***Official*** South Africa In Australia

[Nate]

Media: "What went wrong today Ricky?"
Ricky: "I don't know, but I do know this guy 'Sirdj' who's an expert at captaining an international cricket team. Shall I get him in here and we can all have a feedback session on what we should have done during the test? Funnily enough, I was thinking of setting an 8:1 field as early as Day 1, but I thought I'd try to take a wicket before going on the defensive. I should have known 400 would never have been enough on this wicket and setting a defensive field early in the piece would have sent the perfect message to my bowlers that I had no faith in them to not only defend it, but get SA out. I'll be giving my slips extra outfield practice this week so they can get used to fielding on the fence from the outset."

Hahahaha.

 

[Top_Cat]

If the players are indeed so tough as you seem to say, why is there any use of sport psychologists?? Almost all teams have one, are they not tough enough to handle cricket? After all its only a game.
Brett Lee.........such a wimp...........just not tough enough. Everybody goes through a divorce.:

Ever heard the saying that if you wouldn't say something to someone's face you shouldn't say it at all? You're acting like a freakin' tool.

 

[Burgey]

Ever heard the saying that if you wouldn't say something to someone's face you shouldn't say it at all? You're acting like a freakin' tool.

What makes you think it's an act?

 

[howardj]

Horrie took 3 for today, and also impressed in the Adelaide Test match. I know some of you boys love your Bluebaggers, so any chance of Horrie leapfrogging Krejza (who I think Ponting lacked confidence in today) for Melbourne?

My mail was right, and with Hilfenhaus

 

[inbox24]

If the players are indeed so tough as you seem to say, why is there any use of sport psychologists?? Almost all teams have one, are they not tough enough to handle cricket? After all its only a game.
Brett Lee.........such a wimp...........just not tough enough. Everybody goes through a divorce.:

This is pretty dire. If you haven't even played test cricket, and don't know their family personally, how could you make a comment like that?

 

[Burgey]

This is pretty dire. If you haven't even played test cricket, and don't know their family personally, how could you make a comment like that?

Sirdj is Sunny Gavaskar and I claim my five pounds.

 

[Ausage]

Cheating and sledging is different from a 8:1 field.

I don't want to open old wounds here but pleeeease!!!! Sledging maybe (we give as good as we get imo) but how did we cheat?!?!

 

[sirdj]

Look mate, I realise this is a bit difficult for you to understand, but here goes.

If a captain can't come out and say "They were good, but we were crap" then there's no point having a captain in the first place. Whether he wants to put it as "I think we can improve a little bit" or "I think we were mud, and one bloke basically carried us" is up to him.

If Lee's private life is a problem for him, then I suspect (and colour me an idiot for thinking it) that Ponting might have a better idea about it than either of us.

A captain has to lead by example, in this match, regardless of the fact that you think whether Australia should have restricted SA from scoring at a decent clip, Ponting's own performance was nothing to write home about. Now I know he is one of the best batsmen around, but you can't say we had passengers(unless you make it pretty clear you mean yourself too), when your own performance was one of the worst.

Regarding Lee, it does not take a genius to guess what ails him. Its happened before to pretty decent players from the English team.

 

[sirdj]

This is pretty dire. If you haven't even played test cricket, and don't know their family personally, how could you make a comment like that?

That comment was made in sarcasm in response to Burgey's comment about toughness.

 

[sirdj]

Sirdj is Sunny Gavaskar and I claim my five pounds.

My grandmother would have been so pleased...............she was a great Gavaskar fan.

 

[sirdj]

I don't want to open old wounds here but pleeeease!!!! Sledging maybe (we give as good as we get imo) but how did we cheat?!?!

Claiming grassed catches when the agreement was that only claim a catch when you are sure about it.

 

[sirdj]

Ever heard the saying that if you wouldn't say something to someone's face you shouldn't say it at all? You're acting like a freakin' tool.

And another one bites the dust.

 

[Burgey]

 

[R_D]

Never thought I'd see that 3/404 by Bradman & Morris in 48' bettered by a team in Australia or England (Indian & West Indian flat tracks exempted)..

I think you could say that given our attack (which is supposedly better than average) that was the best run chase of all time.

I'd say the field placings were to blame.. way too defensive. But Ponting won't get the blame we'll just axe Siddle or Lee probably.

Time for a captaincy change.

What a big misconception... India's the hardest place to bat in the 5th day.
Thats why highest ever chase there was 276 by WI and for the first time over 300 was chanced just last week.

 

[R_D]

I guess striaight wap Hiff for Siddle and Hauritz in the team.
Hopefully match goes into 5th day so i can watch the 5th day at MCG.. haven't been there past few summers. Always been away from Melbourne during the festive season.

 

[pup11]

Media: "What went wrong today Ricky?"
Ricky: "I don't know, but I do know this guy 'Sirdj' who's an expert at captaining an international cricket team. Shall I get him in here and we can all have a feedback session on what we should have done during the test? Funnily enough, I was thinking of setting an 8:1 field as early as Day 1, but I thought I'd try to take a wicket before going on the defensive. I should have known 400 would never have been enough on this wicket and setting a defensive field early in the piece would have sent the perfect message to my bowlers that I had no faith in them to not only defend it, but get SA out. I'll be giving my slips extra outfield practice this week so they can get used to fielding on the fence from the outset."

Awesomeness.....

Frankly speaking what sirdj is saying is that Ponting shouldn't have blasted his players in public, but Ponting felt that's the best way forward then so be it, if the players can't take a few brickbats for such a shambolic performance then they are obviously at the wrong place.

But obviously sirdj is determined not think logically....

 

[stephen]

What a terrific test match. I enjoyed every minute of it (that I got to watch).

I was particularly impressed by the all-round standard of play from both teams. There was much talk of the Aus bowling attack being rubbish and not having teeth, but truth be told the South Africans were extremely disciplined in their batting (the top order anyway).

I particularly liked that the match swung each session between favouring one side and then the other and then back again. The only time in the match where I thought either side had an advantage for more than one session was South Africa on the last day, who could quite easily have been all out by tea, even with only 4 down at lunch.

Johnson was fantastic, particularly the spell of bowling that produced the five wickets. He thoroughly deserved them (despite the 3rd being a gift). One of the best spells of quick bowling I've seen since McGrath at Lords in 2005.

Lee I thought was good but lacked penetration.

Siddle should be sent back to domestic cricket and replaced with Bollinger (in fact he should never have been picked over Bollinger, Noffke or Hilfenhaus to begin with).

Krezja should be retained and given more opportunities. I like his potential and I think could be the best long term option for Australia. His 12 against India really should give him more than one match on a poor wicket.

I was really impressed with the maturity that Smith has gained since his last tour of Australia. I think he still has some key technical weaknesses which McGrath would be able to exploit sans retirement, but I'm not sure that the quality of the current Aus attack can do it. AB De Villiers is matching the promise that I suspected he had when I saw him last. I was happy to see Kallis play aggressively instead of red ink hunt.

For all his hype I think Steyn looked somewhere between innocuous and dangerous. Not quite what I expected. Ntini is the usual Ntini - one minute he looks like he could rip through the best batsmen in the world and the next he looks like he belongs in the local third grade side.

The biggest weakness for South Africa is their tail. They really do look poor. If Aus can get to them early I can see some carnage ensuing.

Aus' biggest weakness is the form of Lee and the capabilities of their third quick. The spinner will never be a strength in the foreseeable future, but neither is it a South African strength.

The most disciplined side will win this series, and South Africa are a good chance at being the first side to beat Australia on Australian soil since the WIndies in 92/93.

 

[Redbacks]

And Ponting's captaincy was just ordinary........he could have dried up the runs if he felt the wickets were not falling. Or is going for a draw never an option for Australia??

Probably not at this stage, after a long era of success, and a lead of 400, I don't think the media or cricket public are ready for more conservative cricket. Attack has served us well.

 

[pup11]

I am happy for Hilfy he deserves to get picked and hopefully he would do well, but i think dropping of Krejza is a bit of a knee jerk move, i know he has proved to be expensive and everything but the selectors need to make up their minds here, they can't just keep chucking in every spin bowler in Aussie domestic cricket into test arena, they just need to zero in on one or two spin bowlers who they think are best out of the lot and persist with them for a while, they are going to get nowhere with the spin problem by constantly rotating around with their spin bowlers.

P.S: For the love of god what else do these selectors want Dougie Bollinger to do in order to pick him, they are obviously not going to play Siddle, but still he is in the squad, why couldn't they atleast pick Bolly and draft him into the squad in place of Siddle, just in order to reward his good performances.

 

[NUFAN]

I am happy for Hilfy he deserves to get picked and hopefully he would do well, but i think dropping of Krejza is a bit of a knee jerk move, i know he has proved to be expensive and everything but the selectors need to make up their minds here, they can't just keep chucking in every spin bowler in Aussie domestic cricket into test arena, they just need to zero in on one or two spin bowlers who they think are best out of the lot and persist with them for a while, they are going to get nowhere with the spin problem by constantly rotating around with their spin bowlers.

P.S: For the love of god what else do these selectors want Dougie Bollinger to do in order to pick him, they are obviously not going to play Siddle, but still he is in the squad, why couldn't they atleast pick Bolly and draft him into the squad in place of Siddle, just in order to reward his good performances.

Yep, my thoughts too.

I get the feeing that Bollinger is the victim of being Left handed, the stupid thing is that given Johnson's performance, having a second lefty in the 11 or atleast in the 13 would make a lot of sense.

I would love to have...
Johnson
Lee
Hilfenhaus
Bollinger

as my 8 to 11.