Kallis averaging 8 with the bat in the T20 World Cup. CHOKE?
Somehow i think Australia's stunning record in big tournaments speaks for itself, SA's record of choking is nothing short of abysmal. For every match that Australia choked i could name 20 that SA choked, and choked BADLY. Everyone knows it. Wont even mention the 1996 world cup or 2003 world cup or 2007 world cup........
Please do name the matches for me. 1996 went into a game no Allan Donald and ran into a Brain Lara at the top of his game. Did you forget the fact that Brain Lara scored a century and Windies scored more runs than they should have had. Ask Australia or any team what happens when you run into a Brain Lara or Tendulkar in the mood. *cough *cough Wills Cup 1998 India vs Australia *cough *cough
2003 a tied match where they misread the D/L calculations. Didn't you find it strange after Boucher smashed a 6 he calmly played the next ball to a fielder not bother to get a single? He and Klusener thought they were ahead in fact it was a tie. So it was no choke. Other point is if NZ decided to go play in Kenya SA and NZ would have gone through were NZ would have had 10 points carried over to the Super Eights. They forfeited SA went out
Ok we were at home went out the first round. But in 1992 SA played their first World Cup which was held in Australia. Australia were the holders and hosts, were the hot favourites. What happened? Australia lost to NZ. Lost to England and lost to
SA by 9 wickets. We had 3 ODI's before the WC against India to see how far behind were we. Out of International cricket for over a decade we came back and rubbed the Aussies faces in the dirt at their own home. Pakistan sealed Australia's fate where they lost 8 wickets for 56 runs in a must win match. Yes we got knocked out at home Australia did even worse. In fact in 1992 we were robbed by stupid rain calculations and we would have won by 3 runs if the D/L was held because 1 over was deducted to slow bowling rate.
2007 lets not forget Australia beat us by 83 runs in the group stage and they were a way better side than us. We even lost to Bangladesh in the Super 8's who made it through with Ireland where Pakistan and India were out in the first round.
In the semi final we were beaten by 7 wickets by Australia again. The game was over as a contest in the first ten overs. Poor shot selection and simply lost to the better team. We did not choke just were outclassed by superior opponents. Simple.
2011 against NZ that one you can actually call a choke but **** happens. We played like crap, lost our heads, fell for NZ banter and lost. We would have never made that final anyway. It was decided long ago the path of certain countries to make it to a semi and no way in hell they would prepare a pitch anything other than a dust bowl doing strnge things as a good batting wicket they got beaten by SA after a major collapse.
For Kallis and T20 I think you have missed the fact that we do not give a **** about T20 and our team selection shows it. That is not even our best 11. We use it for development and to bleed in youngsters. Just look at Ontong's avg 11 with the batting in his whole career yet he is in the squad. Kallis was asked to come and play due to the fact we were playing with extra baggage and the selectors are given instructions that they must adhere to quatos which mean color is looked at first and talent ignored. Politicians are under the impression in International cricket you can win games and beat the best sides in the world with 5 or 6 establish players and 5 guys like Ontong who avg 11 in domestic cricket which is really a joke.
You should judge people by what they do - it's wrong to judge people by their race, colour or creed. Everyone should be free to play; selection should be based on merit.Which is not happening. So its hard to be competitive against the top teams in all 3 forms of the game and race and colour is looked at first rather than merit. That is South African sport in reality. That is why KP left.
A reality we are now stuck with as again we were just not good enough to win when they needed to. There was never a choke insight against Pakistan or Australia, they were just inferior to their opposition. This breaks in a new and exciting era for the SA limited overs team, one defined by just not being that great, and I for one am thrilled by it.
There is no denying the quality of the SA limited overs team and the many players that have earned a cap for them over the years, but let’s face it, that all counts for jack **** when it comes to beating who stands in your way of glory. I personally think I am a better looking, more charming and ultimately a better long term prospect than Russell Brand, but that didn’t stop Kate Perry from marrying him… That’s reality, and in reality the SA ODI side is nothing more than competitive.
We have the world’s best Test team, the greatest honour of them all. The fact we aren’t quite as good in this other wishy washy stuff really matters far less, but their losses are treated as life or death happenings. Bull****, we lose games, that’s what happens in sport it’s a bloody reality! Sure, some may think this is a cop-out attitude, but quite frankly much like when people try tell me T20 is the future – I don’t give a monkey’s.
If we just keep picking good players and allow them to play their natural games, the honours will come. If they don’t, well, it’s because they aren’t good enough like they have been over the past few years. Simple as that. Limited overs cricket is a very different game than Test cricket, perhaps we just aren’t as well suited to it.
Everyone with half a brain can see Amla do not belong in T20 as it's not suited for the way he plays. He is a wonderful ODI and test player but he is not one that comes in and smash it around. Simple.
Kallis 8 avg yes he failed fair enough. Shane Watson failed as well when it mattered. With bat and got smashed around with his bowling. I wonder how many matches in must win situations did he perform in? Don't think many.
What do you think about the 2010 WC quarter?
What about New Zealand in the Rugby World Cups. 20 Years between winning them was a massive relieve for a team that was no 1 for almost 17 years of that 20 and went every tournament in as the hot favorites end up losing to SA, France, Australia, France and in 2011 almost lost to France in the final again.
You did not watch that match did you?
1. South Africa won that game.
2. Charl Langeveldt took 2 wickets in two balls and never got the chance to try and complete his hat trick.
3. Muttiah Muralitharan was denied by Justin Kemp deflecting one off the pad to short leg
4. Maling got it luckey but little too late as Maslinga was tapped around ending up with bowling figures of 4-52 in 9.2 overs.
5. He took 2 with his last two balls of the over and then another 2 in the first 2 balls of his next over.
6. HArd to face in swingers yorkers at that pace for a top order batsman let alone tail enders. Waqar Younis anyone?
