***Official*** South Africa in Australia 2012

[Ruckus]

hahahaha wtf happened there

holy moly, that scared me

Hahaha yeah I **** myself watching that.

What was this about?

 

[Daemon]

What was this about?

Michael Clarke defended a delivery from Tahir.

 

[Spark]

Ponting's dismissal. Was bizarre

 

[Crazy Sam]

I'd love to see Clarke get to 400 tomorrow... especially if this is going to turn out to be a drab draw like I'm expecting. Aussies still have to take 20 wickets on that road.


Still, one of the best days of test cricket I've seen.

 

[Spark]

and i know we like 3/50 but seriously this is becoming silly

This is still true mind

 

[Daemon]

I'd love to see Clarke get to 400 tomorrow... especially if this is going to turn out to be a drab draw like I'm expecting. Aussies still have to take 20 wickets on that road.


Still, one of the best days of test cricket I've seen.

Adelaide has produced a result on 17/20 occasions in recent times

 

[Ruckus]

Ponting's dismissal. Was bizarre

Oh wow...yeah... 2nd Test v SA - Ponting Wicket - YouTube

Pretty sad to see how clown-like his batting has become. It's funny as well how he has seemingly been on the end of yet another superb delivery. Sensing a trend here...

 

[jan]

Selectors not taking tsotsobe and parnell.

Steyn was very off.

poor captaincy and field settings from Smith, especially in the way he used Tahir. He neither cut of the singles or the boundaries with his weird field settings. Asked him to bowl around the wicket with noone on the off side i.e. telling him to bowl outside leg stump consistently.

The Kallis injury was critical.

Warner, Clarke and Hussey played blinders.

The pitch didn't offer much, but it wasn't that bad. There was bounce and carry, and if you're hitting good areas consistently you should be able to take wickets with that.

Dale is or has been off for quite some time Id say. And Tahir is...well Tahir was there and strongly asked for being replaced. Smith is not stupid so Im thinking maybe Proteas are way too relaxed about this series.
Who should Tsotsobe and Parnell play instead?

I wonder if PEWS will say Waca, Waca, Waca should Clarke make a double in Perth...

 

[Bahnz]

Dale is or has been off for quite some time Id say. And Tahir is...well Tahir was there and strongly asked for being replaced. Smith is not stupid so Im thinking maybe Proteas are way too relaxed about this series.
Who should Tsotsobe and Parnell play instead?

I'm beginning to wonder about Steyn. It doesn't appear as if he can really sustain the pace of his youth for long spells anymore. Without that speed, I'm not sure whether he's accurate enough to continue averaging low 20's in the long run.

Having said that, his average will take a nice dip when he plays us next month.

 

[kingkallis]

Bingle was a good riddance for Clarkey. He is in just so awesome form since that incident.

 

[Prince EWS]

Dale is or has been off for quite some time Id say. And Tahir is...well Tahir was there and strongly asked for being replaced. Smith is not stupid so Im thinking maybe Proteas are way too relaxed about this series.
Who should Tsotsobe and Parnell play instead?

I wonder if PEWS will say Waca, Waca, Waca should Clarke make a double in Perth...

Nah you've got me the wrong way around. I'm not bagging the Adelaide Oval so I can talk down Clarke's innings; I'm talking down Clarke's innings so I can bag the Adelaide Oval. Michael Clarke actually played the best Test innings I've ever seen live on TV - in South Africa. The WACA isn't a great Test wicket these days either but it's not a complete and utter joke like this one.

I actually heard a few people say that the bit of extra grass would be good for the pitch but it'll just ensure that it doesn't turn in the second innings like it did for Swann or get variable like the old Adelaide Oval myths will tell you it will. I'll wait and see what actually happens later in the game before going on about it even more, but I think this could well be the flattest pitch I've ever seen that wasn't Antigua.

We in Australia love to poo-poo the records of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Samaraweera etc for scoring massive runs at the SSC and I definitely see the point of that at times, but we can't then turn around and beat our chests about Clarke knocking off a quick double in Adelaide, a ground which is just as bad if not actually worse in this case, and call it great Test cricket. It's rubbish cricket.

People can quote stats from the last twenty years all you like but the vast majority of that time was occupied by all-conquering Australian team that could've won on any surface. That was one of the best lineups of all time. There have been a few exceptions to that where Australia actually even lost like the last Ashes (on a pitch that I didn't think was that bad, actually) but overall this has been a joke wicket. Furthermore, if we get a result on this one because both teams progress the game scoring ~5rpo while racking up their huge scores then it doesn't make it a good cricket wicket just because it gets us a result. You need to provide a relatively even contest between bat and ball to be a good wicket. Obviously you need variety a little bit one way or the other but Adelaide is a complete joke, just like Antigua was a joke and the SSC is a joke, and it's true that I might be a bit of a sour **** but I didn't enjoy today's play at all, tbh.

 

[Burgey]

Surely one of the more demoralizing first days play endured by a top side in recent years. Carnage

 

[Prince EWS]

Why I kept thinking the Ashes was last year throughout that post is beyond me, but point stands.

 

[Jayzamann]

Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

number oneeeeeee

And a tiny tweak of the query brings up this pretty face.

 

[Top_Cat]

We in Australia love to poo-poo the records of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Samaraweera etc for scoring massive runs at the SSC and I definitely see the point of that at times, but we can't then turn around and beat our chests about Clarke knocking off a quick double in Adelaide, a ground which is just as bad if not actually worse in this case, and call it great Test cricket. It's rubbish cricket.

People can quote stats from the last twenty years all you like but the vast majority of that time was occupied by all-conquering Australian team that could've won on any surface. That was one of the best lineups of all time. There have been a few exceptions to that where Australia actually even lost like the last Ashes (on a pitch that I didn't think was that bad, actually) but overall this has been a joke wicket. Furthermore, if we get a result on this one because both teams progress the game scoring ~5rpo while racking up their huge scores then it doesn't make it a good cricket wicket just because it gets us a result. You need to provide a relatively even contest between bat and ball to be a good wicket. Obviously you need variety a little bit one way or the other but Adelaide is a complete joke, just like Antigua was a joke and the SSC is a joke, and it's true that I might be a bit of a sour **** but I didn't enjoy today's play at all, tbh.

It's not rubbish cricket, that's massive exaggeration. It's one thing to have conditions in your favour, takes talent and skill to rack up 480 in a day against that attack. If you could pick some **** off the street and he score a ton, you might have a point about the pitch being too far in favour of the bat. And, I might add, if Tahir hadn't bowled a couple of full bungers every over, he might not have been smashed for 8/over. When he and Faf bowled straight, even Clarke had trouble putting him away at least.

Sure a close contest is more entertaining but to call it actual 'rubbish cricket'? You're not being sour, you're being ridiculous.

 

[Spark]

You're just sad Kallis got hurt.

.

 

[Prince EWS]

.

Wasn't enjoying the wicket before Kallis got hurt either. In fact I was frustrated that our top order were getting out to Kallis on it.

 

[Spark]

someone find a sadface gif

 

[Spikey]

'our top order'?

 

[Briony]

It's not rubbish cricket, that's massive exaggeration. It's one thing to have conditions in your favour, takes talent and skill to rack up 480 in a day against that attack. If you could pick some **** off the street and he score a ton, you might have a point about the pitch being too far in favour of the bat. And, I might add, if Tahir hadn't bowled a couple of full bungers every over, he might not have been smashed for 8/over. When he and Faf bowled straight, even Clarke had trouble putting him away at least.

Sure a close contest is more entertaining but to call it actual 'rubbish cricket'? You're not being sour, you're being ridiculous.

Agree to an extent but I don't think that attack was great. Steyn had a tight hammy for part of the day. Morkel is good but bowled too short, Kallis looked threatening but was injured after three overs, Tahir has always been awful and Kleinveldt is playing his second test and is not a test bowler. Then there were the part-timers. So it was still great to score at the rate the three centurions did but it wasn't a great attack and they compounded things by not bowling full enough.

With the hot weather there may be a result here but it still wasn't a pitch that offered too many questions of the batsmen. It was only really Kallis bowling fuller who looked dangerous. The ground being slightly shorter doesn't help matters either. Three century makers on day one makes for great entertainment but when a team scores at over five per over you wonder how much of a test it was despite it being test cricket. But SA has been the leakiest attack on its worst days for some time. Steyn has always been an attacking bowler but when he doesn't fire he bleeds runs. With his lack of height, he may struggle a bit when his pace and/or swing goes. McGrath went of for so long because he was never that quick but his bounce and economy helped him sustain things.