***Official*** Australia in South Africa

[pup11]

236 to win then.... Rhino would have to produce gem of a spell if we are to win this and hopefully we keep the new ball away from Johnson.

 

[Prince EWS]

We can discuss this at length later but let me just say that the art of batting on difficult wickets is (or used to be) to move decisively front or back but not commit the bat till the last nano second and leave everything that was not going to hit the stumps PLUS the balls that were going towards the stumps not to be played with anything but the straightest of bats.

How many batsmen did we see doing that? Cant blame them for test match batting , specially test match batting on difficult wickets is not a practiced art any more. Gavaskar at Bangalore in his last test innings is the last I remember.

As for playing straight (t balls hitting the stumps) on a wicket with lateral movement and up and down bounce, we saw the great Sachin continue to play the straight balls on a very low bounce wicket to square leg and behind and again and again looking like an lbw candidate. Playing the same balls to the direction of mid on or straightish mid wicket would get the ball in the middle of the bat. And we are talking of THE modern day great.

This is not to underplay the difficulty of playing on a wicket with lateral movement but to highlight that you need a different type of batting technique to survive those type of conditions . . .

Hobbs and Jardine on a sticky for an hour or two won a match and a series once just by surviving remember . . . . There are rarely unplayable wickets, there are just wickets that are easy to bat on, difficult to bat on and very difficult to bat on and for the latter ones you need special technique.

Starting with the covering of the wickets and then with the doped wickets of the limited overs era we have just allowed that art to go out of the game. Its not new. Bradman decided in the 1920's and 1940's that such wickets are going to be so rare that he would rather mot change his technique while Hobbs whose career started 20 years ago and who played most of his cricket in wet England learnt and became a past master at it.

This is again not to criticise the modern day batsmen but to impress the point that those who batted in times of uncovered wickets had some special problems to over come.

This is almost an all-time great post.

Cevno will be able to tell you why it falls just short.

Seriously though, awesome. AWTA etc etc.

 

[ganeshran]

Now, who was predicting a 600 run lead

 

[SJS]

Run rate acceptable.

 

[intcricket]

intcricket

 

[Phantom]

Australia has some of the best players playing cricket in their XI. Despite that, to have your 10 and 11 bail you out is shameful mate. There'd be protest marches in India if this were our team

Thanks for answering that question

 

[Jayzamann]

Allan Donald - Wage rise
Justin Langer - Job Centre

 

[ganeshran]

6 more South African wickets needed for the world record.

 

[Burgey]

We can discuss this at length later but let me just say that the art of batting on difficult wickets is (or used to be) to move decisively front or back but not commit the bat till the last nano second and leave everything that was not going to hit the stumps PLUS the balls that were going towards the stumps not to be played with anything but the straightest of bats.

How many batsmen did we see doing that? Cant blame them for test match batting , specially test match batting on difficult wickets is not a practiced art any more. Gavaskar at Bangalore in his last test innings is the last I remember.

As for playing straight (t balls hitting the stumps) on a wicket with lateral movement and up and down bounce, we saw the great Sachin continue to play the straight balls on a very low bounce wicket to square leg and behind and again and again looking like an lbw candidate. Playing the same balls to the direction of mid on or straightish mid wicket would get the ball in the middle of the bat. And we are talking of THE modern day great.

This is not to underplay the difficulty of playing on a wicket with lateral movement but to highlight that you need a different type of batting technique to survive those type of conditions . . .

Hobbs and Jardine on a sticky for an hour or two won a match and a series once just by surviving remember . . . . There are rarely unplayable wickets, there are just wickets that are easy to bat on, difficult to bat on and very difficult to bat on and for the latter ones you need special technique.

Starting with the covering of the wickets and then with the doped wickets of the limited overs era we have just allowed that art to go out of the game. Its not new. Bradman decided in the 1920's and 1940's that such wickets are going to be so rare that he would rather mot change his technique while Hobbs whose career started 20 years ago and who played most of his cricket in wet England learnt and became a past master at it.

This is again not to criticise the modern day batsmen but to impress the point that those who batted in times of uncovered wickets had some special problems to over come.

I don't doubt that mate, I'm just telling you what's happening. Players are products of their environments and upbringing. I don't disagree with you. But you need no more marvel at Sutcliffe on a sticky than a 1930s spectator would at Hayden walking down the deck and drop kicking a bloke over long on in the third over. Because they're each alien to the other.

I'd also point out the lbw rule was far more favorable to batsmen in days of yore than now. On this pitch that would be crucial

 

[Prince EWS]

Australia has some of the best players playing cricket in their XI. Despite that, to have your 10 and 11 bail you out is shameful mate. There'd be protest marches in India if this were our team

Says more about Indian cricket than Australian cricket ITBT.

 

[NasserFan207]

Oh btw, for the last time, Indian cricket has nothing to do with this match.

FFS.

 

[benchmark00]

Rob Key is still an ugly, ugly man.

 

[chicane]

Only SA threatening to gun down 235 could make this crazier now

 

[ganeshran]

Clarke made more than the entire second innings score

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Top post SJS.

 

[Prince EWS]

Given all that has just happened, surely Clarke won't open with Johnson again. Surely.

 

[Phantom]

The cameras are static and aligned for a certain angle, I think the height of the ball was too high for the cameras to see.

I thought that's what it might have been, cheers

 

[Woodster]

I don't doubt that, I'm just telling you what's happening. Players are products of their environments and upbringing. I don't disagree with you.

I'd also point out the law rule was far more favorable to batsmen in days of yore than now. On this pitch that would be crucial

Absolutely true.

 

[Spikey]

Given all that has just happened, surely Clarke won't open with Johnson again. Surely.

Said it before - Watson

 

[ankitj]

**** **** ****

I am not getting to watch this match. What exactly is happening here? Are they playing on rocks?