***Official*** Australia in South Africa 2018

[OverratedSanity]

He has a game for the titans. If he gets through it he should be in contention. Before the test g. Smith was saying more likely too see Dale come test 4. But with no kg this will probably change things.

SA needs their champion now more then ever.

I really don't want to see him rush back early.

 

[Heboric]

Injury concern over Mitch Marsh:

Mitchell Marsh's groin injury spells trouble for Australia - ESPNcricinfo

 

[Arachnodouche]

When both sides act like jerks, does anyone really care who's getting the worse/worser/worst/worstest of the verbal jousting? Let them have at it, make this series magnificent for the rest of us.

 

[Chrish]

You really shouldn’t be getting points for send-offs.. That’s just idiotic.

McGrath did that 24/7 but I don’t recall him ever getting into trouble for that.

 

[Bolo]

Cricket is an absolute joke.

I’ve been watching for 14/15 years now and at no point have I ever watched cricket and thought a player needs suspended for celebrating a wicket, or bumping them into a player.

Fine them match fees. But banning the player who just won the match for something less trivial than Warner’s reaction is laughable. Even then what Warner did didn’t deserve anything but a fine.

Racsim, verbal abuse(deemed by umpires to be over the line), genuine physical harm(punching/kicking, cheating. Only things that should warrant a ban

Just further attempts to kill test cricket by the ICC.

Docking match fees isn't a solution. Serial antagonists like Warner and Kohli earn $millions a year. They don't care if you fine them. The only fair way is to ban repeat/serious offenders. It sucks, because we want to see the best players but rabada deserves a ban

 

[GRAB]

Injury concern over Mitch Marsh:

Mitchell Marsh's groin injury spells trouble for Australia - ESPNcricinfo

More tricky, is that with 2 quicks, a spinner, and a batsman, there's no similar replacement. Will they just play 4 bowlers and Handscomb, or send for someone? Is there anyone to send? Henriques? I see Faulkner isn't even playing shield... Cartwright considered enough of a bowler? Er, Christian hasn't retired, amazingly?

 

[Spark]

It'll be Stoinis if they go like-for-like, he's clearly been the alternative for that role in the selectors' minds for a while now.

 

[Gob]

Pretty annoyed with Rabada ban. No satisfaction in beating a team without their best players really.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Pretty annoyed with Rabada ban. No satisfaction in beating a team without their best players really.

Don't count them before they hatch. Isn't Philander something of a demon at Newlands?

 

[Dendarii]

Don't count them before they hatch. Isn't Philander something of a demon at Newlands?

47 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 16.34.

 

[Heboric]

Don't count them before they hatch. Isn't Philander something of a demon at Newlands?

On top of that , I think Proteas raise their game when playing at Newlands. I think its the support they get there.

 

[harsh.ag]

Hope Philander rekts the Aussies.

Rubbish administrators ruining the series.

 

[Tangles]

Just saw the smith shoulder incident and that's so minimal and incidental a charge is a ****ing joke. The send offs after being warned is dumb but this is a non incident. They both don't change line and there's barely a brush. Icc, Crowe and the umpires being stupid.

Smiths reaction is disappointing tbh.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Shame as you get a sense that Rabada is having one of those classic series like Hadlee against the Aussies in the mid '80s, or even Mitchell Johnson in the '13-14 Ashes.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Shame as you get a sense that Rabada is having one of those classic series like Hadlee against the Aussies in the mid '80s, or even Mitchell Johnson in the '13-14 Ashes.

The problem is we have such few genuine custodians of the game. I hate to put it into so many words but seeing a young black South African fast bowler run roughshod over the Australians would do wonders for the game's health in the country. Unfortunately, when bureaucrats run the game, they can't look past their noses at the greater picture.

 

[Slifer]

Lol. Ab only just returned to the test cricket fold. It's like the icc wants one of the more exciting passionate young players to be like fuk test cricket, I'll ply my trade in the ipl. Oh well, if oz wins this series itll have a huge asterisk next to it afaic. Fine the guy don't ban him.

 

[Starfighter]

No sympathy for Rabada. A few milligrams of self control can go a way. If South Africa lose the series because of it then it will force them to look at how they control their star player. As someone here pointed out, there are many ways to celebrate a wicket and he keeps choosing the few that will get him in trouble. Being talented isn't a license to be a nong.

 

[Bahnz]

So gutting to see Rabada drop out, but at the same time it just really isn't that difficult to not be a ****head, so I don't have a lot of sympathy for him.

Will be fascinating if Steyn can make it back for the 3rd test, but he's gotta be 100% match fit and I kinda doubt whether that'll be the case. And Morkel isn't the worst replacement in the world (plus it'll be nice for him to get a crack at 300 test wickets).

 

[Gnske]

Remember guys, it's not Rabada's fault for being pig-ignorant. It's the fault of the administrators for setting so high a bar for behaviour that clearly no cricketer can ever aspire to, apart from the majority who do.

 

[Bolo]

So gutting to see Rabada drop out, but at the same time it just really isn't that difficult to not be a ****head, so I don't have a lot of sympathy for him.

Will be fascinating if Steyn can make it back for the 3rd test, but he's gotta be 100% match fit and I kinda doubt whether that'll be the case. And Morkel isn't the worst replacement in the world (plus it'll be nice for him to get a crack at 300 test wickets).

Steyn is out of the 3rd