***Official*** Australia in South Africa

[Cevno]

He RP Singh'd the Adelaide Test in the Ashes.

Hopefully they keep him out until after the India series.

 

[Burgey]

I didnt say the pitch didnt change, rather the collapses yesterday had less to do with the pitch and more with the batsmen playing poor shots and being unwilling to grind it out in unfavourable conditions. They tried to hit out of pressure and paid the price

They probably all looked at how Clarke played in the first dig. Most of them are as thick as whipped ****.

 

[ganeshran]

Last 10 overs have yielded 61 runs

 

[pup11]

At least Siddle has got a wicket. Johnson hasn't done **** and is going at 5 an over for the match. On THIS ****ing wicket.




He's taken 1 wicket. Being the 3rd best bowler isn't hard in these circumstances. How he has only managed 1 is a mystery though.

Both Siddle and Johnson don't move the ball which makes them relatively easy to face for a test standard batsman and its hard to understand why we keep backing blokes like these to come good despite knowing their limitations.

 

[Ausage]

Yeah in fairness Smith and Amla surviving for a session on day 3 wouldn't be considered the end of the world in many other scenarios for most teams. It's just sickening considering how the game has panned out.

 

[Cevno]

Last 10 overs have yielded 61 runs

Yeah, the seem to have gone on cruise mode now.

Btw, hard to tell for sure so far, but is the Sun out today?

 

[nexxus]

So, if they report this pitch, what the hell is the report going to say?

It was an awful pitch, most wickets to fall in a day in 100 years, Aus threatening the lowest ever score, blahblahblah.

But the groundsman can say, well,
- 150 for Clarke @ a strike rate of 80, good knock from Marsh
- SA looked comfortable in the first innings until the collapse.
- No uneven bounce, consistent, but no excessive seam.
- Good swing, but you can't do anything about that
- 150 partnership between Smith & Amla at a stonkingly good rate

Is there a case to answer for?

 

[Spark]

They probably all looked at how Clarke played in the first dig. Most of them are as thick as whipped ****.

Whilst impressively missing the critical point that you hit the bad balls for four and block those on the stumps...

 

[Burgey]

Good to see by far the better team winning...

Felt the same in July-August as I was watching from a similar time zone.

 

[hang on]

a couple of quick wickets would be just right to get unusual amounts of phlegm to suddenly materialise in certain throats.

 

[ganeshran]

They probably all looked at how Clarke played in the first dig. Most of them are as thick as whipped ****.

Even Clarke looked vulnerable early on in his innings but once he settled down he was very fluent.

Shots can be played once they judge the pitch properly, the problem is that they are trying to play shots when bogged down in the hope that it will relieve them of some of the pressure. A test batsman should be prepared to hold fort when the ball is moving around.

 

[Ruckus]

The difference between 3rd and Harris/Watson is enough to warrant questions of him. People don't pick 3rd seamers to do ****-all. Let's get serious here. If Siddle is the kind of bowler you want to see in this team then I can't agree with you. I would much rather Cummins or Copeland to take up that spot if they're going to be largely ineffective because I think they can grow.

Obviously, Bollinger though.

Yeah excellent points. Nothing about Siddle's bowling is instilling me with confidence that he will improve or be able to bowl with more refined skills in the future. He just bangs it in and bangs it in and bangs it in. Even if someone like Copeland isn't that effective right now, he has a damn good bowling brain and knows exactly the areas he needs to focus on/improve in. Cummins already shows signs of being a more intelligent bowler with more weapons up his sleave than someone like Siddle as well.

 

[adub]

So, if they report this pitch, what the hell is the report going to say?

It was an awful pitch, most wickets to fall in a day in 100 years, Aus threatening the lowest ever score, blahblahblah.

But the groundsman can say, well,
- 150 for Clarke @ a strike rate of 80, good knock from Marsh
- SA looked comfortable in the first innings until the collapse.
- No uneven bounce, consistent, but no excessive seam.
- Good swing, but you can't do anything about that
- 150 partnership between Smith & Amla at a stonkingly good rate

Is there a case to answer for?

Absolutely nothing wrong with the pitch. Had something in it for the quicks, but not dangerous, or uneven. Cloud cover helped when the real silliness was on, but otherwise a great sporting pitch. Should be more of em.

 

[TT Boy]

How many openers average or have averaged more than Smith in the 4th innings (55)? Remarkable record and RSA have never lost a test in which he has scored a hundred.

 

[ganeshran]

Yeah, the seem to have gone on cruise mode now.

Btw, hard to tell for sure so far, but is the Sun out today?

Yup its not overcast today.

 

[Sylvester]

When will the day come where I can watch our bowlers get consistent movement with the ball? England and SA have it figured out and SA debutant has done more with the ball than any of our bowlers.

 

[NUFAN]

Please rank the fielding performances of all 22 player out of 10 for me - I can't say I pay too much attention to it

It's a pretty big part of the game, so of course I pay attention to it. Hard to give ratings out of 10, but it's pretty clear which guys would be pleased with their fielding performances and who wouldn't.

The difference between 3rd and Harris/Watson is enough to warrant questions of him. People don't pick 3rd seamers to do ****-all. Let's get serious here. If Siddle is the kind of bowler you want to see in this team then I can't agree with you. I would much rather Cummins or Copeland to take up that spot if they're going to be largely ineffective because I think they can grow.

Obviously, Bollinger though.

Harris and Watson were awesome in the first innings, this innings they've come back to the pack and Siddle has been as good as both of them, in my opinion obviously.

I blame the batsman for the bowlers struggles this innings. Haddin's shot the more you look at it the more disgraceful it looks. He should be made a victim like Marto was at the SCG against South Africa.

If Cummins was selected, surely we'd get rid of Johnson, not Siddle.

 

[ganeshran]

When will the day come where I can watch our bowlers get consistent movement with the ball? England and SA have it figured out and SA debutant has done more with the ball than any of our bowlers.

Now you know how Indian fans have felt forever

 

[Spikey]

Yeah excellent points. Nothing about Siddle's bowling is instilling me with confidence that he will improve or be able to bowl with more refined skills in the future. He just bangs it in and bangs it in and bangs it in.

And there's a place for that, sometimes. But you've got to consider the rest of the attack too. When the attack features MJ......it just greatly limits the attack.

 

[Burgey]

Even Clarke looked vulnerable early on in his innings but once he settled down he was very fluent.

Shots can be played once they judge the pitch properly, the problem is that they are trying to play shots when bogged down in the hope that it will relieve them of some of the pressure. A test batsman should be prepared to hold fort when the ball is moving around.

You do realise, don't you, that I am not disagreeing with you?