the team but so far a number of his choices have worked out well (KP, Verreyne & Jansen). The ODI series will be interesting and I reckon there will be a few players from the test team getting a rest and a few others getting an opportunity. Will need to have a look at the squad but I wouldn't mind seeing Linde or Fortuin playing in Jansen's place. Especially seeing that the next ODI World Cup will be in India we need to get a sense of who our best white ball spinners are and while I love what Maharaj brings to the test team I think that Linde and Fortuin will work as better foils for Shamsi. 

[Mntboy]

Firdose makes a lot of good comments/points in this video. 

 

['Dale]

End of an era 

[gemmerbal]

9 hours ago, Mntboy said:

Firdose makes a lot of good comments/points in this video. 

 

She’s a very good writer/student of the game. 

[gemmerbal]

3 hours ago, 'Dale said:

End of an era 

Ag shame… 🤣🤣🤣

[gemmerbal]

Watch this Brevis laaitie. He’s got some strokes!

[justinafrika]

Edited January 15, 2022 by justinafrika