***Official*** India in South Africa

[adharcric]

Is play starting early tommorow?

Yes, half an hour earlier than usual IIRC.

 

[Turbinator]

Damnit it's already so hard to wake up at 3, now 2:30.

 

[adharcric]

Btw what about that Yomahesh guy?

He's had a decent start to his domestic career, opening the bowling for Tamil Nadu and picking up 13 wickets from 4 matches at 34 apiece.
He has the makings of a useful bowler but he hasn't been raved about in the same way Sharma has.

 

[Jono]

16 minutes earlier I believe, not 30.

 

[Turbinator]

Whatever I'll just wake up at 3, hopefully won't miss much.

Anyways, most of these young budding Indian fast bowlers I've seen are all so skinny and wiry, it'd help if they worked out some more (i.e. Akhtar/Lee kind of build).

 

[adharcric]

Besides Sharma, none of the other prospects are really anorexic. Munaf and VRV have good build; as for Sreesanth and RPS ... well you can't expect too much from Indians.

 

[Turbinator]

VRV is good built, Pathan and RPS in my opinion are fine as well.

Munaf, are you kidding me, he's tall but he isn't built. He is too wiry. Tell him to use his body to full potential, if you add an extra layer of muscle on that 6 feet 4 inch frame it would be perfect for a fast bowler.

Sreesanth is wiry and not that tall but I am pretty sure he'll improve.

Look at Yomahesh though and some of the other bowlers in domestic cricket in India, they're all quite scrawny IMO.

 

[adharcric]

Munaf only looks wiry because he doesn't have a rhyhmic run-up so he just forces the ball in. He's certainly not in shape though - you need to have stamina and durability for that.

 

[Turbinator]

Yes true, I don't know but does the Indian team even follow a strict fitness routine with proper cardio and strength workouts?

 

[Turbinator]

Besides Sharma, none of the other prospects are really anorexic. Munaf and VRV have good build; as for Sreesanth and RPS ... well you can't expect too much from Indians.

Also, I am not expecting anything from them that they cannot control and is largely due to genes, for example height. But atleast the stuff they can control like fitness level and overall built, I expect them to work hard to improve it. And if they don't, I believe it is the coaches responsibility to work on this, especially with the fast bowlers.

 

[Dravid]

Interesting decsision to call Sharma. The kids a decent bowler, but I don't see why they are going to bring him to Saf when there is very little chance of him playing

 

[Turbinator]

Interesting decsision to call Sharma. The kids a decent bowler, but I don't see why they are going to bring him to Saf when there is very little chance of him playing

Just in case one of the seamers gets injured. Just a replacement for Pathan.

Btw went boxing day shopping today, saw those Jordans you were showing me, 30 percent off! And buy one get the other one 50 percent off!

 

[adharcric]

I don't see why they are going to bring him to Saf when there is very little chance of him playing

To give him exposure, provide some guidance and have a look at him. He's not likely to get any actual playing time.

 

[shankar]

To give him exposure, provide some guidance and have a look at him. He's not likely to get any actual playing time.

But why not give the same exposure and guidance to the likes of Joginder Sharma? Unless they've decided already that he's not test match material..

 

[adharcric]

But why not give the same exposure and guidance to the likes of Joginder Sharma? Unless they've decided already that he's not test match material..

That's probably it. They've seen test-match material in Ishant Sharma I suppose.

 

[honestbharani]

I watched all of the last session and the ball was moving around considerably

The problem was that Sreesanth, Khan and Singh rarely put 2 balls in a row on a length

IMO the SA seamers will enjoy bowling on this wicket if conditions remain the same

Zaheer and VRV hardly got the ball to move any significant amount in the last session. Sreesanth was the only one who got the ball to move and given the way he lands the ball perfectly on the seam almost every ball, he is going to move the ball on most pitches under most conditions. None of the RSA seamers can actually hit the seam as well as he does.


Having said that, India should watch out for Hall in this game. He can swing and reverse swing the ball and his length is generally well up to the batsman. His late reverse swinging in swingers could cause us quite a few worries if we aren't prepared to tackle it.

 

[adharcric]

Come on Sreesanth, let's get a good start to the day.

 

[Dravid]

Century

 

[adharcric]

Well done Prince. He got plenty of luck along the way, but he fought hard.

 

[honestbharani]

well done, Prince.