***Official*** South Africa in England

[jammay123]

broad gets mckenzie

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Not scoring runs is one thing. But when you start dropping catches as well as not scoring runs. Bye bye Ambrose!

 

[GIMH]

tbf, it was a tough chance

 

[popepouri]

SA is poor when it comes to knocking over tailenders. I recall Hussey and McGrath putting on over hundred against us and have seen other tailender over the past few years taking the game away from them. They need to find someone who can dismiss the tail more cheaply than they do. And in contrast to England they have nobody who swings the ball. Their attack is too one-dimensional.

They have someone. His name is Dale Steyn.

 

[zaremba]

Had he done this when the series was alive, now when there's hardly anything but just individual glory and pride to lpay for here comes a KP century. Good for him.

Great point, except for the fact that you're wrong and you have no idea what you're talking about. In this series, before this century, he's already scored 152 at Lord's and 94 at Edgbaston.

 

[Uppercut]

Pietersen has 408 runs in 6 innings of the series, at an average of 68 (higher than any SA batsmen, incidentally). Had everyone else not failed around him, he'd be a candidate for man of the series.

May all criticism of his performances this summer stop there. To expect more, of any cricketer, is to expect too much.

 

[fredfertang]

Pietersen has 408 runs in 6 innings of the series, at an average of 68 (higher than any SA batsmen, incidentally). Had everyone else not failed around him, he'd be a candidate for man of the series.

May all criticism of his performances this summer stop there. To expect more, of any cricketer, is to expect too much.

Agree totally but while he continues to get himself out rather than the bowlers doing it people will say, with some justification, that he is capable of more which, in a sense, I suppose he must be.

Personally I hope/believe that we have yet to see the best of KP

 

[Uppercut]

Agree totally but while he continues to get himself out rather than the bowlers doing it people will say, with some justification, that he is capable of more which, in a sense, I suppose he must be.

Personally I hope/believe that we have yet to see the best of KP

Hmm, but that's the way he plays. The majority of his runs are scored off balls that have virtually nothing particularly wrong with them. So you can't really be surprised when he gets out to a ball that has virtually nothing particularly special about it.

 

[fredfertang]

Hmm, but that's the way he plays. The majority of his runs are scored off balls that have virtually nothing particularly wrong with them. So you can't really be surprised when he gets out to a ball that has virtually nothing particularly special about it.

Well this is true and exactly the same issue I occasionally try and tackle concerning Mr Friday - unlike Mr Friday however KP is not totally out of control so I still believe he can get even better

 

[Briony]

Great point, except for the fact that you're wrong and you have no idea what you're talking about. In this series, before this century, he's already scored 152 at Lord's and 94 at Edgbaston.

I still can't see why KP won't be a candidate for man of the series. It doesn't have to go to someone on the winning team. Some Norm Smith medallists have been from the losing team for instance, for those familiar with Aussie Rules.

 

[pasag]

I still can't see why KP won't be a candidate for man of the series. It doesn't have to go to someone on the winning team. Some Norm Smith medallists have been from the losing team for instance, for those familiar with Aussie Rules.

Doesn't work like that in cricket though, MOTM is usually from the winning side, although I agree that the AFL system is better.

That said, I'm pretty sure there's an English player of the series and a South African one in England. Which is silly.

 

[GIMH]

Pietersen has 408 runs in 6 innings of the series, at an average of 68 (higher than any SA batsmen, incidentally). Had everyone else not failed around him, he'd be a candidate for man of the series.

May all criticism of his performances this summer stop there. To expect more, of any cricketer, is to expect too much.

I still can't see why KP won't be a candidate for man of the series. It doesn't have to go to someone on the winning team. Some Norm Smith medallists have been from the losing team for instance, for those familiar with Aussie Rules.

They pick a MOTS from each side, I believe it will be Pietersen and Smith

 

[GIMH]

Doesn't work like that in cricket though, MOTM is usually from the winning side, although I agree that the AFL system is better.

That said, I'm pretty sure there's an English player of the series and a South African one in England. Which is silly.

I don't mind it, as I am used to it, but it is silly when you have a situation like year where Anderson got MOTS V India, despite averaging about 35

 

[gettingbetter]

Doesn't work like that in cricket though, MOTM is usually from the winning side, although I agree that the AFL system is better.

That said, I'm pretty sure there's an English player of the series and a South African one in England. Which is silly.

Should be Smith or Prince I feel, they've influenced the wins more than anyone in either team.

Also, it is silly have a MOTS from both sides - I get the feeling it will be KP and Smith. Though this has been the trend in the series played in England, I think of late its been Anderson and Khan, and Sidebottom and Chanderpaul.

 

[GIMH]

Strauss & Vettori this year, also

Don't think KP has ever had a MOTS before, which is slightly odd as he pretty much routinely scores two tons a series at home. Though I think he was set for one V Pakistan in 2006, but it never ended up being awarded, as far as I know anyway

 

[Furball]

Always the Lion at Oval and at HOME,

Had he done this when the series was alive, now when there's hardly anything but just individual glory and pride to lpay for here comes a KP century. Good for him. Let the guy play some worthwhile innings in the subcontinent. Let him improve on his away average of 40. Then let's see.

Yes, he's been poor thus far in the subcontinent, but his tours of Pakistan and India were his 2nd and 3rd tours of his career, when in Test terms he was young and still learning (and he has a reasonable mid 30s average, 1 hundred, 2 50s in 12 innings on tour)

He has less excuses for a shocking tour of Sri Lanka this winter, but he wasn't alone amongst England's batsmen.

And he averages 54 against Australia, in Australia.

 

[BoyBrumby]

So, will Pietersen's batting be impacted by the captaincy? This could be interesting.

Interestingly he was facing Paul Harris when he was on 95 & this time he resisted the temptation to attempt to bring up three figures in "the grand manner", so maybe the extra responsibility made the great man err on the side of caution.

That said the miscued hooks off Ntini & Nel didn't exactly scream out circumspection tho.

First time they've bowled a decent one at him tbh. Not particularly sure why the likes of Flintoff and Anderson have tried so desperately to bowl away swingers at Smith, despite his patently obvious heavy footedness.

It's part of setting up for the one that comes back in, I'd imagine. Before he trapped the leaden-footed chubster with the inswinger Jimmy has fired three across him towards the slips. Classic swing bowling.

 

[Furball]

Strauss & Vettori this year, also

Don't think KP has ever had a MOTS before, which is slightly odd as he pretty much routinely scores two tons a series at home. Though I think he was set for one V Pakistan in 2006, but it never ended up being awarded, as far as I know anyway

It's down to his consitstency. He's always consistently at around 50.

I can't ever remember him having a truly outstanding series, Sri Lanka away aside, he's yet to have a bad series.

 

[Dissector]

This must be one of Amla's fastest test 50's. I saw only his innings yesterday but he seemed to be timing the ball really sweetly.

 

[Napier16]

This must be one of Amla's fastest test 50's. I saw only his innings yesterday but he seemed to be timing the ball really sweetly.

It is, but of course it won't get the bum licking plaudits that "genius" Pietersen does for simply breaking wind at the crease.