*Official* England in South Africa Thread

[Scaly piscine]

Boucher showing everyone just how good the decision to drop him was.

Well today SA have had some of the most awesome luck you could possibly imagine. SA must have played and missed or edged safe through the slips/gully something like 100 times today.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Dunno what on Earth Harmison is on the field for as well if he's not gonna bowl.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Anderson bowling some of the most abysmal tripe I've seen in Test cricket, and is rewarded by Boucher slapping him straight to point.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Jones pretty much smashes his thumb off one ball, and then drops Gibbs the next when he ought've left it for Trescothick. What a day...

 

[Langeveldt]

Well today SA have had some of the most awesome luck you could possibly imagine. SA must have played and missed or edged safe through the slips/gully something like 100 times today.

Umm, shouldn't your captain be trying to stop SA from edging into gaps?

 

[Langeveldt]

Food for thought this.. Was the promotion of Tsolekile the worst bit of selection ever seen in International cricket??

 

[BoyBrumby]

Food for thought this.. Was the promotion of Tsolekile the worst bit of selection ever seen in International cricket??

It's up (down?) there...Anderson for Si Jones looking a bum call too tho!

Fair play to MB today, he certainly proved his point. I'm not his biggest fan as a bloke (seems a little full of himself at times), but he's very clearly still the best option. AB de V did well with the gloves too tho & as he has about 9 years on Boucher his time will come, keeper-wise.

 

[tooextracool]

anderson has just confirmed that he cant bowl anything other than half volleys and balls wide outside the off stump. and as usual he manages to get a wicket with a garbage delivery, its the story of his career really. surely we have better bowlers than this in domestic cricket?

 

[tooextracool]

It's up (down?) there...Anderson for Si Jones looking a bum call too tho!.

i just hope that that had to do with injury(as someone earlier mentioned) rather than the brilliance of the english selectors. our bowling clearly doesnt look like taking 20 quality wickets, both flintoff and hoggard have confirmed throughout this series that they are largely support bowlers. jones remember was the only one who produced a match winning bowling spell in the side.

 

[BoyBrumby]

anderson has just confirmed that he cant bowl anything other than half volleys and balls wide outside the off stump. and as usual he manages to get a wicket with a garbage delivery, its the story of his career really. surely we have better bowlers than this in domestic cricket?

The trouble is, I don't know if we do have better bowlers! All the usual suspects (Kabir Ali, Johnson, Kirtley, Sajid Mahmood) had very average summers.

Jon Lewis is (probably rightly) our reserve for the tour, but he looks another solid "English" style seamer who may not be ideally suited to the high veld. Plus he's 30 this year.

One off return for Caddy, maybe?!

 

[Tom Halsey]

both flintoff and hoggard have confirmed throughout this series that they are largely support bowlers.

Don't know quite how you worked that out.

 

[tooextracool]

Don't know quite how you worked that out.

look flintoff and hoggard wont be taking too many 5fers in their career, you wont ever see them with figures of 6/66 or 7/12.

 

[badgerhair]

Food for thought this.. Was the promotion of Tsolekile the worst bit of selection ever seen in International cricket??

No. That title has been awarded to Fred Tate in perpetuity.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Tom Halsey]

look flintoff and hoggard wont be taking too many 5fers in their career, you wont ever see them with figures of 6/66 or 7/12.

On the evidence of this series, yes they will.

 

[Scaly piscine]

I see Vaughan was fined his full match fee for saying:

"As players, all we ask for is consistency. It's probably the best light we've had all day and we're sitting down in the dressing-room."


So I guess we can expect Smith to get banned for the next Test and some of the ODIs for rampaging throughout England's innings like a bear with a sore head and protesting to the umpires about the light repeatedly, no?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I think it's ridiculous how the Vaughan "situation" was handled. Not only was he fully justified in what he said, but the zero tolerance approach has gone totally out of hand. Players seemingly can't say anything these days without being fined. 100% of his match fee?! Ridiculous.

 

[Tom Halsey]

Yes, Vaughan was completely justified, and I'll never know why the umpire's took them off...

 

[Langeveldt]

I see Morné van Wyk has just biffed a century at number seven... Add Wendell Bossenger to the the list and you see that there are not one, but several keepers in South Africa who play cricket to a different standard than Tsolekile.. I thought the call was akin to Australia asking Paul Reiffel to bat number four..

 

[Langeveldt]

I see Vaughan was fined his full match fee for saying:

"As players, all we ask for is consistency. It's probably the best light we've had all day and we're sitting down in the dressing-room."

Absolutely disgusting.. We all know the biggest w****rs in cricket are sitting in armchairs telling the match referees to dish these fines out.. I suspect the money goes towards keeping Mr Mugabes cricket team afloat..

 

[a massive zebra]

No. That title has been awarded to Fred Tate in perpetuity.

He fully earned his chance with over 100 wickets @ 14 that season. There is no way in the world that Tsolakele could be talked of in the same breath as Boucher - he clearly did not earn his selection.