**Official** South Africa in England 2012

[Shri]

I have no problem admitting SA were the better side this series in all departments, but that is absolute rubbish.

Broad took a long time to get going in this series and did not hit the standard he had set for himself over the last year imo.

 

[King Pietersen]

England ratings


Strauss - 0. Not putting runs on the board is all well and good when you're leading the team to victory after victory. As it is, we've had chaos and poor performances for a lot of the year. Love the bloke but it's time to step aside. I hope to be proved wrong.

Tad harsh on the skipper I think. He might not have had a good series, but scored 2 centuries in the first series of the summer, which should count for something, even if they were scored against the Windies. It's not time for him to step aside just yet I don't think, a bad winter for him and it may just be the end though.

 

[amanuensis]

England ratings


Strauss - 0. Not putting runs on the board is all well and good when you're leading the team to victory after victory. As it is, we've had chaos and poor performances for a lot of the year. Love the bloke but it's time to step aside. I hope to be proved wrong.
Cook - 5. Not as bad as most of the other batsmen, tbf.
Trott - 6. Actually probably had a better series than it seemed but inability to kick on cost us in both Tests we lost.
Pietersen - 7. ****e at The Oval, immense at Headingley. Who knows whether he was missed or not here? Long way back without him.
Bell - 4. Forgettable series really with a couple of reasonable knocks.
Bopara - 1. Bowled better than he batted. Yeah, I'm serious.
Taylor - 4. Don't want to be too harsh, but nothing of note yet. Looked decent in his 34, never get going in this match.
Bairstow - 9. Deserved a ton, and deserved some kind of platform in the 2nd dig.
Prior - 8. Excellent with the bat, not up to his usual standards with the gloves. Obviously the best in the world and it's not even close.
Broad - 5. Hit and miss, just not the same Broad we saw against India or in the winter.
Bresnan - 3. All at sea.
Anderson - 5.5. Our best seamer overall, but below what we should expect.
Finn - 6. Gets a higher rating than Anderson just because he wasn't part of the 1st Test demolition but the gulf in class between them was there for all to see; in spite of this Finn takes wickets for fun. Long may it continue.
Swann - 3. 3rd best spinner in the series, after Pietersen and Tahir. Looking back to form with the bat though so there's a bonus. And I'm being harsh because he did his job fairly well, to an extent, here.

Care to explain? Was basically **** & is now officially Steyn's bunny.

 

[theegyptian]

Care to explain? Was basically **** & is now officially Steyn's bunny.

was basically **** and is now officially steyn's bunny but still averaged mid 40's

 

[GIMH]

Care to explain? Was basically **** & is now officially Steyn's bunny.

Well basically he scored a few runs (averaging around 40) yet it didn't feel like he did.

 

[amanuensis]

was basically **** and is now officially steyn's bunny but still averaged mid 40's

A classic example of how meaningless an average can be. He didn't convert & didn't make a contribution which ultimately had any real significance - in fact the only thing he did which did count was seeing off the Saffers at the fag end of the 2nd test.

 

[theegyptian]

I was 50/50 on Strauss going after last winter but now I don't think he can go in the short term. There are just too many problems in the rest of the team to get rid of the captain even if he is ****. Generally he bats well in India and if he can get past Zaheer he should do well.

Were Strauss to go there would be 3 spots in the top 6 open, all of whom are going to have no experience of test cricket in the subcontinent. Taylor, Bairstow and Root/ Compton/ whoever in India - lol.

You also have the captaincy issue and it would be a tough task to give Cook the gig in India with all the newcomeers. Cook's better of letting Strauss losing 3-0 this winter and then coming in next summer against the minnows of AUs.

Also canning Pietersen as Strauss, Flower and Board seems like a massive show of strength and would suggest that everybody inside the england setup is behind Strauss.

Basically given the upheaval around the squad at the moment (defeats, kp, 3 of top 6) it would be a massive decision to get rid of the captain who has done so well in the past and which is going to cause a massive amount of flux and confusion.

 

[Plumbinfront]

Terrific stuff from Vern. He picked up 12 poles @ 23 in what was supposed to be a 'bad' series for him! So, so glad to see us at the top. Thouroughly deserved. We have been the best team for about two years now and the rankings finally reflect it. England will have to take a long hard look at themselves and see where they went wrong. Aside from beating an ageing Aussie side that was beleaguered with problems and an injury hit Indian side, the English side never really looked like a true number one side. Let's not forget that this era's greatest player was sawn off not once but twice and the bloke who got 188 was screwed over by a third umpire who seems to like giving players out when he feels like it and we still scored 51 runs more than England.

 

[Teja.]

Yeah; I saw this series as a big opportunity for Anderson to try and close the gap on Steyn a bit and at least be deservingly mentioned in the same breath even if just as a clear but close second, but Steyn's just opened up the gap. Clear class above now; no-one can deny it.

I definitely think Anderson bowled a fair bit better than his stats suggest - not so much because of the plays and misses he generated with the new ball (not a new thing and not really unlucky as such IMO when it's habitual) but because of the amount of edges he actually enduced that squirted into gaps, fell short of the slips or were put down. But he was a long, long way behind Steyn.

Yeah, Steyn averaging 29 is as deceiving to his performance as Anderson averaging 40, in my opinion. Philander had a h4x innings but Steyn was without doubt the stand out bowler of the series, I reckon. He came in with and bowled spells with the force of the devil and took wickets when the batting was stable so many times in the series. 15 wickets @ 29 or not, This series clearly was one befitting a great bowler, to be honest.

It obviously didn't help that he got whacked around a couple of time when Broad was going ballistic and the eventual and inevitable wicket went to someone else.

 

[smash84]

Yeah, Steyn averaging 29 is as deceiving to his performance as Anderson averaging 40, in my opinion. Philander had a h4x innings but Steyn was without doubt the stand out bowler of the series, I reckon. He came in with and bowled spells with the force of the devil and took wickets when the batting was stable so many times in the series. 15 wickets @ 29 or not, This series clearly was one befitting a great bowler, to be honest.

It obviously didn't help that he got whacked around a couple of time when Broad was going ballistic and the eventual and inevitable wicket went to someone else.

was he now?

 

[GIMH]

Philander was better than Steyn from what I saw

 

[Cricketismylife]

I have no problem admitting SA were the better side this series in all departments, but that is absolute rubbish.

How is it absolute rubbish? I may be slightly off the mark but you are acting as if I'm way off. Steyn is clearly in front of the rest of the England attack, and Philander has the potential to be even better than Steyn, if he's not destroying teams then he's bowling very tightly and chipping in with valuable wickets.

Anderson always seems to bowl decent but just finds ways of not picking up wickets he should, Broad is more dangerous when he's up than Anderson but far less consistent. Neither of these 2 are in the same league as Steyn or Philander, but then it depends on how you define leagues. Anderson is closer to being in a league with someone like Ben Hilfenhaus than Steyn, and that isn't an insult because Hilfenhaus is a good bowler. Steyn has been outbowling these guys even through their best years, and now he's outbowled them in their home conditions.

 

[NasserFan207]

People keep talking about South Africa playing away here but the truth is they've always been excellent in England, foreign conditions or not. Its at home where they historically struggle

 

[hazsa19]

How is it absolute rubbish? I may be slightly off the mark but you are acting as if I'm way off. Steyn is clearly in front of the rest of the England attack, and Philander has the potential to be even better than Steyn, if he's not destroying teams then he's bowling very tightly and chipping in with valuable wickets.

Anderson always seems to bowl decent but just finds ways of not picking up wickets he should, Broad is more dangerous when he's up than Anderson but far less consistent. Neither of these 2 are in the same league as Steyn or Philander, but then it depends on how you define leagues. Anderson is closer to being in a league with someone like Ben Hilfenhaus than Steyn, and that isn't an insult because Hilfenhaus is a good bowler. Steyn has been outbowling these guys even through their best years, and now he's outbowled them in their home conditions.

Neither Philander nor Broad or Anderson are in the same league as Steyn. I think you need to calm down on the Philander front. Hes had a great start to his career, but suggesting he can better Steyn at this stage, who is an ATG...is laughable.

 

[Garson007]

Neither Philander nor Broad or Anderson are in the same league as Steyn. I think you need to calm down on the Philander front. Hes had a great start to his career, but suggesting he can better Steyn at this stage, who is an ATG...is laughable.

How long does he have to keep out-performing Steyn to change your opinion? While it's early to call him a great, his performances/form is certainly better than par for an ATG.

 

[hazsa19]

Playing home/away to most teams, or at least on all continents might be a start...

 

[Burgey]

So if we beat Saffer here this Summer, do we go top?

 

[NasserFan207]

So if we beat Saffer here this Summer, do we go top?

I think 2 - 0 or 3 - 0 would do it yeah.

 

[Burgey]

Thanks. Won't be easy.

 

[Viscount Tom]

Anything could happen, although I think if that series ends up as a draw and we somehow beat India we might go straight back up. Not sure though.