-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
***Official*** Australia in South Africa 2013/14
- Thread starter TimAngas
- Start date
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
So why the **** does Smith bowl his four front line seamers so little? I don't get it. It'd be one thing if it was a dead pitch or turning square or Australia were ahead by 600 or something, but it's going up and down and the game is still somewhat winnable. Why would he be bowling two half-assed spinners?
Say what you will about Cook and his overbowling of Anderson/Broad in the England home series but at least he'd be bowling his wicket takers and trying to win the game until it was genuinely draw-or-lose status. With a defensive field mind you, but still...
I feel like they all have to be carrying niggles or something or it just makes no sense at all. I mean, Philander hasn't bowled since the 15th over.
edit: Especially annoying because he did it in the first innings too.
Say what you will about Cook and his overbowling of Anderson/Broad in the England home series but at least he'd be bowling his wicket takers and trying to win the game until it was genuinely draw-or-lose status. With a defensive field mind you, but still...
I feel like they all have to be carrying niggles or something or it just makes no sense at all. I mean, Philander hasn't bowled since the 15th over.
edit: Especially annoying because he did it in the first innings too.
Last edited:
benchmark00
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Spinners have only really bowled like 6 overs this innings. Don't mind a spinner on (well I do, but whatever) but it shouldn't be at both ends.
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
Right. A spinner at one end for a bit and rotating the seamers at the other would be fine, especially just for a change or whatever. But bowling them both with four seamers picked in the team just feels like aimless captaincy.
Daemon
Request Your Custom Title Now!
tbf it's day 3 and SA have been bowling on all 3 days.
benchmark00
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Great session Dools and Warner. Top partnership, went from a possible dicey situation to an impossibly strong one.
Cabinet96
Hall of Fame Member
I've never rated Smith in terms of managing his quicks so he can bowl them more. Is ridiculous how much we've seen of the likes of Tahir and Peterson on day one of tests in South Africa, despite the home side almost always having four quicks and three world class ones.
vic_orthdox
Global Moderator
Can understand it a bit more when you're fourth quick is batting at 4, but McLaren is at 7, use him till he's stuffed, he'll get plenty of rest by the time he has to bat.
benchmark00
Request Your Custom Title Now!
What was poor was bowling them with the fields he had leading up to a break where you want some threatening bowlers on as the batsmen play for tea.
I can only offer 2 possible explanations:
1. They're waiting for it to reverse, so just going into a holding pattern until that occurs.
2. Smith likes to use little breaks to regroup. When the DRS first came in he'd sometimes tactically review decisions just to get his team together like a time out and they'd come out better. Maybe he was just bowling for the tea break and letting his seamers have a big rest and then unleashing.
Last edited:
Hooksey
Banned
Don't miss Warner post tea. You may hate yourself when you read tomorrow's newspaper if you do.
benchmark00
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Stay up *****.
Hooksey
Banned
That might be why he's going to bed. It is Valentine's Day.
The Battlers Prince
International Vice-Captain
Dools innings feels very Dravid patience
NUFAN
Y no Afghanistan flag
benchmark00
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Doolan currently averaging 75 in test cricket #getinwhileican
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
Yeah, both of which are pretty terrible ideas in the session South Africa really had to win to get back in the match. A session in which Steyn and Philander bowled 4 overs each. That said, maybe there's a fitness issue that isn't apparent from the outside or they are just stuffed from the first innings. But I think that was the time you really had to put it all on the table and try and get a few wickets, because Australia probably have enough already by now and there's still 9 to get.
My feeling is they're playing to a program of preserving the quicks for the rest of the series since it's back-to-back tests.