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***Official*** South Africa In Australia

pup11

International Coach
I am still to overcome the disappointment, but the way Aussies are being blasted around by journos and media around the world is a bit ridiculous imo, the Australian team is very much a one going through a transitional phase and to expect same kind of consistency from this bunch of individuals like we have come to expect from the Aussie side that had the likes of Gilchrist, Warne, McGrath, Martyn, Langer, Gillespie is asking for a bit too much, so for sometime Australia' form in test matches could be a bit patchy but to say the Aussie side would end in the doldrums is a bit too early to say, there are plenty of talented quicks around but they would need time to settle down and get used to international cricket, so till then i think Aussie fans better be prepared for more disappointments like these in the near future.

As far Australia' woes in the bowling department go, not having a top test bowler like Clark is a huge blow and on top of that Lee' inability to take any wickets on flat tracks against good oppositions is a very worrying problem too, these two were expected to lead the attack, but that isn't happening, though it been refreshing to see Johnson rise up to occasion time after time, but he needs support from the other end which he is not getting atm, Krejza is proving to be an extremely expensive bowler for Australia, his high economy rate can only be ignored if he takes wickets which i doubt he would do on the Aussie tracks, therefore if he doesn't improve in the MCG test, then it would be worth trying someone like Hauritz, being a good OD bowler he knows how to keep things tight, but the flip side of it is he is not the most attacking spinner one might come across.
 

Lambu

U19 Debutant
Its been over a year since the star players retired..I don't think that can be an excuse anymore.Sorry.
 

pup11

International Coach
Don't agree at all. The attack you describe is the exact one that weren't able to even extend the same team last time SA were here. Warne and McGrath couldn't do much that day and today was eerily similar; the deck was flat, very few balls misbehaved and SA just wanted it more. The Aussies bowlers weren't poor but did lack spark whereas the Saffies innings' had purpose and intent. Siddle, i thought, was a vastly improved bowler from yesterday, he just couldn't extract any useful movement out of the deck. Just like Lee and Johnson

If you wanna pick on something, pick on the Aussie batting; as has been said already, some of the get-out shots were absolutely woeful. Symonds, for all his good batting before getting out, needs to be slapped about the head for chucking away a ton in the first dig, for example.
I completely agree, and i too said the exact same thing before, for me as woeful the Aussie bowlers might have been the real culprits behind this loss are the Aussie batsmen, on such a flat track once you have won the toss and elected to bat the onus is completely on the batsmen to ensure that they make most of the conditions and pile on the runs to virtually bat the opposition out of the game, which they failed to do from a positions where they could have dictated terms, i think everyone is being critical about Australia' bowling whereas the South African bowling was possibly worst or at best at par with the Aussie bowling performance, the real difference in the end between the two sides was that, the South African batsmen like Smith, Amla, AB and Kallis all showed a lot better application as compared to the Aussie batsmen who all threw away there wickets after making a substantial start.
 

Uppercut

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I am still to overcome the disappointment, but the way Aussies are being blasted around by journos and media around the world is a bit ridiculous imo, the Australian team is very much a one going through a transitional phase and to expect same kind of consistency from this bunch of individuals like we have come to expect from the Aussie side that had the likes of Gilchrist, Warne, McGrath, Martyn, Langer, Gillespie is asking for a bit too much, so for sometime Australia' form in test matches could be a bit patchy but to say the Aussie side would end in the doldrums is a bit too early to say, there are plenty of talented quicks around but they would need time to settle down and get used to international cricket, so till then i think Aussie fans better be prepared for more disappointments like these in the near future.

As far Australia' woes in the bowling department go, not having a top test bowler like Clark is a huge blow and on top of that Lee' inability to take any wickets on flat tracks against good oppositions is a very worrying problem too, these two were expected to lead the attack, but that isn't happening, though it been refreshing to see Johnson rise up to occasion time after time, but he needs support from the other end which he is not getting atm, Krejza is proving to be an extremely expensive bowler for Australia, his high economy rate can only be ignored if he takes wickets which i doubt he would do on the Aussie tracks, therefore if he doesn't improve in the MCG test, then it would be worth trying someone like Hauritz, being a good OD bowler he knows how to keep things tight, but the flip side of it is he is not the most attacking spinner one might come across.
I reckon if Symonds and Clarke are both in the team Australia have to go with an all-pace attack. The other option is Watson in for Symonds and retain Krejza, but Watto's batting hasn't been up to the standard required to bat at 6 so far so i doubt they'll do that. Something like Lee-Johnson-Hilfen-Bollinger with Symonds and Clarke doing the spinning between them is what i'd go for (not sure which quicks are best as i'm just going on what i've heard). You don't need a spinner to be successful, all you need is good bowlers. Krejza and Hauritz aren't that.

Btw, is McGain fit? Bit of a forgotten man it seems.
 

pup11

International Coach
Its been over a year since the star players retired..I don't think that can be an excuse anymore.Sorry.
Yeah they have played 10 test since last summer out of which they have won 4, lost 3 and drawn 3, i know for Australia that record is bit of let down but the replacements would take some time to really get going and still they would struggle to match the feats of their predecessors, but finally Haddin, Johnson are coming into their own now, and Katich has been excellent replacing Langer, so once Clark is back fully fit and Australia find a solution to their spin issue, and the side regains a settled look the consistency should be back, maybe it would never reach the previous levels of consistency but still should be good enough for Australia to remain in the top bracket.
 

Lambu

U19 Debutant
Its been over a year since the star players retired..I don't think that can be an excuse anymore.Sorry.
 

pup11

International Coach
I reckon if Symonds and Clarke are both in the team Australia have to go with an all-pace attack. The other option is Watson in for Symonds and retain Krejza, but Watto's batting hasn't been up to the standard required to bat at 6 so far so i doubt they'll do that. Something like Lee-Johnson-Hilfen-Bollinger with Symonds and Clarke doing the spinning between them is what i'd go for (not sure which quicks are best as i'm just going on what i've heard). You don't need a spinner to be successful, all you need is good bowlers. Krejza and Hauritz aren't that.

Btw, is McGain fit? Bit of a forgotten man it seems.
No McGain isn't fit yet, though he might get fit in time for the South African tour, but the idea of using Clarke and Symonds is just not on, Symonds' medium pace is effective when he gets his outswingers going but his offies at test level are pretty harmless and the same goes for Clarke' spin bowling, the idea behind playing a spinner is first to maintain a good overrate, and second to add a bit of variety to the attack, albeit likes of Krejza and Hauritz aren't great spinners but they are used to bowling longish spells and they are the only available options,
 

Uppercut

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No McGain isn't fit yet, though he might get fit in time for the South African tour, but the idea of using Clarke and Symonds is just not on, Symonds' medium pace is effective when he gets his outswingers going but his offies at test level are pretty harmless and the same goes for Clarke' spin bowling, the idea behind playing a spinner is first to maintain a good overrate, and second to add a bit of variety to the attack, albeit likes of Krejza and Hauritz aren't great spinners but they are used to bowling longish spells and they are the only available options,
They're not going to take wickets though. Would Symonds, Clarke and Bollinger/Hilfenhaus between them have returned 1-204 between them? Even Amla's wicket itself was a bit of a gift itbt, playing across the line with a huge open gate to a straight one. Playing incompetent bowlers who get through their overs quickly isn't the answer to a poor over rate. Krejza should be in the squad as a slow turning pitch specialist and play when it looks like the ball will do a bit for him. Hauritz should be forgotten.
 

pup11

International Coach
They're not going to take wickets though. Would Symonds, Clarke and Bollinger/Hilfenhaus between them have returned 1-204 between them? Even Amla's wicket itself was a bit of a gift itbt, playing across the line with a huge open gate to a straight one. Playing incompetent bowlers who get through their overs quickly isn't the answer to a poor over rate. Krejza should be in the squad as a slow turning pitch specialist and play when it looks like the ball will do a bit for him. Hauritz should be forgotten.
If blokes like Harris,Giles,etc can make a living out of being a spinner, that to at the test level, then there is definitely hope for Hauritz and Krejza.
 

Uppercut

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If blokes like Harris,Giles,etc can make a living out of being a spinner, that to at the test level, then there is definitely hope for Hauritz and Krejza.
But Giles shouldn't have been picked- at least, not on every surface the way he was. He only made a living out of being a spinner due to poor selection policy. Harris is better than Krejza, Hauritz or Giles, and even then it's debatable whether he should be an automatic pick as he gets most of his wickets from arrogant batsmen trying to attack him too much. He's just picked up Clarke, Haddin, Ponting and Symondsx2 in a test and has a first-class and test average of 27 and 32 respectively, so he's surely done enough to justify inclusion. Krejza and Hauritz are prank-bowlers at FC level. That's not to mention the fact that SA already have four seamers in the team and no spinning semi-allrounder. Their cases aren't really comparable.
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
So happy, haven't been this thrilled since the Jo'Burg ODI run chase.. To do well in India and now Australia, this is our best run since re-admission and we can dare to dream about not being second best any more.. Still a long way to go though and we now need to really demoralize Australia just like they have done to other sides.. AB has always been there or there abouts and he's really deserved this..

The era of Australian dominance is not over however until we can put them to bed both home and away.. Lets not get carried away
 
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