**Official** South Africa in England 2012

[MrPrez]

Amla will just assume Kallis' role as a batsman when he goes imo and they always have plenty of quality batsmen waiting in the wings anyway(de Kock, Kuhn, Rossouw etc). The only thing they lack is a good spinner atm.

Yeah, Kallis is nowhere near as integral to us as he was for the majority of his career. Amla and de Villiers are both relied upon more which has resulted in Kallis breaking his SR shackles and showing that he isn't a one trick pony.

Could well see
3)Amla
4) de Villiers
5)Duminy
6)Rossouw/Hendricks/Berhardian etc -
7)keeper.

 

[Shri]

Kuhn or De Kock should really see themselves in the next series or two. I don't want AB to take up the gloves on a permanent basis. This of course means dropping Rudolph, which I'm not sure can be a bad decision. Really need Duminy in there to take over Kallis' bowling when he can't. Plus, I think Duminy and Philander work well together at the crease.

So how far down the line is Rossouw from a spot in the test side? Are there better options ahead of him other than the players already mentioned?

 

[MrPrez]

So how far down the line is Rossouw from a spot in the test side? Are there better options ahead of him other than the players already mentioned?

Well I would like to see him get the nod if we were to do a straight swap for Rudolph - batsman for batsman - but I reckon Berhardian would get the nod as is evident by the selectors' selection of him into the SA T20 team. Now T20s are obviously a different ball game but yeah.

 

[Garson007]

Well I would like to see him get the nod if we were to do a straight swap for Rudolph - batsman for batsman - but I reckon Berhardian would get the nod as is evident by the selectors' selection of him into the SA T20 team. Now T20s are obviously a different ball game but yeah.

Nah, I honestly think it would have to be a wicket keeper. Injured batsman? Sure then, maybe.

 

[hazsa19]

Just got back from Sunday lunch to discover this ****! Pathetic, embarrassing to say we're the number 1 side in the world.

 

[Stumpcam]

Just got back from Sunday lunch to discover this ****! Pathetic, embarrassing to say we're the number 1 side in the world.

Crikey, that's some lunch!

 

[blahblahblah]

Just got back from Sunday lunch to discover this ****! Pathetic, embarrassing to say we're the number 1 side in the world.

happens when you are playing such a South African team

 

[hazsa19]

happens when you are playing such a South African team

Happy to say SA have been absolutely brilliant. They will fully deserve all the plaudits

 

[MrPrez]

Nah, I honestly think it would have to be a wicket keeper. Injured batsman? Sure then, maybe.

Oh ja, I agree, I'm just saying that IF we were to shun the specialist keeper then I would like to see him get Rudolph's spot. Not that I WANT him to replace Rudolph over a keeper.

 

[GIMH]

Happy to say SA have been absolutely brilliant. They will fully deserve all the plaudits

Agreed

 

[Scaly piscine]

Well Finn's getting another 4-fer has pretty much confirmed Onions role as nearly man whilst we rotate bowlers ahead of him who aren't fit or aren't ready.

For the love of god, please, no more Strauss.

 

[Kippax]

Kevin Pietersen, First-ball Duck vs. Hampshire - YouTube

 

[CWB304]

Bell can definitely score quickly when he wants to, particularly against Test fields. Whether he wants to or not is a different issue though.

Not against attacks like this he can't. Yes he can make runs at a decent clip against Ishant Sharma and co. But I've never seen him make runs quickly or comfortably against a really good Test attack - he simply doesn't have the range of shots.

Against bowling like this he always goes through periods when he inexplicably makes one or two runs in 40 minutes. He then tends to get flustered and out playing a silly forcing shot. You'll recall that Bairstow in his fourth Test was comfortably outscoring him during their first innings partnership. Taylor and Bairstow should have been promoted ahead of him. Unless Bell gets out quickly England have no chance of chasing down the target.

 

[Top_Cat]

AWTA, Bell's a front-runner.

330's one of those targets; England aren't totally out of contention, a couple of solid 50's before tea and it'll make SA a little nervous but a wicket early tomorrow and it's curtains. I'll put my knackers on the line and say they're out of it.

 

[Garson007]

AB De Villiers is also a front-runner, but I guess we can afford that as long as he comes out in the true middle of the order.

 

[Woodster]

Seriously up against it on the final day England, but I refuse to lose hope despite the odds being heavily stacked in SA's favour. This is an excellent SA bowling attack and you sense they smell blood and a consequential number one ranking at the end of Monday's play. They give you very few opportunities to score off when they're on song and it may be that certain calculated risks must be taken by Trott, Bell and co. in order to try and push the visitors onto the back foot, this however is far from easy.

The big score has to come from one of the not out batsmen overnight, Taylor and Bairstow we know are talented, and in Bairstow's case, he has form against SA from the first innings, but to repeat that in such a tough chase on day five is asking a lot. Prior can score freely, but we need the platform to be set for when he arrives at the crease and we're currently a long way from doing that.

Only Smith and Amla have faced more deliveries in this series than Ian Bell, so he has had time at the crease and on occasions repelled the SA attack admirably, but has not made a telling contribution as yet in terms of really influencing a Test. Tomorrow would be a great occasion to do so.

Trott averages 40 in the series and again has not gone on in an innings. That's the thing with this SA bowling unit, they are very capable of removing batsmen that have got themselves set, but tomorrow is hopefully the day Trott and Bell prove their capabilities of winning England a Test match, despite it not looking entirely optimistic at this point.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Well played SA. Can't see any miracles on St John's Wood Road.

 

[Top_Cat]

Personally, I pin absolutely all of England's poor performance on Kevin Pietersen.

 

[MW1304]

Well this is sad. Its not over of course but we may as well put the roast in the oven.

Fair play to South Africa, have been better in all departments. If you were going to analyse it very basically I think the top order batting has been the main difference between the sides, just look at the first match. Not sure the bowlers could have done too much more in the last two tests but losing both openers right at the death has killed us. Strauss has had nothing to reply to good bowling with; looks gone.

Oh and two more tests would have been beautiful the way the series is going but ya deal with what ya got, I guess.

 

[Cricketismylife]

Not against attacks like this he can't. Yes he can make runs at a decent clip against Ishant Sharma and co. But I've never seen him make runs quickly or comfortably against a really good Test attack - he simply doesn't have the range of shots.

Against bowling like this he always goes through periods when he inexplicably makes one or two runs in 40 minutes. He then tends to get flustered and out playing a silly forcing shot. You'll recall that Bairstow in his fourth Test was comfortably outscoring him during their first innings partnership. Taylor and Bairstow should have been promoted ahead of him. Unless Bell gets out quickly England have no chance of chasing down the target.

Your negativity towards Bell may be over the top, but your point has been proved over the last year or so and throughout his career. Even though England have lost world number 1, it's an important innings for Bell tomorrow; a big contribution would help reverse the idea that he's one who cashes in nicely against moderate to weak attacks, and then performs averagely to poorly against stronger ones.

As you said when attacks like Sri Lanka and India came, he had no problem in scoring big runs at a fast pace against these poor attacks which had already been flattened by Cook, Strauss and Pietersen. Then he went to the UAE where the attack was much stronger, and you confidently predicted him to be a complete failure more so than anyone else on this board, and you were correct. Some gave Bell the benefit of the doubt after this, and dismissed it down to conditions more than the strength of the attack, and expected him to be back and performing in English conditions.

Against West Indies he looked back to his best, but even then typically his top score came in a dead match, and West Indies are nothing more than an average attack. Now with a proper SA attack, Bell has found it very tough. To his credit he has fought hard and managed to scrape together a few 50s, but he has looked a shadow of the player that dominated last year. He's a good player but nowhere near as good as was made out during his golden period. Tomorrow he could start proving me wrong.