Cricket......

[l4y3rcake]

35 minutes ago, l4y3rcake said:

Dwayne Pretorius, Wayne Parnell or George Linde. Tough one but I would probably have gone with Dwayne.

Looking at how the spinners are going Linde or Shamzi could have been a good call.

 

[Shebeen]

6 hours ago, Dusty said:

With the timing of this development, I really get the feeling that CSA want the Proteas to fail. Maybe easier to get rid of Boucher? Could have waited until Monday when the series finished. Punishing every player in the current side as I see it. 

I don't think you're being fair there. This is a new crowd of people and judge them on that going forward. Politicians are very involved in this saga now, i'm going to let this run it's course before that sort of conspiracy talk. Beating India has surely strengthened Boucher's hand though!

17 hours ago, gemmerbal said:

sorry mate, I just emptied my tank on the last post....

 

whats a binary?

black and white.

just because we don't see somethings the same way it doesn't mean we're not aligned with others.

[Vetplant]

In the test matches it was shown the value of "catches win matches". Well right now, we have dropped two chances and messed up a clear run-out opportunity.

With the momentum the indians have right now, we will be chasing something in the order of 340-360...Unless we pull some rabbits out of the hat.

[Dusty]

24 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I don't think you're being fair there. This is a new crowd of people and judge them on that going forward. Politicians are very involved in this saga now, i'm going to let this run it's course before that sort of conspiracy talk. Beating India has surely strengthened Boucher's hand though!

black and white.

just because we don't see somethings the same way it doesn't mean we're not aligned with others.

I believe that I am being very fair. Whilst any sane South African believes this inquiry is necessary imo, the timing of this is beyond suspicious. One bad timing may be a coincidence. Twice not so much viz taking the knee saga.

No new 'crowd' since that timing of that matter.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Dusty

[gemmerbal]

27 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I don't think you're being fair there. This is a new crowd of people and judge them on that going forward. Politicians are very involved in this saga now, i'm going to let this run it's course before that sort of conspiracy talk. Beating India has surely strengthened Boucher's hand though!

black and white.

just because we don't see somethings the same way it doesn't mean we're not aligned with others.

Apologies my old friend. I was just being facetious. You deserve a better reply. Let me give it another shot. 
 

Your point regarding the BCCI is of course very valid. And if we can introduce the same glamour to the Freedom cup that we see in The Ashes for example, of course we stand to gain a lot. But therein lies my frustration: not 10 years ago we were the no.1 test team in the world and even then we had to settle for mostly 2 and 3 match series’ which is completely unfair in my view. Yet we see that whenever any of the Big 3 play a series its almost always at least 3 matches, and when they play each other its never not 5 matches. Think back to the number of times we have played 2 match series’ - that is just complete nonsense in my view. 
 

Add to that how the entire Future Tours schedule is planned around the IPL window and the damage that IPL cricket is doing to test cricketers (yes this is another point that almost deserves its own paragraph, but for quick reference listen to David Gower’s interview after the recently concluded Ashes series), and one cannot ignore the obvious. Jarrod Kimber’s investigation into the nefarious doings of the BCCI in the acclaimed documentary further adds to my argument. 

On India, I am very honest about my opinion of them as a whole. It started with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli is just a continuation of the arrogance that was borne from their perceived view that they control world cricket ever since they invented the IPL and as a result, the schedules of the best players in the world are also being dictated for selfish gains. 
 

Respect Shebeen. Keep on keeping me honest. 😉

[gemmerbal]

25 minutes ago, Dusty said:

I believe that I am being very fair. Whilst any sane South African believes this inquiry is necessary imo, the timing of this is beyond suspicious. One bad timing may be a coincidence. Twice not so much viz taking the knee saga.

No new 'crowd' since that timing of that matter.

For me its not the relevance of the SJN hearings that’s in question, but the motivation behind the participants. Someone like Paul Adams who himself wrote that at the time he did not think anything of the comments being made, it was only once his girlfriend pointed it out to him that he decided to come forward - hey???? (So she was offended on his behalf or what???)

Then we have Tsolekile, Tsotsobe, Telemachus et al who all have valid reasons for not being selected but because the platform was created to be misused decided to jump on the bandwagon. And dont even start me on Nkwe again…

Again, we saw what happened at Yorkshire so I don’t disagree that there’s a need to ‘rehabilitate’ cricket. But some of the players are really taking the piss. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by gemmerbal

[gemmerbal]

How the duck Sisanda Magala can be deemed fit enough to play international cricket is beyond me. Is he attending the Richard Levi Pie Eating Acadmy?

[gemmerbal]

2 hours ago, Vetplant said:

Following the comments on ESPNCricinfo, it seems Jansen was rested due to the large workload he had in the tests and the last ODI.

I can get behind that and some squad rotation. But there might have been a better option when looking at the current bowling figures:

He gave up 29 runs in three overs(Econ=9.7), while Ngidi gave up 16 in 4 (ECON=4)

 

This is precisely why I said I think it’s a mistake to select him for the ODI series.

But honestly I also think CSA is so desperate to make the Proteas attractive for sponsorship they they are willing to sacrifice player well-being for the cause. 

[Vetplant]

2 hours ago, Vetplant said:

In the test matches it was shown the value of "catches win matches". Well right now, we have dropped two chances and messed up a clear run-out opportunity.

With the momentum the indians have right now, we will be chasing something in the order of 340-360...Unless we pull some rabbits out of the hat.

Seems we found some rabbits

171/2 after 30, it would indicate something in the order of 340 runs was on the cards. 

Now at 239/6, after 44. Seems like INDIA will be happy with anything close to 290. Nice fightback by our fielders and bowlers.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Vetplant

[justinafrika]

I can’t recall a more disappointing fielding performance by SA: 4 dropped catches and an embarrassing runout cockup.  40+℃ heat affecting focus and sweaty palms?

[gemmerbal]

43 minutes ago, justinafrika said:

I can’t recall a more disappointing fielding performance by SA: 4 dropped catches and an embarrassing runout cockup.  40+℃ heat affecting focus and sweaty palms?

This is what happens if you are not fit enough. Wonder how many of these chaps would be able to keep up with Hansie in a bleep test?

I say the above somewhat in jest - I know the Paarl heat extremely well, its lethal! First time ever in my life I got cramps while bowling was in the Paarl heat, funny not funny. And yes, Hansie would have kicked my ass in a bleep test!

Edited January 21, 2022 by gemmerbal

[l4y3rcake]

Man I love it when old Quinny plays like young Quinny!

['Dale]

Such a cool anecdote of The Little Master. If you know me well, you’ll note that Test cricket is my favourite format of the game 

 

[IceCreamMan]

So Boucher being investigated. 
 

m what a dog show

[Shebeen]

On 1/21/2022 at 12:58 PM, gemmerbal said:

Apologies my old friend. I was just being facetious. You deserve a better reply. Let me give it another shot. 
 

Your point regarding the BCCI is of course very valid. And if we can introduce the same glamour to the Freedom cup that we see in The Ashes for example, of course we stand to gain a lot. But therein lies my frustration: not 10 years ago we were the no.1 test team in the world and even then we had to settle for mostly 2 and 3 match series’ which is completely unfair in my view. Yet we see that whenever any of the Big 3 play a series its almost always at least 3 matches, and when they play each other its never not 5 matches. Think back to the number of times we have played 2 match series’ - that is just complete nonsense in my view. 
 

Add to that how the entire Future Tours schedule is planned around the IPL window and the damage that IPL cricket is doing to test cricketers (yes this is another point that almost deserves its own paragraph, but for quick reference listen to David Gower’s interview after the recently concluded Ashes series), and one cannot ignore the obvious. Jarrod Kimber’s investigation into the nefarious doings of the BCCI in the acclaimed documentary further adds to my argument. 

On India, I am very honest about my opinion of them as a whole. It started with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli is just a continuation of the arrogance that was borne from their perceived view that they control world cricket ever since they invented the IPL and as a result, the schedules of the best players in the world are also being dictated for selfish gains. 
 

Respect Shebeen. Keep on keeping me honest. 😉

I really appreciate the insight you bring us here.

on a top level strategy it all seems rather obvious:

* stop scoring own goals - sort out CSA so all in cricket south africa work together instead of against each other

* make the game financially sustainable

* find a way to get better bang for buck against the Big3. (If you can't join them, beat them)

 

maybe an alliance with pakistan (easy), NZ(would probably side with Aus) and WI would get better voting and financial power in the game. Methinks the Ashes is getting devalued with all quantity and not quality it brings recently. They killed Superrugby by just expanding it beyond the super10/12 and piling on more and more games until it became irrelevant.  

 

 

Obviously all easier said than done, but the first step is to get our own house in order. If bouch/smith get booted over this fiasco i see it taking us backwards again

 

[justinafrika]

31 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

If bouch/smith get booted over this fiasco i see it taking us backwards again

I’m convinced that these two complicated things by not speaking for themselves at the SJN hearings.  It’s evident to all that they’ve established consistent team performances in various formats, despite several underperforming top order test batters.  

Hayi shem!  Can’t help thinking of the poor poms in Australia and losing by 9 wickets in the West Indies this weekend.

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by justinafrika