*Official* England in South Africa Thread

[benchmark00]

Now which of the Play School windows are we going to look through today? Oooh, Arch! Arch!

I was always a round window fan myself....

You arch fans make me sick!

 

[Richard]

AB scores his first Test stumping - Key could do to listen to Sir Garfield who said "why would I want to make another way of getting myself out?"

 

[Mr Casson]

I feel like crying.

 

[Langeveldt]

YESSS!!! Vaughan playing straight into the hands of deep mid wicket

How dramatic, should have gone the previous ball, his conscience got to him! This is great, England choking like mad..

 

[benchmark00]

YESSS!!! Vaughan playing straight into the hands of deep mid wicket

How dramatic, should have gone the previous ball, his conscience got to him! This is great, England choking like mad..

hahaha and isnt it awesome to see!!

 

[Richard]

I certainly feel like crying after that Vaughan dismissal (expect nothing less from Key, frankly). Sat with head in hands after that.
He'd worked so hard to get going, been so self-affacing, and he just chucks it all away.
He really needs runs - very, very soon - it's such a shame to see such a good player struggling so badly. Nothing much sadder in cricket than that.

 

[Mr Casson]

I'm going to extract whatever enjoyment I can out of watching England go down fighting in this match.. Whether that comes from Thorpe's stoic heroics, Flintoff's blazing bat, Giles' and Hoggard's never-say-die attitude or a tail-end swing with nothing to play for.

 

[Mr Casson]

I've had enough of the weak link at number three. It's really not helping. It's time for Bell to come into the side. Right now. Having said that, I think Rob Key is a good batsman and will break back into this side. But right now, solidarity is needed at the top of the order, and Bell oozes it.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Was Strauss' lbw a bad decision?

Anyways I'm sure if it were Australia batting they'd have gone for the target of 501 (they'd have a decent chance of getting it as well). I mean hell even Durham successfully chased around 500 in a County Championship game last season. Instead it's another utterly criminal display of batting from England - Vaughan and Key deserve all the stick they're gonna get.

Nice to see Harmison keep up his record of getting a wicket in every Test anyways.


Edit: Durham chased 451 after being 95-5, but with Durham's batting it was like chasing 600.

 

[Mr Casson]

Was Strauss' lbw a bad decision?

Anyways I'm sure if it were Australia batting they'd have gone for the target of 501 (they'd have a decent chance of getting it as well). I mean hell even Durham successfully chased around 500 in a County Championship game last season. Instead it's another utterly criminal display of batting from England - Vaughan and Key deserve all the stick they're gonna get.

Nice to see Harmison keep up his record of getting a wicket in every Test anyways.

It was an awful decision, and probably the worst person in the English side to get it.

On replay it's a faint little edge, but it's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it in real-time.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Gawd what is it with Thorpe and his total hopelessness against Smith.

 

[wpdavid]

I certainly feel like crying after that Vaughan dismissal (expect nothing less from Key, frankly). Sat with head in hands after that.
He'd worked so hard to get going, been so self-affacing, and he just chucks it all away.
He really needs runs - very, very soon - it's such a shame to see such a good player struggling so badly. Nothing much sadder in cricket than that.

I'm afraid I can't manage much sympathy after that dismissal. The sheer stupidity of most of our batters in one or other innings of this test beggars belief. As for "such a good player..", how good is Vaughan really? We've seen one purple patch, most of which was against weak or depleted attacks. Take away 12 months from a 5 year career, and his average isn't at all special.

 

[Langeveldt]

It was an awful decision, and probably the worst person in the English side to get it.

Cancelled out by Smith's first ball to Thorpe, which was stone dead..

What is with the umpiring in this test match? They can't get a lot right!

 

[Scaly piscine]

Cancelled out by Smith's first ball to Thorpe, which was stone dead..

What is with the umpiring in this test match? They can't get a lot right!

Not really because Strauss is in much better form and it was earlier in the innings.

 

[Langeveldt]

Not really because Strauss is in much better form and it was earlier in the innings.

Well, Vaughan's gloving to De Villers, and Thorpe v Smith would have equalled it.. And Rudolph's glove to silly point in the last test

 

[Jono]

Go South Africa.

Series is well alive.

 

[Tom Halsey]

England still have a tiny sniff IMO, but it is around the size that Exeter have in the FA Cup (I'm of course talking about getting a draw).

Haven't seen it, but fairly disgusted anyway...

 

[Tom Halsey]

Freddie has a 'stiffness in the side.'

Worrying.

 

[tooextracool]

I've had enough of the weak link at number three. It's really not helping. It's time for Bell to come into the side. Right now. Having said that, I think Rob Key is a good batsman and will break back into this side. But right now, solidarity is needed at the top of the order, and Bell oozes it.

the weakness is at no 4.

 

[Langeveldt]

A bit of a random point to be thrown into the mix..

Alex Tudor was always getting injured and was out for long periods of times, and was branded a sissy by many on the boards... Mark Butcher has been exactly the same, as well as Andrew Flintoff, no whisper of this from anywhere.. Why the big difference?