***Official*** South Africa in Australia 2012

[Justo]

Let's not forget that the morning session is 2.5 hours long. No reason why Australia couldn't bat for 1.5-2 hours. Get a 150-200 run lead and give the quicks a burst before lunch and then keep the pressure up for the rest of the day. With Duminy out of the match SA will be heavily reliant on their top order.

Lyon was also hardly terrible bowling in the first innings. With a few foot marks to go with the bounce he was getting previously he could cause some trouble.

 

[Spikey]

Bowl-off between Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus to keep Test spot | The Courier-Mail

that seems unbelievable.

 

[Justo]

Indeed. Barring some truly inept bowling in the second innings it'd be pretty stupid to drop either when you consider that Steyn and Philander both struggled on the same pitch.

 

[Spikey]

i mean, i'd totally support dropping hilf so you can all taste it, but **** starc might bowl a pile of **** in the shield match starting tomorrow

 

[Garson007]

I get the feeling that Australia will win this. Lyon to pick up 5.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Ah, the thirst for blood once more only reaches for the bowlers.

Oh, and Malcolm Conn for Ricky Ponting.

 

[Prince EWS]

Indeed. Barring some truly inept bowling in the second innings it'd be pretty stupid to drop either when you consider that Steyn and Philander both struggled on the same pitch.

My concerns about how Hilfenhaus bowled in this Test go far deeper than the fact that he was ineffective though.

You'd be mad to drop a previously performing bowler for not taking many wickets on this deck against this batting lineup, but if he's actually sending down crap and reverting to worrying old habits then it's a completely different thing, especially if you have someone like Starc in reserve.

 

[Spikey]

Ah, the thirst for blood once more only reaches for the bowlers.

Oh, and Malcolm Conn for Ricky Ponting.

Well I mean Hilf got 200 odd chances to prove he was bowling crap. Warner only got like 10 balls to prove he was batting crap. It's simple math!

 

[Heboric]

I get the feeling that Australia will win this. Lyon to pick up 5.

If Lyons take 5 wickets in the second innings then Proteas shouldnt play test cricket

 

[Scaly piscine]

i mean, i'd totally support dropping hilf so you can all taste it, but **** starc might bowl a pile of **** in the shield match starting tomorrow

Yes I'm surprised there isn't more of a question mark over Starc with regards to Test cricket. He's undoubtedly a very effective bowler in limited overs cricket but his record in FC and Test cricket is pretty average so far.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

So is this pitch the same as the one of 2 years ago then or did SA bowl badly?

I best not mention Philander.

 

[Garson007]

Far too many no-balls from Philander. I fear he might be coming down from the top, mentally.

 

[Top_Cat]

Ah, the thirst for blood once more only reaches for the bowlers.

The serfs of the Cricketing Kingdom. Then again, y'know, Dorries....

Of the three quicks, I'd think Hilf the most vulnerable if they were going to make a change. Siddle generally bowls well on AO and a leftie coming in from the Torrens is always going to be handy in the arvo. But yeah, the batting still seems sacrosanct as usual.

Far too many no-balls from Philander. I fear he might be coming down from the top, mentally.

Well, in his defence, there's only one way to go from an average of 15 unless you're a genius. And he's not a genius.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Hmm Australia now anything from 6-1 to 12-1.

Those odds of 50-1 and 60-1 yesterday were utterly absurd. Even if Australia had been bowled out yesterday they'd still have a legitimate shot at winning unless South Africa completely batted them out of the match and to accomplish that takes just as much time at the crease as today will. Even in the scenarios when South Africa bat well after getting a first innings lead they would generally declare leaving a target that Australia would be better than 50-1 to chase, albeit still a long shot obviously. So in essence the odds shouldn't have come in that much - they were just bollocks to begin with.

Anyway don't piss about Oz, I want some Saffie wickets before I go to bed.

 

[Burgey]

Clarkeh.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Of course it is

 

[Ruckus]

Why couldn't we just declare now? Would give maximum time to bowl SA out, plus when they get in front of the small deficit we would know exactly how much to chase and how quickly it's needs to be done.

 

[Scaly piscine]

For me they need to just blitz it until they run out of suitably capable batsmen and declare. Playing out strings of dot balls is stupid.

Bowlers can stop you hitting boundaries, but you should still pick up singles even off good bowling.

 

[Cabinet96]

Definitely wouldn't have declared over night. You've got a great chance to whack 100 extra runs in 20 overs when the opposition are deflated and you've got wickets in hand. Declaring now would just mean having to chase unnecessary extra runs in the 4th inning, when pressure is more of an issue.

 

[Cabinet96]

Clarke passes Cook's 235. WAC!