***Official*** South Africa in India 2015

[Pratters]

Yeah, this is a legitimate argument GI Joe, I don't agree with it in this case. The pitches are ones people can't settle on and score too much. We have seen it in both tests and many of these players are adept at scoring big. Even South African ones are not players who are alien to conditions in the subcontinent. Amla has played in India for long and Faf has been playing in India for CSK for a while. They aren't mugs in spinning conditions.

 

[Niall]

. Even South African ones are not players who are alien to conditions in the subcontinent. Amla has played in India for long and Faf has been playing in India for CSK for a while. They aren't mugs in spinning conditions.

Faf has never been considered that great against spin sadly though. He has only played a few tests in Lanka and UAE and done at best so-so.

Amla?,

yep a beast against spin, but he hasn't had a good year whatsoever, not sure why really, he isn't that old, I dunno could be a hangover from the world cup where he absolutely bombed.

 

[weldone]

Pratters what are your thoughts on the pitch (and ground size) of the last ODI where SA scored 450+? By your logic it must have been a pathetic pitch unsuitable for ODI cricket.

Also, what are your thoughts on the Perth pitch in the ongoing Aus-NZ test series?

SA at least scored 79 here. What are your thoughts on the Trent Bridge pitch where Aus were bundled out for 60?

I personally think only the Perth pitch among the above 3 was unfair. What's your thought, and why?

 

[Pratters]

We bowled terribly in that ODI v SA. Not generally a fan of ODIs though the recent rule changes have helped a bit. I didn't watch a lot of that Perth game. Any way, I don't understand the line of your questions..

 

[Howe_zat]

Looks like no matter what issue is being discussed it all comes back to the merits of Craig White's bowling.

What

the ****

am I reading

 

[GIMH]

Just caught some highlights. Pitch looked like something I'd prepare for a ten over bash on Ashes Cricket before loading my side with part time spinners

Lovely

 

[shankar]

This is a pitch where you have to be ready to bat the whole day at run rates < 2.5. None of the batsmen except Saha have shown the willingness to do this. They've just not been willing to continue respecting the pitch/bowling after getting to 20 and have just wanted to dominate.

 

[Furball]

Yeah, this is a legitimate argument GI Joe, I don't agree with it in this case. The pitches are ones people can't settle on and score too much. We have seen it in both tests and many of these players are adept at scoring big. Even South African ones are not players who are alien to conditions in the subcontinent. Amla has played in India for long and Faf has been playing in India for CSK for a while. They aren't mugs in spinning conditions.

There is no evidence for the bolded in this Test. Saha lasted 100 balls in the first innings. Duminy was coping fine until he forgot that leggies turn it into him and played down the wrong line. Dhawan looked completely untroubled until he played a stupid shot. Pujara was going great guns until he missed a straight one.

Not one of those dismissals were down to the pitch being a lottery. The ball wasn't exploding off a length at set batsmen or running along the ground or ragging square.

The pitch is difficult and the balance is titled in favour of the bowler. I get that people might not like the balance in this Test, which is fair enough. That's a million miles away from the pitch being poor. There's enough bounce in the pitch to ensure that if a bowler drops short it's easy runs and the turn has largely been predictable.

 

[Chrish]

Tbh that carrom ball Ashwin bowled around the leg was pretty ridiculous.. Even warne would be proud

 

[Furball]

Tbh that carrom ball Ashwin bowled around the leg was pretty ridiculous.. Even warne would be proud

He didn't bowl Harmer around his legs though, the ball deflected off Harmer's pad onto the stumps. The ball didn't actually spin that much.

 

[weldone]

This is a pitch where you have to be ready to bat the whole day at run rates < 2.5. None of the batsmen except Saha have shown the willingness to do this. They've just not been willing to continue respecting the pitch/bowling after getting to 20 and have just wanted to dominate.

You're spot on about Saha; he has shown the correct attitude to bat on this pitch. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the skill to do very well on this turf. I believe only 3 batsmen have the skill to bat well on this pitch - Vijay, Pujara and Amla (not too sure about AB either way).

 

[social]

No surprises to see a flock of Aussies react in horror to this deck

For my part, I'm not doing it as an Australian fan as we don't have a horse in this race so the match is totally irrelevant

As a cricket fan, it's disappointing to tune into session 1, day 1 and within a few overs know the result of a 5 day test

For their part, Indian cricket fans should question how their team managed to get flogged 2-0 in Australia last year on a bunch of roads

The answer is simple and this pitch is Exhibit A i.e. wickets like this do virtually nothing to teach cricketers about playing in test match conditions

 

[GotSpin]

I too prefer a five day draw.


Ive really enjoyed this match. The scorecard testifies more so to the unwillingless of players to knuckle down than a horrible wicket. India played awfully in their 3rd innings.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

But this game is a test match.

 

[91Jmay]

For my part, I'm not doing it as an Australian fan as we don't have a horse in this race so the match is totally irrelevant

As a cricket fan, it's disappointing to tune into session 1, day 1 and within a few overs know the result of a 5 day test

For their part, Indian cricket fans should question how their team managed to get flogged 2-0 in Australia last year on a bunch of roads

The answer is simple and this pitch is Exhibit A i.e. wickets like this do virtually nothing to teach cricketers about playing in test match conditions

Because pitches like Perth teach players loads

 

[cnerd123]

For my part, I'm not doing it as an Australian fan as we don't have a horse in this race so the match is totally irrelevant

As a cricket fan, it's disappointing to tune into session 1, day 1 and within a few overs know the result of a 5 day test

For their part, Indian cricket fans should question how their team managed to get flogged 2-0 in Australia last year on a bunch of roads

The answer is simple and this pitch is Exhibit A i.e. wickets like this do virtually nothing to teach cricketers about playing in test match conditions

A pitch that gives the home team a huge advantage != a poor pitch. Since when is home advantage a bad thing?

This match is a Test match and therefore these are Test conditions. Don't throw around the phrase 'Test' conditions as though that only applies to a certain type or style of wicket.

Since when is a 'Test' wicket meant to help players develop a wide range of skills anyways? Thats what domestic cricket, A team tours, age group cricket, etc etc is for. Test cricket is played to win, not to learn.

People through around the word 'poor' too casually here IMO. It may not be the style of cricket you enjoy, it may heavily favour India, and it may expose the flaws of batsmen on both sides, but its a perfectly fine, playable, Test-standard pitch.

 

[honestbharani]

He didn't bowl Harmer around his legs though, the ball deflected off Harmer's pad onto the stumps. The ball didn't actually spin that much.

Not to mention, Ashwin gets ridiculous turn off his carrom ball on most days. Remember how he got out Kulasekara and Amla in the T20WC.

 

[Black_Warrior]

What this series and the 4-0 drubbing of Australia in 2013 does for me is put even more perspective on the England 2-1 win in 2012. India is still a very tough opponent at home and to beat them 2-1 just shows how well they adapted, how well Panesar, Swann and Anderson bowled.

 

[Bahnz]

Just my opinion, but any wicket where a team gets skittled for 170 on day 2 and in doing so moves into a position of unassailable dominance is as bad as a wicket where both teams cruise to 600. As a neutral, it's not great watching batsmen like Kohli, Rahane, AB and Pujara engaging in a futile battle for the preservation of their wicket before being undone by shunts like Tahir, Duminy and Jadeja.

 

[Shri]

Yeah, this is a legitimate argument GI Joe, I don't agree with it in this case. The pitches are ones people can't settle on and score too much. We have seen it in both tests and many of these players are adept at scoring big. Even South African ones are not players who are alien to conditions in the subcontinent. Amla has played in India for long and Faf has been playing in India for CSK for a while. They aren't mugs in spinning conditions.

Ah ffs, I tried staying out of it but did you seriously just say playing in the IPL is in any way helpful in making yourself a better batsman against spin? Those tracks are made for runs, like 400 off 40 overs isn't uncommon at times and no kind of bowler has anything in it to help. Amla is clearly out of form.

AB made that ***y 50 in the first test and would have gotten more if he had not missed a slider under pressure. If he had one guy at the other end who had the sense to stay out there with him, that innings had the potential to be another KP at Mumbai kind of an innings. The truth is there are very few players good against spin from bot sides playing in this series. These pitches are mellow compared to the kind of turners we had in the 90s or under Ganguly.We had roads and slow turners from 2008 for a few years when batsmen built up insane domestic records and we are now going back to normal. I would be worried if we continued being this **** against spin in a year or two but we need to get used to the old Indian pitches again after not seeing them for a while.