***Official*** South Africa in New Zealand 2017

[veganbob]

Good work Raval. I didnt think he could last this long. Gutsy stuff.

 

[straw man]

I recall Rabada in one of the ODIs apologising to the batsman when he picked up the ball after it was defended back to him and throwing it at the stumps and the batsman having to take evasive action

That sneaky sob, is he trying to take our award away from us? Gonna Spirit of Cricket him so hard from now on he won't know which way to look.

 

[straw man]

49/0 off the last 10 overs, getting a little excited here

 

[veganbob]

Long way to go but this might be a really good game if rain stays away

 

[straw man]

Congrats Raval on fifty - really needed these runs after struggling a bit lately. Leaves pretty well and should get an extended run even if he goes through a bad patch.

 

[Bahnz]

Yeah well done Raval. Admittedly, this is the same ground where Spuderford once scored 170 v Anderson and Broad, but all the same this has been a valuable effort. Needs to kick on now.

 

[straw man]

That's ***eh from Kaneh.

 

[straw man]

Yeah well done Raval. Admittedly, this is the same ground where Spuderford once scored 170 v Anderson and Broad, but all the same this has been a valuable effort. Needs to kick on now.

Don't think this pitch is as roady at that. Also don't know where England's players heads were the first half of that match, in either batting or bowling - they were appalling.

Ah ffs Raval

 

[StephenZA]

Thank goodness for that... this scorecard is not what I wanted to see this morning.

Was the pitch doing something, or did SA bat that badly or did somebody bowl that well? Pitch looks flat.

 

[BeeGee]

Soft dismissal.

 

[Bahnz]

Thank goodness for that... this scorecard is not what I wanted to see this morning.

Was the pitch doing something, or did SA bat that badly or did somebody bowl that well? Pitch looks flat.

NZ bowled very well, but South Africa kinda gave it away with some poor shots.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Eh, why does it always fall back on Southee? My point is when Southee takes wickets, they're generally menhingful wickets, not cheap declaration wickets. If Southee takes five, six wickets we're bowling teams out for 200/300, not 450/500 like Wagner.

I've seen this before though, with Southee. He's always had a target on his back from the CW members, likewise most ND players. Jump straight back on that bandwagon though funningly enough when things turn around a little bit.

that's the thing though - southee takes bagfuls of wickets when he's presented with conditions made for him. Anywhere else he does **** all and is total baggage. his performance against pakistan has been an anomaly in a sea of 130kph mediocrity.

 

[Flem274*]

southee used to be a good bowler in all conditions who was prepared to do the hard yards in tough conditions

i think he still is prepared to do that but he can't because his method on roads was all about pressure and variation using his cutter and the crease but now he's lost his ability to bowl in the channel. he bowls at least one an over down leg.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

morkel needs to go back in the toaster for a few minutes

 

[straw man]

While I'm still not entirely convinced that two spinners and no Southee was right, I think this is exactly the sort of pitch where Southee has struggled in recent times. It's pretty flat, not quick, but Boult and Wagner have extracted something from it by bowling aggressively and quickly - something Southee hasn't been as good at. There's a little swing with the new ball which would suit Southee, but not overwhelmingly so, and generally speaking it's a Bend Your Back Or You Get Nothing kind of pitch.

 

[Zinzan]

Good runs from Raval, best he's looked since his first couple of Tests, but typically pissy dismissal.

Great seeing Williamson in this sort of nick. Has looked by far the most comfortable of all batsmen to date.

 

[straw man]

Taylor going to be remembering his broken forearm from the last tour when he faced Morkel

 

[Zinzan]

FFS.

SA get a double bonus in the fact it's Henry Nicholls.

 

[StephenZA]

That does not look good for NZ...

 

[straw man]

yuck, way to hand South Africa the momentum

Here comes Henry the Temperament Nicholls. Just don't try hit anything through the offside please Henry.