*Official* South Africa in West Indies

[Teja.]

It doesn't matter if he faced an All-time World XI with matches in Kanpur, Adelaide and the ARG, averaging 40 and striking at 80 is ****ing dire.

 

[Teja.]

Sorry WW here are the figures for at least 20 wickets since 2008 AGAINST Eng, SA, and Aus.

Still at the bottom

Seals it.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Notice how you've gone very quiet about the great Shillingford as well...

I think Shillingford bowled better than Benn in the first two matches. Which largely explains why he bowled a good 24 overs more than him, though playing just his second match. He's been pretty unlucky, due to lack of fielding support at times, and the workload seems to have caught up with him in this match. Still a future if he add a bit of variation.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

How long's Sarwan out for?

That depends. He seems to have joined Taylor and Edwards with the Ledley King fitness playbook.

Lets not get into character assassinations here. There's no need for that.

Regarding the current situation, don't think its fair to say that Benn deserved it because he may have made errors in the past; it's fair to reserve judgement but I don't think that there's many situations where it's excusable to spit at someone.

I agree. Must admit I wasn't watching live. Was watching some random football match, but I've seen the replays and I don't see what Benn did that was particularly wrong. Unless he said something about his mother and sister, Steyn appeared to be over-reacting. In that case, Benn really just deserved a headbutt.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Thank God for Chanderpaul. Still several cuts above the rest. Should let him open the bowling.

 

[Briony]

SA lose a couple of wickets. Looks like they've come out swinging in an endeavour to polish these off quickly.

 

[akilana]

It doesn't matter what Benn said...spitting at someone is a disgusting and unacceptable response, and he needs to be punished for it. In 2005, Smith verbally sledged Bravo in a way that upset him tremendously, and Wavell Hinds responded by spitting on the ground near to Smith when he was batting.

Hinds was punished for that....

I expect Steyn to be similarly punished for spitting on the ground near Benn. Let's see if the match referee can finally get it right this time around.

Sorry.. but it does matter what what Benn said to Steyn.. It could be something innocuous or something very ugly like what mcgrath asked sarwan.. it could be something like what happened between symonds and harbajan.. How can you say it doesn't matter? It does matter.. We only know what Steyn did to Benn and not what benn said to Steyn.. How can one assume it was innoucous or not? I'm wating to know when the match referee gets involved in it.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Sorry.. but it does matter what what Benn said to Steyn.. It could be something innocuous or something very ugly like what mcgrath asked sarwan.. it could be something like what happened between symonds and harbajan.. How can you say it doesn't matter? It does matter.. We only know what Steyn did to Benn and not what benn said to Steyn.. How can one assume it was innoucous or not? I'm wating to know when the match referee gets involved in it.

The point he was making is that no matter what was said, there is no justification for spitting at someone in professional sport.

 

[akilana]

Lol the point I was making is that it does matter what he said though there's no justification for spitting at someone.

 

[Manee]

You cannot help but think that West Indies are close to producing a strong team. Roach is a solid pace bowler, who has exceeded my expectations in terms of control and the sheer impact that his skiddy pace has on batsmen (still do not think he'll be the great bowler that a few predicted, but he is certainly competant). West Indies finally go in with two spinners, at home, where spinners dominate domestically, and it has been shown to succeed. Someone as raw as Bess should not have played, but injuries really forced the hand of selectors there.

You just feel they lack just one bowler and about two or three good batsmen in place of Richards, and perhaps one of the pace bowlers, and then Bravo can be pushed down to seven (Ramdin at eight) and play as a opening bowler in a team with two spinners. It is just a shame there are no prolific domestic run scorers waiting to come in.

 

[Shifter]

That was a pretty embarrassingly bad effort at chasing 40 odd runs, but I guess a wins a win.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Lol the point I was making is that it does matter what he said though there's no justification for spitting at someone.

What I'm saying is that shivfan doesn't literally mean it doesn't matter what was said. The point is that regardless of what was said, Steyn's behaviour was unacceptable. Whether Benn's was unacceptable too is largely unrelated, though important in its own right.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

You cannot help but think that West Indies are close to producing a strong team. Roach is a solid pace bowler, who has exceeded my expectations in terms of control and the sheer impact that his skiddy pace has on batsmen (still do not think he'll be the great bowler that a few predicted, but he is certainly competant). West Indies finally go in with two spinners, at home, where spinners dominate domestically, and it has been shown to succeed. Someone as raw as Bess should not have played, but injuries really forced the hand of selectors there.

You just feel they lack just one bowler and about two or three good batsmen in place of Richards, and perhaps one of the pace bowlers, and then Bravo can be pushed down to seven (Ramdin at eight) and play as a opening bowler in a team with two spinners. It is just a shame there are no prolific domestic run scorers waiting to come in.

I'd honestly bat Ramdin below Shillingford and Benn in this side. He doesn't deserve to be higher. His wicketkeeping is still largely excellent, but his batting is just diabolical. He's ventured into Carlton Baugh territory of incompetence, where it's no longer merely technical failings, but completely daft shot selection. Unfortunately there's no reasonable candidate to replace him. There aren't even any good batsman-keepers, let alone glovemen who can bat. And anyone who suggests Dowrich is risking ruining another talent with early exposure. Remember Ramdin was a youth phenom rushed into the side, largely due age level exploits.

As for the bowling, if Benn can build on this series, he will be dangerously close to Test class. Shillingford has shown enough to suggest that he can be too, but is still a bit too predictable. Would still back Odean Brown or Imran Khan to provide a stiff challenge. The former is better placed. Jaggernauth has fallen off the radar, unfortunately, and Dave Mohammed's greatness will never be recognised outside of CW.

In the pace department, Taylor and Edwards will never be fit again for any extended period of time. Rampaul is unfit even when he's fit. Baker has shown nothing to suggest he will ever be Test class, while Pascal and Bess are a long way from being average domestic bowlers, let alone international cricketers. Bernard and Sammy are workmen, but the not the wicket-takers you need in Tests. The bowling front still looks pretty bleak.

In the batting department, with the likes of Sarwan (hopefully not eternally crocked), Samuels, Baby Bravo & Barath on the sidelines, and Kirk Edwards and Braithwaite possibilities, there's a much more optimistic outlook.

 

[Manee]

I think Bernard and Sammy are the future for West Indies, as the second pacer when Taylor/Edwards are out. Rampaul/Baker/Pascal/Powell/Tonge are poor and those two can at least land the ball in the right areas, which will bring wickets eventually.

Two spinners will bring success for West Indies. They dominate domestically and so have earned their chance collectively.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Sammy is a bits-and-pieces player. He doesn't do enough with the ball to be a consistent wicket-taker at Test or ODI level. What he brings to the team is intagible- passion. Some may argue that that's worth a place in itself, but for a team that (eventually) would like to try to win, instead of merely trying not to lose, Sammy isn't good enough. Not to be a key part of the bowling attack. WI have to look beyond him and hope that there's better talent coming through. That said, I'm all for him playing as an allrounder. But with Bravo around, there's no space for him in the Test team in that capacity.

As for Bernard, his true talent is his batting. If he can develop that further he could well play a role for West Indies. Again, though, I think that role is in limited overs, not Tests.

 

[popepouri]

Huge tour for Morkel but I don't think he got any accolades.

Cricket Records | South Africa tour of West Indies, Apr-Jun 2010 | Records | All matches | Most wickets | Cricinfo.com

 

[social]

At least we can discard the theory that Amla is one of the world's best players - dodgy technique who'll always be prone to a run of outs

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

On a WI-related note, Pollard to Bollywood?

 

[Cruxdude]

On a WI-related note, Pollard to Bollywood?

Most probably the movie will be a really horrible one. I saw bits of another stupid Hindi movie that had some Aussie cricketers in it. Really horrible.

 

[stumpski]

Only caught the end of the replayed coverage but it looks as if Kallis made one of the more eventful 0 not outs. Match referee will have been busy after the game.