***Official*** South Africa in England

[wpdavid]

They said he was going to bat at seven last time out before he got his sidee strain. That being said, if Colly/Bell are going as poorly as they have been, selectors might see it as Fred would be no worse with the bat and add so much with the ball. Not saying I agree, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.

I would think the selectors have been having the same discussion as us about how possible it is to fit Jones & Fred into a 4-man attack. If so, they may also reach the conclusion that it's too big a risk and that the solution may be Fred or a keeper at 6, esp given the lack of runs from the current 5 & 6. Rightly or wrongly, if Fred makes runs against Hants this weeked, you can see him batting at 6 at Leeds next Friday.

 

[PhoenixFire]

I can honestly see Morkel and Steyn totally 0wning people like Collingwood and Cook TBH. Their techniques won't hold up to pace bowling like this.

 

[duffer]

I can honestly see Morkel and Steyn totally 0wning people like Collingwood and Cook TBH. Their techniques won't hold up to pace bowling like this.

Can't wait to see those two bowl in English conditions. Loved watching them bowl in India, and you're right they could wreak havoc in this series. Any idea what they're paying for top wicket taker?

 

[PhoenixFire]

Hmm, well this says about SAs leading bowlers.

 

[duffer]

Steyn paying 2.02 is the leading bowler, while Sidebottom comes in second @ 2.96. Ntini and Morkel at 4.70 and 4.90 respectively are interesting.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Obv Morkel isn't as good a bowler as Steyn, but he has the potential to cause a lot of trouble with his pace and bounce.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

The BBC claim that England naming the same team for the 6th Test in a row is a world first for Test cricket. Now am i the only one who's surprised by this? I would have surely thought that other teams over the years (especially ones who dominated) would have gone on runs where they had the same team picked for much longer than 6 Tests? Obviously Injuries are unavoidable but stil....pretty weird if true.

 

[duffer]

I'm sure an Aussie side sometime in the last decade and a bit would have beaten that streak?

 

[Marius]

One more day boys!

I hear the weather's not that great in London at the moment. Londoners?

 

[PhoenixFire]

Dunno about London (check the BBC or Met Office website) but it is crap (as per usual) here near Leeds.

 

[open365]

The BBC claim that England naming the same team for the 6th Test in a row is a world first for Test cricket. Now am i the only one who's surprised by this? I would have surely thought that other teams over the years (especially ones who dominated) would have gone on runs where they had the same team picked for much longer than 6 Tests? Obviously Injuries are unavoidable but stil....pretty weird if true.

Yeh this suprised me a lot in 2005, I wonder how this compares to other team sports, I would have thought cricket would be on of the steadier ones.

England 3/1 for a series victory, SA 7/4 with a draw at 11/10.

 

[Marius]

England 3/1 for a series victory, SA 7/4 with a draw at 11/10.

Sounds about right, but I think its going to be like every series since we came back into international cricket, very tight.

I think Steyn vs Pietersen and Sidebottom vs Smith, McKenzie and Kallis will be the deciding factors in the series.

 

[open365]

I think Steyn vs Pietersen and Sidebottom vs Smith, McKenzie and Kallis will be the deciding factors in the series.

Two good picks there, Sidebottom V Smith is going to be really interesting, can't wait to see Sidebottom swing it round corners and do him all ends up really.

 

[Prince EWS]

Sounds about right, but I think its going to be like every series since we came back into international cricket, very tight.

I think Steyn vs Pietersen and Sidebottom vs Smith, McKenzie and Kallis will be the deciding factors in the series.

I actually think Anderson will be more of a threat to Smith than Sidebottom, assuming he doesn't bowl a heap of trash all series.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Weather really doesnt look promising for the first few days.

 

[Richard]

I actually think Anderson will be more of a threat to Smith than Sidebottom, assuming he doesn't bowl a heap of trash all series.

That's quite the assumption, however.

Anderson to bowl well is always a huge expectation, especially given he did so in his very last Test. For it to happen twice in a row would be truly remarkable.

I don't doubt Anderson has the potential to cause Smith (and indeed any left-hander) problems but he's not usually good enough to bowl in sufficient areas.

BTW, weather down in the SW is appalling, as it has been the last 6-7 days. Think the forecast for tomorrow in the SE is pretty poor, but not quite poor enough to rule-out any hope of some amount of play.

I just hope there can be a prompt start. As long as it's not actually raining and hasn't for, say, 3 hours or so, there's a decent chance as Lord's' drainage is superlative.

 

[Richard]

The BBC claim that England naming the same team for the 6th Test in a row is a world first for Test cricket. Now am i the only one who's surprised by this? I would have surely thought that other teams over the years (especially ones who dominated) would have gone on runs where they had the same team picked for much longer than 6 Tests? Obviously Injuries are unavoidable but stil....pretty weird if true.

I'm sure an Aussie side sometime in the last decade and a bit would have beaten that streak?

Nope, not even close. Best they managed was five - 2001/02 at home. Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Mark Waugh, Stephen Waugh, Martyn, Gilchrist, Warne, Brett Lee, Gillespie, McGrath.

Think their batting unit stayed almost constant throughout 1993/94 (Taylor, Slater, Boon, M Waugh, Border, S Waugh, Healy - think Langer played 1 Test when Stephen was injured) but the bowling was ever-changing, with only McDermott and Warne ever-present. Not long before, 1989 to 1992, there was another settled period (Marsh, Mark Taylor, Boon, Border, Jones, Stephen then Mark Waugh, Healy for most of the time, with only the odd Test missed by anyone) but this came during the transition from Alderman, Lawson, Rackemann to McDermott, Reid, Hughes, which wasn't a one-off thing, it happened over a year or so.

It was only in 2001/02 that Australia really managed to shake-off regular injuries - there'd been hundreds of very injury-prone bowlers for the previous 12 years (Reiffel, McDermott, Reid, Gillespie, Fleming). And even then there was the odd one.

Injuries are still a very, very common thing.

 

[TT Boy]

Latest forecast for the capital is surprisingly decent for tomorrow, should be some play. However, it looks like the rain (albeit more lightly) will return on Friday and Saturday.

The toss would usually be critical here given the amount of rain London has had in the past twenty-four hours but given that overcast conditions are expected throughout, batting first or second shouldn’t see the conditions change that radically.

If I was South Africa I would bring Duminy in for Harris.

 

[GIMH]

Torrential rain up here, but then I am a few hundred miles away. If we do miss lots of Friday and Saturday, well Lord's might have just seen one whole Test this summer, welcome to the life of other Test venues

 

[jammay123]

Latest forecast for the capital is surprisingly decent for tomorrow, should be some play. However, it looks like the rain (albeit more lightly) will return on Friday and Saturday.

The toss would usually be critical here given the amount of rain London has had in the past twenty-four hours but given that overcast conditions are expected throughout, batting first or second shouldn’t see the conditions change that radically.

If I was South Africa I would bring Duminy in for Harris.

really? only three seamers( steyn, ntini and morkel) and the reluctant bowling of kallis. very unlikely. it would put a great deal of pressure on the bowlers .