straw man
Hall of Fame Member
England were in trouble as soon as they started their innings though, plus it was away from home. It's not quite to the same level as this turnaround here.
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***Official*** Australia in South Africa + South Africa in Australia 2016/17
- Thread starter StephenZA
- Start date
Blocky
Banned
It's always fun to watch an Australian team with a bad captain let go of their standards in the field, especially when that captain is also a guy who can only score runs against popgun attacks at home.
But sure, I was crazy for saying Steve Smith was a walking wicket to anyone who could bowl at decent pace on a line two stumps outside off.
But sure, I was crazy for saying Steve Smith was a walking wicket to anyone who could bowl at decent pace on a line two stumps outside off.
Zinzan
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Not sure the thug-like aggression Smith and Lehmann had called for after supposedly not being thuggish enough in SL is working all that well to date. #needsmorebrokenarmtalk
Black_Warrior
Cricketer Of The Year
Then we have to assume that Steyn, Morkel, Boult, Southee, Anderson, Broad, none of them can bowl at decent pace on a line two stumps outside off.
Look, I'm not a Smith fan..I don't enjoy watching him bat but to call someone who averages 58 a walking wicket is ridiculous.
quincywagstaff
International Debutant
This is the 4th time in their last 5 Tests in Oz that South Africa have had to deal with being a player unavailable or severely incapacitated for vast majority of the match:
- Sydney 2009 (Smith)
- Brisbane 2012 (Duminy)
- Adelaide 2012 (Kallis)
- Perth 2016 (Steyn)
And yet they’ve only lost the Sydney match (albeit Brisbane was rain affected), and that was with only a handful of deliveries to go in the Test.
In a funny sort of way the Steyn injury seemed to be the best thing for South Africa as it seemed to galvanise them and bring out their best fighting qualities.
- Sydney 2009 (Smith)
- Brisbane 2012 (Duminy)
- Adelaide 2012 (Kallis)
- Perth 2016 (Steyn)
And yet they’ve only lost the Sydney match (albeit Brisbane was rain affected), and that was with only a handful of deliveries to go in the Test.
In a funny sort of way the Steyn injury seemed to be the best thing for South Africa as it seemed to galvanise them and bring out their best fighting qualities.
Blocky
Banned
Anderson, Boult and Southee are examples of a popgun bowling attack that rely on swing to be effective and if it's not there, they're easily hittable. A little matter of playing India and the West Indies at home with their neutered bowling attacks have massively influenced his career average and we see it on the fast decline at the moment as teams have worked out what to do against him to stop him.
He's a good batsman, a guy who should average around 45 who happens to bat in the type of conditions that don't threaten his awful technique of running across the wicket and looking to play everything into the onside. He's not the god/genius that Channel 9 made him out to be, he's not even the best bat currently in the Australian line up.
Australia are about to lose 4 in a row for the first time since 1988 and possibly have an even worse captain than Ricky Ponting at the helm. At this rate of being over-worked, Starc will retire with stress related injuries within the next few seasons, Siddle isn't half the bowler he was a season ago and Nathan Lyon has gone from one of the worlds best, to one of the worlds worse in the space of one captaincy change.
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Athlai
Not Terrible
Blocky
Banned
Let's revisit this in ten years, when his average comes down towards 50 and probably even below it, when he's been removed from test captaincy and Australia are back to being dominant because of the likes of Warner, Starc, Cummins, Pattinson, Bird, Hazlewood.
Black_Warrior
Cricketer Of The Year
Smith the captain and Smith the batsman should be two different conversations. With a 0-3 loss in Sri Lanka earlier, a potential home series defeat and a potential 0-4 drubbing in India next year could see Warner replace him by the end of the season.
Blocky
Banned
I agree, you should always split captaincy from the player and judge them separately (Ross Taylor, Sachin Tendulkar, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff come to mind as examples) but in this split of Steve Smith, I think they'll both be let down by the swagger and over-confidence that was generated through a golden summer against weakened opposition. You can't just "fake it until you make it" to become your idol (in his case, Steve Waugh)
mr_mister
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
lol cheers for the analysis pal, appreciate it
cnerd123
likes this
Blocky reappearing just 6 posts after this one is so good.
quincywagstaff
International Debutant
With the benefit of hindsight Smith beginning his captaincy with a plethora of home Tests against weak opponents (at least bowling wise) was probably the worst way for him to begin his captaincy. Seems to have made him ill-equipped to handle the side when things went off the rails here and in Sri Lanka.
Probably doesn’t help that he shows his negative emotions so visibly on the field (even when Oz were winning); makes Ponting look like Steve Waugh in that regard.
Probably doesn’t help that he shows his negative emotions so visibly on the field (even when Oz were winning); makes Ponting look like Steve Waugh in that regard.
the big bambino
International Captain
Or E-
Zinzan
Request Your Custom Title Now!
So pretty much the same as in the American Politics thread then
Spark
Global Moderator
Fair
Spark
Global Moderator
He was made captain pretty young tbh. He still has a lot to learn about the game.