***Official*** South Africa In Australia

[popepouri]

Here's my squad for the return series.

Graeme Smith not yet fully fit, therefore:

AB
Amla
Pietersen
Kallis
Duminy
Prince (c)
Boucher
Morkel
Harris
Steyn
Ntini

*fingers crossed*

Pietersen?

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Here's my squad for the return series.

Graeme Smith not yet fully fit, therefore:

AB
Amla
Pietersen
Kallis
Duminy
Prince (c)
Boucher
Morkel
Harris
Steyn
Ntini

*fingers crossed*

 

[Matt79]

I find it very hard to reconcile this balanced and measured post with the image of the average Aussie sports fan. But maybe that's just me.

What's your image of the "average Australian sporting fan" and where have you derived that image from?

 

[Bees]

Pietersen?

Jumping the gun, I know.

 

[honestbharani]

What's your point? Anyways, I don't buy the dead rubber syndrome, it's rubbish.

a) SA were playing for a number 1 ranking which means a lot to them
b) They were playing for a clean sweep which would be an all time great achievement

At the end of the day, it took two miracle comebacks for them to win the first two Tests and that didn't happen in the third, it has nothing to do with being a dead rubber, more like there's only so many times you can break history and play out of your skin.

Also 'And it is kinda funny to see how some Aussies seem to pleased about this victory' is a strange comment. Why wouldn't we be happy about the victory? Obviously it's a pity the series didn't go our way, but a tight and thrilling Test win against a very good side is a Test win and it's cause for enjoyment.

I think this kind of schadenfreude at Australia not being as good as we once was is based on the mistaken idea that most Australian fans like cricket and the Australian team because in recent times we have always won. That is not the case. Most fans like cricket because it is an absorbing sport, and like barracking for Australia because we generally play attractive, attacking cricket at a very high standard. When people are seeing that, they're happy. There's also an element of national pride, and it shouldn't be surprising that this isn't generally affected by whether we win or not.

Aussie fans generally enjoy it when another team matches the Aussie's standards - the 05 Ashes is probably the most popular test series in Australia since the Worrell-Benaud series at the start of the 60s, despite Oz losing.

Why wouldn't we be pleased to have won a test against such good opponents, even if there was some luck for us. We have the least experienced team we've had in ages, and it was good to see them come good after some recent disappointments. I don't think anyone is forgetting we lost the series, or that we're not the team we were 24 months ago.

Jeez guys.. I wasn't being completely serious with that half of the post.. I don't think any of you guys painted this as some great win here at CW.. But I just put it that way to get the point across that now you guys know what supporting a vincible team is like.. instead of an almost invincible which you have had for a while... The last two paras were mostly in jest and that is why I even put in the smiley...

 

[susudear]

Dumbwits

There are dumbwits in every sports loving country, and Australia are no exception.

However the warm reception that Smith got when he went into bat today, made my hairs stand.

It was a moment when sport won, and the fraternity of the gentlemen out there said a big "**** you" to conservatism and risk-averse notions in sport.

Kudos to Ponting for setting up a declaration with "just" 375 runs in the tank. It is highly arguable that he knew 414s could not repeat, not in the same series, not without Smith. Still, the risk he took was considerable, since that put a tag on the World No.1 rank in the ICC rankings, pedantic, though.

However Ponting can take a leaf out of Smith out of this series, and this match in particular, when Smith apparently risked his sports career for drawing a match, which was a "dead rubber". Contrast this with the Ponting at Nagpur, chewing fingernails, scratching his head and trying hard not to run foul with the Match Referree, and thereby lost his marbles in a must-win match.

A tale of two captains, this series was. Tremendous in adventure and sporting success. Cheers.

 

[Matt79]

Jeez guys.. I wasn't being completely serious with that half of the post.. I don't think any of you guys painted this as some great win here at CW.. But I just put it that way to get the point across that now you guys know what supporting a vincible team is like.. instead of an almost invincible which you have had for a while... The last two paras were mostly in jest and that is why I even put in the smiley...

Yeah, but all of us apart from the teenagers remember when we were the easy beats of the sport, and also most of us support other sports, where our teams regularly get walloped...

 

[Ikki]

Here's my squad for the return series.

Graeme Smith not yet fully fit, therefore:

AB
Amla
Pietersen
Kallis
Duminy
Prince (c)
Boucher
Morkel
Harris
Steyn
Ntini

*fingers crossed*

LOL

 

[Prince EWS]

Jumping the gun, I know.

Haha, I actually just assumed you meant Alviro Petersen.

I was actually going to type a scathing reply about how ridiculous it would be to drop McKenzie for him before I read the follow-up. Fair enough axing him for KP if the opportunity presented itself, though.

 

[The Sean]

I find it very hard to reconcile this balanced and measured post with the image of the average Aussie sports fan. But maybe that's just me.

I was going to kick off about how ignorant that statement is, but I think that would be unfair on you. The stereotype of the typical Aussie sports fan hasn't come from nowhere - there are sadly plenty of my countrymen who fall into the one-eyed-drunken-yob category and they're usually the loudest and most obnoxious as well, so are easy to notice.

Hopefully what this thread, this board and life in general will display to you is that there are plenty of us who aren't like that too and that you need to take the time to look beyond the stereotype.

 

[popepouri]

Jumping the gun, I know.

Really?

They can keep him TBH.

The current team may have a few batting weaknesses but they work through it as a team. Do you think Pietersen would have played the situation chasing 414? I don't think so. He would have score 13 off 5. Next ball he nicks to the keeper.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Really?

They can keep him TBH.

The current team may have a few batting weaknesses but they work through it as a team. Do you think Pietersen would have played the situation chasing 414? I don't think so. He would have score 13 off 5. Next ball he nicks to the keeper.

For every big chase a team makes, there are a zillion ones they've not made. Today being a case in point. You can't make baseless assumptions of a batsman of the calibre of Pietersen. There's not a team in the world right now that wouldn't have him.

 

[NUFAN]

A big well done to the two Victorians in this match.

Andrew McDonald showed why he is a better option over Andrew Symonds at the moment as we are currently a country that finds it tough to get 20 wickets against countries who apply themselves at the crease.

McDonald is a better bowler than Symonds and his wickets of Amla, Kallis and Steyn were all very crucial.

I'm also liking Siddle heaps, really feel like he could be a special bowler up there with someone like Craig McDermott.

 

[aussie]

A big well done to the two Victorians in this match.

Andrew McDonald showed why he is a better option over Andrew Symonds at the moment as we are currently a country that finds it tough to get 20 wickets against countries who apply themselves at the crease.

McDonald is a better bowler than Symonds and his wickets of Amla, Kallis and Steyn were all very crucial.

I'm also liking Siddle heaps, really feel like he could be a special bowler up there with someone like Craig McDermott.

I wouldn't say he is a better option that Symonds at all. He basically the opposite of what Symo is, which obviously is a better bowler & batting that is decent looking. So his overall package as an "all-rounder" isn't up to scratch.

Symonds should still be in the 1st test XI in SA, on the precedence that his counter-attacking ability at number 6 can be effective along with sharing some spin bowling overs with Clarke. In a team of:

Katich
Hayden/Jaques
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
Symonds
Haddin
Noffke
Johnson
Siddle
Clark

 

[NUFAN]

I wouldn't say he is a better option that Symonds at all. He basically the opposite of what Symo is, which obviously is a better bowler & batting that is decent looking. So his overall package as an "all-rounder" isn't up to scratch.

So his bowling is obviously better and his batting is decent looking at it's opposite to Symonds, so Symonds should be picked, rightttt

 

[Steulen]

I was hoping my choice of words was precise enough to avoid a return rant. "Image" and "average" being key words here.

I have met a lot of Aussies who obviously enjoy the fact their country is one of the best in a number of sports but refrain from England-style gloating, but I've also met some who were basically Nazis without the funny accent.

But in no way was my post meant as a sweeping statement on Australians in general.

 

[silentstriker]

This Test was exactly the same as the previous two. The difference was, SA managed to get out of it the last two times, which you can't expect to happen every time. I don't think the level of play was necessarily different from either side.

 

[aussie]

So his bowling is obviously better and his batting is decent looking at it's opposite to Symonds, so Symonds should be picked, rightttt

Surely, picking a solid 4-man pace attack in SA, with Symonds @ 6. Is a much better balance for the team instead of picking McDonald @ 6 (whose batting although decent looking, really is liabilty for Australia given he can't be counted on to score 50's consistently or counter-attack like Symonds @ 6) just so you can pick a 5-man attack just to accomodate a spinner.

Given that all immediate selections should all centre around the return tour to SA & the Ashes. Only when Watson returns is that option viable. But given that Watto is going to be working himself backing into the bowling form so close to Ashes, even that scenario isn't 100% definite just yet.

Theirfore it should be clear right now, that picking a solid 4-man pace attack is the best bowling combination for Australia.

 

[Evermind]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24886242-23212,00.html

My report card for Australian sports journalism: E-

 

[oldmancraigy]

Surely, picking a solid 4-man pace attack in SA, with Symonds @ 6. Is a much better balance for the team instead of picking McDonald @ 6 (whose batting although decent looking, really is liabilty for Australia given he can't be counted on to score 50's consistently or counter-attack like Symonds @ 6) just so you can pick a 5-man attack just to accomodate a spinner.

Given that all immediate selections should all centre around the return tour to SA & the Ashes. Only when Watson returns is that option viable. But given that Watto is going to be working himself backing into the bowling form so close to Ashes, even that scenario isn't 100% definite just yet.

Theirfore it should be clear right now, that picking a solid 4-man pace attack is the best bowling combination for Australia.

You can't really count on Symonds to do much of anything right now - EXCEPT perhaps to play across the line to an outswing bowler on the third delivery faced (having already nicked the first delivery short of slip)....

Symonds and Hayden have had strong careers of varying length. It's time for them to 'put the runs on the board' at Shield level again if they expect to be picked in the test squad.

I agree on the 4 man pace attack (Hauritz is as threatening as a caged llama with the ball..) - but why not pick Marcus North as the 6 if going that direction? 22 first class centuries and 49 fifties, plus his nagging offspin actually turns, his first class bowling average is lower than Hauritz', his strike rate better, and they've bowled about the same number of overs!

He's a genuine batsman who can actually bowl offspin at least as well as any of the other spin options in Australia at the moment - why not make him the "all-rounder" and focus on the 4 quickies - who might actually get wickets!?!?

And they should also tell Katich that either he bowls, or they'll find another opening batsman.