July

[Richard]

Which Englishmen are likely to do better than in 2003, then?
I can't think of many.

 

[superkingdave]

Which Englishmen are likely to do better than in 2003, then?
I can't think of many.

Thorpe will hopefully be available for the whole series instead of 1 match, Vaughan will hopefully perform better, Jones will hopefully perform better than Stewart did (182 @ 22.75)

One would hope Flintoff(bowling), Harmison and Anderson will do better and Jones and Hoggard didn't figure in 2003 neither did Strauss though Hussain had a solid (41.85)series.

 

[Langeveldt]

It should be a cracking series. England should be better than in 2003, but so should some of your younger batsmen. What do you make of the return of Hayward?

Hayward has a lot of work to do.. I think the guy has loads to offer but personally I would take Andre Nel over him now.. But Hayward adds to the competition for fast bowling places in the SA lineup which can only be good for us...
However I am pleased that we havent lost another talented cricketer to the pound sterling, and the UCBSA have patched their relationships up with some of the players.. I was worried Hayward would turn into a Pietersen, but not to be

 

[marc71178]

Which Englishmen are likely to do better than in 2003, then?
I can't think of many.

I can think that most of them will (as superkingdave pointed out)

For a start there's the bowling attack (Flintoff, Harmison, Anderson if selected, and Hoggard and Jones will surely do better than no wickets)

 

[Langeveldt]

From a SA point of view Jacques Rudolph should do better at home, and with more experience. If he or McKenzie don't deliver, there are plenty of exciting players like Puttick and Duminy at WP, or Van Jaarsveld who is more established.. Cant wait to see those guys break through..

Kallis was simply superhuman last year against the Windies, and Nel looks like a class act. I just hope he doesnt follow the theme of his poor bowling in New Zealand... And we have Boje back to fitness if there is turn in the pitch as well as a back to fitness Smith and Gibbs being..well.. Herschelle Gibbs

Well, England are number two now.. That will go down like a lead baloon with Smith and co.. SA don't settle for anything other than second best

England cannot be better prepared.. Harmy will love bowling quickly on the Highveld, lets hope the England bowlers are fit enough to bowl good spells at altitude.. Strauss looks like a fine test match player and will like the ball coming on to the bat... Flintoff enjoyed his time against SA in 2003, especially at Lords.. Thorpe and Butcher are still class acts in the test arena...
And KP will of course get the traditional warm South African, especially at the Bullring... Lets hope he enjoys the taste of leather

Ashes? ********....

 

[Richard]

Thorpe will hopefully be available for the whole series instead of 1 match, Vaughan will hopefully perform better, Jones will hopefully perform better than Stewart did (182 @ 22.75)

One would hope Flintoff(bowling), Harmison and Anderson will do better and Jones and Hoggard didn't figure in 2003 neither did Strauss though Hussain had a solid (41.85)series.

Well, yes, I'd hope Jones would do better than Stewart did, it was a disappointing finale to his career, that.
Thorpe, I might remind you, was available long before the series started, it was just McGrath had earned a try at the start and Smith had earned one by the middle. Only Hussain's injury let him back in.
Yes, Strauss will hopefully perform better than Vaughan did and hopefully Vaughan will perform better than McGrath\Smith did.
But I'd highly doubt whether Flintoff or Anderson will improve on their figures. Harmison, well, we'll just have to wait and see. It may well depend on whether Graeme gets on top of him early like he did last time (and of course on whether his success continues in the imminent series).

 

[Richard Jenkins]

I reckon G. Smith will score a few runs. Not just a flat track bully. South Africa could do well. I hope the tests v SL are closely fought. Wil Muri play? probably, but I reckon the 'controversy' (what controversy, where?) will rumble on.

 

[Nate]

no i believe sa will dominate. awesome batting.

 

[marc71178]

England cannot be better prepared.. Harmy will love bowling quickly on the Highveld, lets hope the England bowlers are fit enough to bowl good spells at altitude..

One thing about Harmison is that once he has the ball, he doesn't want to give it up very often...

 

[marc71178]

But I'd highly doubt whether Flintoff or Anderson will improve on their figures.

Flintoff took 10 wickets @ 59.20 - I highly doubt he won't improve on those figures, seeing how his bowling is on an upward curve.

 

[Craig]

And KP will of course get the traditional warm South African, especially at the Bullring... Lets hope he enjoys the taste of leather

If selected that is.

At this stage I can't see anybody dropping out barring injury. Maybe Giles, but England tend to want to pick him for 'variation'.

 

[Craig]

Armstrong wins or loses the tour in the alps. It depends who else can attack, and Ulrich eats to many pies!

Don't know about too many pies, but losing 5kg practically before the Tour began is not healthy. That and I guess Ullrich peaked to early in winning the Tour of Switzerland.

 

[Nate]

If selected that is.

At this stage I can't see anybody dropping out barring injury. Maybe Giles, but England tend to want to pick him for 'variation'.

variation meaning they wanted to pick a few crap players??

 

[marc71178]

And also the fact he doesn't do as bad a job as people seem to think at times.

I can't believe that after some very good spells of bowling in the NZ series, people are still on at him and want him dropped.

 

[wpdavid]

Which Englishmen are likely to do better than in 2003, then?
I can't think of many.

I'll try not to just repeat what the other guys said ...

I agree that there aren't many positions where we'll be better, but they are significant. The bowling's the main area, and, barring a string of injuries, it's hard to see them being the canon fodder they were in the 1st two tests and as ineffective as they were at Leeds. Harmy's the main reason, of course, but Hoggard wasn't available in 2003 and I'm *hoping* that Anderson & Jones will continue to develop.

Beyond that, having Thorpe at 5 for the whole series makes a big difference - substitute him for Ed Smith at Leeds last summer and you get the picture. Plus I expect Geraint Jones to score more runs than Stewart.

Unlike the others, I don't think it's definite that Vaughan will be more successful than last summer, and that's a worry. The other major concern is injuries. I hope Flintoff is allowed to have whatever surgery he needs well before the SA tour. And, if Harmison has to bowl as much against WI as he did against NZ then he'll still be recovering. If we look after these guys, I think we'll be better. If we don't, then my earlier prediction will look pretty sick.

 

[Craig]

This is how I sum up Flintoff's career to date:

Talent
Potential
Injury cursed
Underachiever (first four or so years of his England career)

 

[Richard Jenkins]

Flintoff future

And his career in the future?

Batsman who bowls a bit?
Genuine all rounder?
Bowler who bats a bit?
Drinks boy?

 

[tooextracool]

One would hope Flintoff(bowling), Harmison and Anderson will do better and Jones and Hoggard didn't figure in 2003 neither did Strauss though Hussain had a solid (41.85)series.

i seriously doubt anderson will be selected let alone do better than what he did last time.

 

[Adamc]

And his career in the future?

Batsman who bowls a bit?
Genuine all rounder?
Bowler who bats a bit?
Drinks boy?

I would say batsman who bowls a lot.

 

[wpdavid]

i seriously doubt anderson will be selected let alone do better than what he did last time.

I'd be amazed if Anderson didn't tour SA. Who would you pick instead of him?