***Official*** South Africa in Australia

[James90]

Healy: Hold on...the Super Series didn't even sell out
Lawry: I know....this is fair dinkum stuff

 

[aussie]

Healy: Hold on...the Super Series didn't even sell out
Lawry: I know....this is fair dinkum stuff

Haha, yea how Lawry said it was a very funny, what a characther

 

[Linda]

When is Hayden going to ditch his 1980s helmet?

I didnt see the build up, but oh god watching Brett Lee clean bowl Kallis was SO GOOD!

 

[aussie]

well for me a lead of around 325 would be good enough with Warne & MacGill & this pitch already playing some tricks. Looking foward to some quick scoring from Australia tonight (UK Time).

 

[Hoggy]

I personally thought Jaques was a bit unlucky - how Bucknor could have been 100% certain that that would have hit the stumps was beyond me.

Ponting on the other hand was as plumb as one can be.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Played the hand he was dealt ??

Relax, I meant the situation he was facing -- 9 wickets down.

He played like an all-time great, super, superstar.

 

[JASON]

I feel Sorry for the South Africans who were going along nicely at 5/250 odd until that absolute shocker of an LBW by Asad Rauff !!

There was no way that Boucher could have been given out LBW and that was another on the list of shockers I have seen this year.

This is Raufs 4th Test as Umpire.

From the Umpires I have seen being trialled by ICC - Ian Howell, Asad Rauf, Nadheem Ghauri , Billy Doctrove -etc..
IMO , Billy Doctrove is top of the class and the only one who seems to make the Mark

 

[social]

I feel Sorry for the South Africans who were going along nicely at 5/250 odd until that absolute shocker of an LBW by Asad Rauff !!

There was no way that Boucher could have been given out LBW and that was another on the list of shockers I have seen this year.

This is Raufs 4th Test as Umpire.

From the Umpires I have seen being trialled by ICC - Ian Howell, Asad Rauf, Nadheem Ghauri , Billy Doctrove -etc..
IMO , Billy Doctrove is top of the class and the only one who seems to make the Mark

Front on, which is the only view that the umpire gets, he looked plumb.

Aside from that decision, the umpiring in the first 2 tests of this series has been as good as Ive seen this year.

Even Steve Bucknor has turned the clock back to his glory years.

 

[Nate]

Asad had been great until then. Only the one bad decision. I reckon he`s done very well. And the Jaques one was a 50/50 to me, though I`m very dissapointed he got out.

 

[social]

Asad had been great until then. Only the one bad decision. I reckon he`s done very well. And the Jaques one was a 50/50 to me, though I`m very dissapointed he got out.

Didnt look out in normal speed, but you couldnt argue too much after replays, hawk-eye, etc.

Jacques is an interesting player in that he's got a very unconventional technique that obviously works well at fc level.

Ive got a feeling that he might need some adjustments before being a long-term success in tests.

For mine, he's like Andrew Strauss - very strong square but a bit dodgy when it's up and moving.

 

[Pratters]

South Africa with middle order and lower order problems fail to manage a lead of at least 50. Instead they concede a lead of almost 50 and bat 4th in the match.

So its very much advantage Australia and it will be very tough for South Africa from here.

This has been a very good series cricket wise from every one's comments and seeing from reports how the teams have kept battling on. Too bad I havent been able to watch a lot of it.

 

[Top_Cat]

I'm almost prepared to be smug now about the fact that I said for six months that he had made key improvements to his bowling and should be back in the test side.

Sorry dude but I beat ya to it.

http://forum.cricketweb.net/showthread.php?t=11740

This one too;

http://forum.cricketweb.net/showpost.php?p=376527&postcount=14

Hee hee!

As for today's play, on the topic of Lee, if I was facing him, my face would look like . Time for the .

WHAT a yorker to Kallis. To knock over the best defensive batsman in the world today with an off-stump yorker shows it was one mean delivery. The ball to knock of Rudolph was just as good too. Lee showing the way!

It was also good to see Symonds get some wickets. He bowled without luck yesterday and deserved some, even if the Gibbs one was dubious. Mind you that was evened-out with Phil Jacques' LBW........

 

[BoyBrumby]

WHAT a yorker to Kallis. To knock over the best defensive batsman in the world today with an off-stump yorker shows it was one mean delivery. The ball to knock of Rudolph was just as good too. Lee showing the way!

It was the bowling before that made Kallis's dismissal all the more impressive to me. Lee bowled a tight line, giving him nothing to hit apart from the short balls he mixed in. Kallis ignored the short pitched stuff & got totally bogged down. When his patience finally snapped he had a go at an express bouncer, was beaten for pace & sconed. Lee then produced the perfect yorker to castle him next ball. Straight out of the "classic fast-bowling" handbook!

Lee has definitely added brain to his undoubted brawn. Good to see.

Mind you, I'm waiting for some killjoy to come on & say "3/92; averaging over thirty again, blah, blah..."

 

[Josh]

Symonds getting his first wicket, felt good for him
second wicket, somewhat fascinated
third wicket, someone bought themselves a ticket to Sydney.

I've always known he could bowl like he did today. I'm glad he finally did it. Pitty he's selected as a batting all-rounder tho.

Great day of cricket. My most enjoyable day at the 'G so far. Sat right in close to bay 13, bloody nuts!! I reckon almost the whole stand was yelling out "Nel is a w***er" tho lol.

Great day. Aussies bowled superbly. Gibbs batted well, too. Hope Hodgey can do the job tomorrow

 

[social]

It was the bowling before that made Kallis's dismissal all the more impressive to me. Lee bowled a tight line, giving him nothing to hit apart from the short balls he mixed in. Kallis ignored the short pitched stuff & got totally bogged down. When his patience finally snapped he had a go at an express bouncer, was beaten for pace & sconed. Lee then produced the perfect yorker to castle him next ball. Straight out of the "classic fast-bowling" handbook!

Lee has definitely added brain to his undoubted brawn. Good to see.

Mind you, I'm waiting for some killjoy to come on & say "3/92; averaging over thirty again, blah, blah..."

The guy has improved massively this summer - although, for the time being, I'll stop short of declaring him "the complete fast bowler" as Dennis Lillee did recently.

Hopefully, his returns will soon match his performances. Theyve been much better but dont really do justice to his bowling.

 

[Josh]

I must remind all those "killjoys" that De Villiers, Kallis and Gibbs all scored massively off Lee from edges, so his figures don't really show how well he bowled, and they never really do.

 

[Prince EWS]

But it doesnt matter how well he bowls if he always ends up with bad figures, does it? Its all about results.

 

[Josh]

But it doesnt matter how well he bowls if he always ends up with bad figures, does it? Its all about results.

Well I think it does and Ponting does, too. Ponting apparently accepts that Lee is going to go for runs, that is what happens to out-and-out fast bowlers. He takes wickets regularly, thats his job. He is a strike bowler, an agressive bowler, his job isn't necessarily to keep down the runs, his job is to focus on those 3 sticks behind the batsman and trying to knock them over.

 

[Prince EWS]

Well I think it does and Ponting does, too. Ponting apparently accepts that Lee is going to go for runs, that is what happens to out-and-out fast bowlers. He takes wickets regularly, thats his job. He is a strike bowler, an agressive bowler, his job isn't necessarily to keep down the runs, his job is to focus on those 3 sticks behind the batsman and trying to knock them over.

Yes, but you cant just keep saying hes unlucky. If hes always unlucky, then theres no point having him in the side.

If he bowls well but goes for runs and takes no wickets, theres no point having him in the side. Im not saying this is what happens, but "so his figures don't really show how well he bowled, and they never really do" is a poor arguement IMO. If they never show how well he bowled, he is not really being as effective as you claim.

 

[Nate]

Some days you`ll get the figures and some days you won`t. It all evens up really. And even if Lee is averaging 30, if his strike-rate is as good as it is now, I don`t think it matters.
Demeza anyone?