***Official*** South Africa In Australia

[Cricket_God]

No, Sehwag only dominated Steyn on a belter of a wicket. He scored 46 off 48 balls of Steyn, at a slightly lower SR than his match SR.



No, he bowled only 1 wide in his 4th over of the match which apparently got out of his hand. The legside wide was in his second spell, which was immediately followed by Dravid wicket. Ganguly's wicket might have been fortuitous, but there were many he beat the batsman yet unluckily didnt get a wicket. Pointless argument.



Haha what? It was a wicket that had nothing in it for the pace bowlers, and yet Steyn got 3 wickets @ less than 24, which is a very good show considering the wicket. And don't be fooled by the economy rate, he was specifically asked to go after the batsman and was bound to go for runs. 3.5 is never horrible though.



Another myth. Here's the breakup of Steyn's averages against LHBs and RHBs

Here are figures of Ishant Sharma, who had a good series against Aus in unhelpful conditions

There is nothing statistically suggesting that Steyn is bad against Left handers.

what a joke ,you have not replied to the main points and the stats you show prove my point

in india out of 15 wickets 8 were of tailenders,i watched him in all the matches live
shewag got 46 of 48 and smith did not give steyn the ball otherwise who knows.

if beating the bat means umpires should give a batsman out even if has not nicked it then
god save cricket.

there was uneven bounce in the wicket if you watched the match a nd saw morkel bowling
you should not have asked the question ,on that pitch 3.5 from your so called strike bowler
is expensive in a low scoring match.

he is useless against lefthanders and your stats prove it.a average of 23 that too most wickets against newzealand ,westindies. shows it.wait
and waytch the ausssie lefthanders hammer him

 

[Cricket_God]

Nah he really only bowled one good spell in Sydney and Perth each when the ball was new and swinging. They were very, very good spells but aside from them, was generally innocuous.

Seriously, you're using pretty much the same logic to over-rate Sharma's bowling and under-rate Steyn's. Not really fair.

he played 3 tests and after mcg test he bowled 2 excellent spells in 2 tests what more do you expect?

ishant has got top order wickets and steyn gets tailenders so what logic ?

 

[pasag]

Hoping for Ponting special tomorrow, would make me a very happy man.

 

[Cricket_God]

Blah. RP was strictly mediocre in that series, stats or otherwise. I can only laugh at any suggestion that he was "good" in that series, because save for two innings, he went well above 4 per over in that series. Hardly the hallmark of a good pace bowler, and should be considered abysmal since you "reasoned" earlier that Steyn's 3.55 economy rate was dire.

on kanpur pitch economy of 3.55 means 5 on aussie pitch.

rp singh goes for runs but he gets toporder wickets also he bowls a full length so he will
be expensive.wait for steyn getting hammered in australia and then your cricketing
brain might wake up.

 

[Cricket_God]

Is it just me or is dale steyn one of the most over-rated cricketers there are.

he is no doubt

 

[Cricket_God]

Looking forward to tomorrow, but am very sceptical at our chances.

should not be specially looking at sa batting lineup in aussie conditions and graeme smith
always bowls first when he sees a helpful wicket so if australia will probably bat first
and if they bat well and get 300 then match over

 

[four_or_six]

Oh lol at Smith... Warney has told me how to get Ponting and Hayden out.

Classic.

 

[Lambu]

Oh lol at Smith... Warney has told me how to get Ponting and Hayden out.

Wait till one of those two score a century..i bet the OZ media will throw this on Smith's face.

 

[duffer]

Oh lol at Smith... Warney has told me how to get Ponting and Hayden out.

Classic.

Ah the beauty of the IPL.

 

[Ernest]

what a joke ,you have not replied to the main points and the stats you show prove my point

in india out of 15 wickets 8 were of tailenders,i watched him in all the matches live
shewag got 46 of 48 and smith did not give steyn the ball otherwise who knows.

if beating the bat means umpires should give a batsman out even if has not nicked it then
god save cricket.

there was uneven bounce in the wicket if you watched the match a nd saw morkel bowling
you should not have asked the question ,on that pitch 3.5 from your so called strike bowler
is expensive in a low scoring match.

he is useless against lefthanders and your stats prove it.a average of 23 that too most wickets against newzealand ,westindies. shows it.wait
and waytch the ausssie lefthanders hammer him

The Aussie left handers will be too worried about Morkel coming around the wicket..

I think that you sound worried about the Saffies and you should be. I am tipping maybe 3-1 to south africa. They aren't going to be listening to the trash talk behind the slips.

 

[Ernest]

should not be specially looking at sa batting lineup in aussie conditions and graeme smith
always bowls first when he sees a helpful wicket so if australia will probably bat first
and if they bat well and get 300 then match over

I'd say the saffies have us in every aspect of the game especially captaincy.

If Australia bat first they'll be lucky to get 300 especially given the way they batted against India.

Who do you expect will suddenly fire? Roy? Haddin has only played well against a very weak kiwi side.. Haydos is old and had it.. Katich is OK I expect him to do well but he does it slowly. Steyn will have Ponting with away movement.

So it's all up Mr Cricket. I can tell you that he is looking pretty sick of having to rescue Australia at 3/20 all the bloody time. The saffies will be licking their lips and it is Australia who will be feeling worried this time.

Regardless of what hardcore Australian fans think.

 

[Precambrian]

what a joke ,you have not replied to the main points and the stats you show prove my point

in india out of 15 wickets 8 were of tailenders,i watched him in all the matches live
shewag got 46 of 48 and smith did not give steyn the ball otherwise who knows.

if beating the bat means umpires should give a batsman out even if has not nicked it then
god save cricket.

there was uneven bounce in the wicket if you watched the match a nd saw morkel bowling
you should not have asked the question ,on that pitch 3.5 from your so called strike bowler
is expensive in a low scoring match.

he is useless against lefthanders and your stats prove it.a average of 23 that too most wickets against newzealand ,westindies. shows it.wait
and waytch the ausssie lefthanders hammer him

23 is good average these days, though am not sure you hate it because that's perhaps your avg cricket IQ.

Read my posts again, and then plz comment. (Cursing the moment I took this guy's post seriously and lauched into statsguru)

 

[andrew9120]

South Africa in Australia

The upcoming series between Australia and South Africa promises to be most interesting. As an Englishman I genuinely enjoyed watching South Africa play here last summer and was most impressed with their batting line up. The South African attack also promised great things and produced great spells recently against Bangladesh. The Australian side comes into this series having been defeated by a great Indian side. It would be a mistake as some have done to underestimate Australia’s strength; they are still a powerful team, who have so many players capable of producing a match winning performance. As the number one team in the world it is natural that the cricketing world takes interest in the possibility of their losing, and I feel this series does raise the possibility of such a loss.

Arguably Australia and South Africa have the two best attacks in the world to function in Australian conditions. At present there is little to choose between Steyn, Lee, Morkel and Johnson. There is however a difference in the spin department. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a crisis in the spin-bowling department of Australian cricket. Michel Clarke and Andrew Symonds are very convincing part time spinners but to me it defies belief that Jason Krezja should be considered a front line spinner. His one test performance in Indian conditions makes great reading taking 12 wickets at an average of 29.83. His first class career of 25 matches yielded 55 wickets at an average of 43. It is true that series in Australia do not necessarily bring spin into the game, but should Ponting want to rest his quick’s and maintain a little control over a session I am not certain he should throw the ball to Krezja. Graham Smith certainly has an option in this area with Paul Harris – a very promising holding spin bowler. With career figures of 47 wickets at an average of 32.61 and an economy of 2.68, it would be interesting to see him perform on Australian tracks.

Having extolled the power of the South African batting line up – I feel that a key component of this powerhouse lives at the top of the order in Graham Smith. This could be a problem for South Africa, as Smith averages 49.95 in his overall career but only 22.85 in 8 matches against Australia (only 20.87 in Australia). These figures do describe Smith facing a very different Australian attack to the one he will face in this series – but I still feel that just as Ponting has a knack of getting series off to a winning start with a captain’s innings Smith must do the same.

I can’t wait!

 

[Lambu]

The upcoming series between Australia and South Africa promises to be most interesting. As an Englishman I genuinely enjoyed watching South Africa play here last summer and was most impressed with their batting line up. The South African attack also promised great things and produced great spells recently against Bangladesh. The Australian side comes into this series having been defeated by a great Indian side. It would be a mistake as some have done to underestimate Australia’s strength; they are still a powerful team, who have so many players capable of producing a match winning performance. As the number one team in the world it is natural that the cricketing world takes interest in the possibility of their losing, and I feel this series does raise the possibility of such a loss.

Arguably Australia and South Africa have the two best attacks in the world to function in Australian conditions. At present there is little to choose between Steyn, Lee, Morkel and Johnson. There is however a difference in the spin department. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a crisis in the spin-bowling department of Australian cricket. Michel Clarke and Andrew Symonds are very convincing part time spinners but to me it defies belief that Jason Krezja should be considered a front line spinner. His one test performance in Indian conditions makes great reading taking 12 wickets at an average of 29.83. His first class career of 25 matches yielded 55 wickets at an average of 43. It is true that series in Australia do not necessarily bring spin into the game, but should Ponting want to rest his quick’s and maintain a little control over a session I am not certain he should throw the ball to Krezja. Graham Smith certainly has an option in this area with Paul Harris – a very promising holding spin bowler. With career figures of 47 wickets at an average of 32.61 and an economy of 2.68, it would be interesting to see him perform on Australian tracks.

Having extolled the power of the South African batting line up – I feel that a key component of this powerhouse lives at the top of the order in Graham Smith. This could be a problem for South Africa, as Smith averages 49.95 in his overall career but only 22.85 in 8 matches against Australia (only 20.87 in Australia). These figures do describe Smith facing a very different Australian attack to the one he will face in this series – but I still feel that just as Ponting has a knack of getting series off to a winning start with a captain’s innings Smith must do the same.

I can’t wait!

The aussies will make shot work of him.if anything you should be more worried about him than Krejza.Remember Krejza bowls at batsmen who are good at facing spin in FC cricket..but we can't say about Harris,can we?

Anyways,i hardly think spin will be the deciding factor in the series.

 

[Woodster]

The upcoming series between Australia and South Africa promises to be most interesting. As an Englishman I genuinely enjoyed watching South Africa play here last summer and was most impressed with their batting line up. The South African attack also promised great things and produced great spells recently against Bangladesh. The Australian side comes into this series having been defeated by a great Indian side. It would be a mistake as some have done to underestimate Australia’s strength; they are still a powerful team, who have so many players capable of producing a match winning performance. As the number one team in the world it is natural that the cricketing world takes interest in the possibility of their losing, and I feel this series does raise the possibility of such a loss.

Arguably Australia and South Africa have the two best attacks in the world to function in Australian conditions. At present there is little to choose between Steyn, Lee, Morkel and Johnson. There is however a difference in the spin department. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a crisis in the spin-bowling department of Australian cricket. Michel Clarke and Andrew Symonds are very convincing part time spinners but to me it defies belief that Jason Krezja should be considered a front line spinner. His one test performance in Indian conditions makes great reading taking 12 wickets at an average of 29.83. His first class career of 25 matches yielded 55 wickets at an average of 43. It is true that series in Australia do not necessarily bring spin into the game, but should Ponting want to rest his quick’s and maintain a little control over a session I am not certain he should throw the ball to Krezja. Graham Smith certainly has an option in this area with Paul Harris – a very promising holding spin bowler. With career figures of 47 wickets at an average of 32.61 and an economy of 2.68, it would be interesting to see him perform on Australian tracks.

Having extolled the power of the South African batting line up – I feel that a key component of this powerhouse lives at the top of the order in Graham Smith. This could be a problem for South Africa, as Smith averages 49.95 in his overall career but only 22.85 in 8 matches against Australia (only 20.87 in Australia). These figures do describe Smith facing a very different Australian attack to the one he will face in this series – but I still feel that just as Ponting has a knack of getting series off to a winning start with a captain’s innings Smith must do the same.

I can’t wait!

I must admit I share your enthusiasm for this series, and hopefully the cricket will be more exciting than the turgid cricket (that still took a lot of skill) that was on show at times during the Australian trip to India.

There are few more exciting pitches for Test cricket than the W.A.C.A where the series gets underway, especially with reports it has spiced up a little this season having lost a bit of zip recently.

I'm really not sure though about Paul Harris' ability to fulfil his holding role against Australia. I'm pretty sure on their home grounds, the likes of Clarke, Hussey, Hayden, Ponting and Symonds will all be pretty severe at some stage on Harris, who, imo, is a pretty average slow bowler. He can, when allowed, offer SA some control, as it is unlikely that Steyn, Morkel, or Ntini can be relied upon to keep Australia's run rate in check. This is one area I do worry for SA, if the wickets are not coming quickly and a partnership is set, they may find Australia are quick to get the runs on the board. Kallis may be the man to try and put the brakes on.

 

[Uppercut]

I'm pretty sure on their home grounds, the likes of Clarke, Hussey, Hayden, Ponting and Symonds will all be pretty severe at some stage on Harris, who, imo, is a pretty average slow bowler.

South Africa will be hoping so, because that's how he gets wickets. Harris took what was probably the most important wicket in the whole series against England when he had Pietersen out for 94 in the second innings at Edgebaston. How? Pietersen didn't rate him, treated him with no respect and got himself out trying to go down the pitch. Harris can be ticked along for a decent amount of runs without anyone having to take many risks. If Australia decide they're going to risk their wickets to score those runs unnecessarily quickly just to try to humiliate him, Smith will be delighted.

 

[andrew9120]

South Africa will be hoping so, because that's how he gets wickets. Harris took what was probably the most important wicket in the whole series against England when he had Pietersen out for 94 in the second innings at Edgebaston. How? Pietersen didn't rate him, treated him with no respect and got himself out trying to go down the pitch. Harris can be ticked along for a decent amount of runs without anyone having to take many risks. If Australia decide they're going to risk their wickets to score those runs unnecessarily quickly just to try to humiliate him, Smith will be delighted.

Yeah I kind of agree with that. I was really impressed with Paul Harris during the English summer. I think he looks like a decent holding bowler who will get wickets if the australians think that he is "a pretty average slow bowler". KP fell for it, I wonder if the likes of Symonds, Haddin or Ponting will as well?

 

[Mister Wright]

When you're on holidays the 12:30pm start is annoying.

 

[Nate]

When you're at work it's incredible.

 

[Speersy]

Is it true we are going to miss half and hour of the cricket because of that dike chick?