***Official*** Australia in South Africa + South Africa in Australia 2016/17

[Dan_M_Bali]

I think it's safe to assume Smith is a bellend on and off the field. Good cricketer though.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I reckon it's completely ****ed how some posters carry on.

I want my captain to care, show the pain and despair of what your position entails. There's nothing worse than having a captain who just doesn't seem bothered either way

I often feel the same way, but he doesn't help himself with the way he carries on sometimes, not just showing passion, but excessively.

tbh the fact that he is Australian, and successful, is probably the main reason so many posters here love to hate him and put him down.

 

[Heboric]

Well anyway, he's really getting the same treatment as Ponting.

Show a bit of emotion on the field, show that you really care and that you're upset when losing and suddenly you're the worst human on the earth despite reports suggesting that they're actually pretty good human beings.

It's like these punters would prefer the West Indian way of just not caring.

The thing is Ponting is an absolute **** bag. Especially the way he liked to go at the umpires when a decision didnt go his way.

 

[vcs]

His technique of leaving the ball and playing an on-drive may look ungainly, but there's no doubting anymore that he's a fantastic batsman. Scores tough runs, scores easy runs, scores fast when needed, does pretty much everything you could ask for from a Test batsman.

 

[91Jmay]

I used to be in the same circle of friends as him

He sod you off when he got famous? Telling.

End of the day we shouldn't have to have interviewed his family to find out his desires and motivations. If you constantly cry off the pitch about umpiring decisions and act like a **** on it you will be judged accordingly.

 

[quincywagstaff]

That final session was a prime example of why I love Test cricket. You could tell it was probably the decisive session in the match and the pressure and stakes continued to build as both sides knew it too. It was riveting throughout.

South Africa did pretty well throughout most of it but Australia's generally purposeful bowling and aggressive mindset wore them down and they lost 2-3 wickets too many. Be a major turnup if Oz don't win it from here.

Kudos to Stephen Cook for his effort today. He's looked out of his depth at times this series and the Oz media have often been merciless in mocking his batting style (nothing Oz cricket media dislike more than a defensive opener) but he really toughed it out today.

 

[Blocky]

TIL that "successful" is when you're the first captain in 30 years to lead Australia to 5 test losses in a row.

 

[Dan_M_Bali]

TIL that "successful" is when you're the first captain in 30 years to lead Australia to 5 test losses in a row.

 

[vcs]

What does TIL stand for?

 

[mr_mister]

and while were at it what does WAG stand for

 

[GotSpin]

The thing is Ponting is an absolute **** bag. Especially the way he liked to go at the umpires when a decision didnt go his way.

While I certainly don't agree that a captain should be running at umpires, I understand that it's in the heat of the moment for a competitive and passionate player who wants to do his best.

Ponting got such a rough deal from some media pundits

What other great would spend their time after retiring to play domestic cricket, nurturing younger players and giving them throw downs at the age of 36.

 

[GotSpin]

He sod you off when he got famous? Telling.

End of the day we shouldn't have to have interviewed his family to find out his desires and motivations. If you constantly cry off the pitch about umpiring decisions and act like a **** on it you will be judged accordingly.

Nah, not at all really. He got a contract to go play second division county cricket and left Sydney and from then on he was barely around as cricketing commitments took over.

 

[Blocky]

Punter was fine, just a wee bit animated at times and took over from the Iceman Waugh. I think he's a top bloke and from all I've heard, he's someone who loves the game and wants to give back to it.

Smith on the other hand combines the very worst tendencies of over-reacting on the field emotionally, with dissent towards umpires, a whiny whinging voice and a tendency to puff out his chest a little more than he should, considering the position the side he leads is currently in and his lack of a big contribution across their recent losses. He's a petulant little guy who comes up with some of the worst statements I've seen in media.

He's even making Michael Clarke seem bearable.

 

[GotSpin]

Punter was fine, just a wee bit animated at times and took over from the Iceman Waugh. I think he's a top bloke and from all I've heard, he's someone who loves the game and wants to give back to it.

Smith on the other hand combines the very worst tendencies of over-reacting on the field emotionally, with dissent towards umpires, a whiny whinging voice and a tendency to puff out his chest a little more than he should, considering the position the side he leads is currently in and his lack of a big contribution across their recent losses. He's a petulant little guy who comes up with some of the worst statements I've seen in media.

He's even making Michael Clarke seem bearable.

His recent media statements show otherwise e.g Faf

Michael Clarke is such a **** ****. The ultimate media attention slut.

 

[Blocky]

His recent media statements show otherwise e.g Faf

Michael Clarke is such a **** ****. The ultimate media attention slut.

He could easily have come out earlier in the week and backed Faf up before the hearing, rather than wait until it had been an overblown issue and then say "Oh, well, we do it too". What will be interesting is how long Australia tolerate him as captain, I don't see them improving under his leadership, his only concern is how he is batting, not how the team is performing.

 

[GotSpin]

He could easily have come out earlier in the week and backed Faf up before the hearing, rather than wait until it had been an overblown issue and then say "Oh, well, we do it too". What will be interesting is how long Australia tolerate him as captain, I don't see them improving under his leadership, his only concern is how he is batting, not how the team is performing.

I'm not going to get into this debate but as you wish

There's no one to replace him as captain so I presume he's going to have a fairly long crack at it

 

[Spark]

He only said it then because that was his first opportunity to say so, at the pre-match presser. Was he supposed to go around calling up journalists about an issue in which he had no involvement whatsoever and wanted nothing to do with?

 

[Shri]

and while were at it what does WAG stand for

TIL - Today I Learned
WAG - What a guy/girl

 

[Dan_M_Bali]

TIL - Today I Learned
WAG - What a guy/girl

WAG = wife and girlfriend

 

[Shri]

WAG = wife and girlfriend

Context.