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

[TheJediBrah]

Stephen trying to be the new brockley or midwinter and failing miserably

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I highly doubt Handscomb's century is going to worry Bancroft at all, he is not an opener. If Handscomb does get recalled it will be for the middle order.

 

[stephen]

Hmm. I was more focusing on the fringe players.

Forgot that Lyon and the Marsh brothers played tbh. The QLD/Tas game was my primary focus.

So yeah I should have left out the part about the other test players, which was plain wrong.

Khawaja
Smith
Warner
Starc
Hazlewood
Cummins
Paine

All didn't play though.

 

[stephen]

I highly doubt Handscomb's century is going to worry Bancroft at all, he is not an opener. If Handscomb does get recalled it will be for the middle order.

Yep but Khawaja and Smith could slide up the order to make way for him. Renshaw got dropped after a shorter patch of bad form than Bancroft has had. The mid season break messed up Renshaw's chance to push his way back into the team though.

If Australia lose the first two tests and Bancroft has had 4 failures his neck will be on the figurative chopping block.

 

[Burgey]

Paine will want to have a very good series, because Carey's star is properly on the rise.

 

[Starfighter]

I'm hearing that Sayers has replaced Bird.

 

[stephen]

I'm hearing that Sayers has replaced Bird.

Perhaps a little bird told you. Or maybe it was a tweet.

 

[Burgey]

He's not in the SA side listed to play NSW over the weekend, so it makes sense that he's been called into the squad, at least as cover.

 

[TheJediBrah]

It was announced on the CA website early this morning, no big secret

 

[Spikey]

dude spoiler warning 24 hours hasn't passed yet

 

[SeamUp]

SA 'A' squad for Australian 3-day warm-up match

South Africa A squad for tour match against Australia: Khaya Zondo (capt), Theunis de Bruyn, Zubayr Hamza, Beuran Hendricks, Pieter Malan, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Duanne Olivier, Rudi Second, Malusi Siboto, Shaun von Berg.

First call-ups for Hamza, Malan, Muthusamy

 

[Prince EWS]

Really strong side by today's standards for these sort of tour games.

 

[StephenZA]

Really strong side by today's standards for these sort of tour games.

With the weakness of the SA FC system,CSA try give all potential new/future SA players the best opportunity to prove and learn.... hopefully Hamza, Muthusamy, de Bruyn and Mulder take the opportunity.

 

[morgieb]

Really strong side by today's standards for these sort of tour games.

Probably helps it's an actual A-team rather than some weird Select XI.

 

[Prince EWS]

Probably helps it's an actual A-team rather than some weird Select XI.

Yeah but that's because they decided to make it such. The fact that it's an A-team didn't descend from heaven and force their hand.

 

[Second Spitter]

I'm hearing that Sayers has replaced Bird.

Sooking in the media pays off for Chadd. Hope you don't get tonked in the warm-up games now.

Yep but Khawaja and Smith could slide up the order to make way for him. Renshaw got dropped after a shorter patch of bad form than Bancroft has had. The mid season break messed up Renshaw's chance to push his way back into the team though.

If Australia lose the first two tests and Bancroft has had 4 failures his neck will be on the figurative chopping block.

I find it pretty annoying that a condition of getting dropped is the team losing. I mean, if they had the balls to drop him after the Ashes, then perhaps losing in the first Test in SA becomes more avoidable?

Bancroft hasn't looked remotely like a Test player since his second dig in the first Test and it is apparent that he regressed as the series went on. George Bailey got boned straight after a winning Ashes series with almost an identical record.

 

[stephen]

Sooking in the media pays off for Chadd. Hope you don't get tonked in the warm-up games now.


I find it pretty annoying that a condition of getting dropped is the team losing. I mean, if they had the balls to drop him after the Ashes, then perhaps losing in the first Test in SA becomes more avoidable?

Bancroft hasn't looked remotely like a Test player since his second dig in the first Test and it is apparent that he regressed as the series went on. George Bailey got boned straight after a winning Ashes series with almost an identical record.

But Bancroft has been in their long term plans for ages, which is why he's been given a long run. Tubbs was talking him up a few years back as the next big thing, before he went on his "I'm going to average 30 for the next three years" rampage.

Renshaw has looked much more like a proper test match opener in the short time he's been there. Was our second top run scorer in India and top scored in the first innings in Bangladesh (granted, it was only 45 but it was still our best score).

 

[Gob]

Saw a bit of Al Cook in Renshaw myself. That being said you cannot pick him until he strings few scores.

 

[stephen]

Saw a bit of Al Cook in Renshaw myself. That being said you cannot pick him until he strings few scores.

Bancroft got picked on the back of two good shield games. He's had one pass mark and four failed tests since then. Didn't set the world on fire in his latest shield game either.

Renshaw has now hit two half centuries in his last two matches, which isn't setting the world on fire but he did face very difficult conditions in the most recent match. He was worth persisting with and I have no doubt that he'll be back in the runs soon enough, which will make the selectors look ridiculous when Bancroft fails in the first two South African tests and is dropped half way through the series.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

As much as I rate Renshaw, it would simply have been too soon to recall him for South Africa. Had no real scores of note at the time the squad was selected as selection had already occurred before the resumption of the Shield season. There were signs during the most recent game he is returning to form, but still more Shield runs under his belt are what is required to come back into calculations for the test team.

Still be a better option than promoting Shaun Marsh to open though.