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

[StephenZA]

SA are not an aggressive team until they are in control of the game... they would rather grind the opposition out. This is particularly true when batting as our order is fragile.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

NZ may have squandered half a dozen chances between poor fielding and poor DRSing, but South Africa's glacial scoring means there is still a chance of all three results if NZ can take the last wickets tomorrow morning.

Especially considering it only took 40 overs to chase down 220 against Bangladesh at the Basin.

 

[Blain]

Wow what a boring test match. It's been a hard watch/listen. Hope we get a hard bouncy track in Welly. Weather is looking rubbish leading up to the match, so will probably be a dirty seamer.

 

[SteveNZ]

Wow what a boring test match. It's been a hard watch/listen. Hope we get a hard bouncy track in Welly. Weather is looking rubbish leading up to the match, so will probably be a dirty seamer.

Completely disagree. Boring? There's been ebbs and flows, stylish hundreds (Kane), dogged hundreds (Elgar), great pace bowling, reverse swing, wickets to the spinners, DRS **** ups, dropped catches, great catches, intriguing selections, just really engaging cricket. I can't at all understand how this Test match is at all seen as boring. **** it even had an evacuation for fire.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I've actually found it quite absorbing. If NZ gets only its 2nd win on NZ soil v South Africa with 2 of our 4 best players getting injured it will be a great great win (despite all the stuff ups today).

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Completely disagree. Boring? There's been ebbs and flows, stylish hundreds (Kane), dogged hundreds (Elgar), great pace bowling, reverse swing, wickets to the spinners, DRS **** ups, dropped catches, great catches, intriguing selections, just really engaging cricket. I can't at all understand how this Test match is at all seen as boring. **** it even had an evacuation for fire.

Agree 100% - great 4 days

 

[Blain]

Must be just me then. It really feels like the Saffers played for the draw today, knowing the rain is coming tomorrow. Was certainly a slow grinding day today.

 

[StephenZA]

Must be just me then. It really feels like the Saffers played for the draw today, knowing the rain is coming tomorrow. Was certainly a slow grinding day today.

Exciting loses only help the opposition... grind grind grind.

 

[Immenso]

Must be just me then. It really feels like the Saffers played for the draw today, knowing the rain is coming tomorrow. Was certainly a slow grinding day today.

I'm with you.

It's like the fix is on but SAF aren't in on it.

But then I was in a negative frame of mind before the match and expecting a borefest.

Uni Oval pitches are a bug bear if mine , and Dean Elgar making 2 good scores. I mean, I'd love Elgar in my team but I don't want to watch him bat against us.

Could be worse I suppose, imagine Kepler Wessels batting on Uni Oval with Kamran Akmal dropping everything,

 

[straw man]

Completely disagree. Boring? There's been ebbs and flows, stylish hundreds (Kane), dogged hundreds (Elgar), great pace bowling, reverse swing, wickets to the spinners, DRS **** ups, dropped catches, great catches, intriguing selections, just really engaging cricket. I can't at all understand how this Test match is at all seen as boring. **** it even had an evacuation for fire.

Yeah the only boring thing will be if rain or bad light wrecks tomorrow. Otherwise should be a fascinating final day to complete a fascinating test.

 

[SeamUp]

Incidentally, is Cook really the other best opener in SA? Seems to need an incredible amount of luck to score decent runs from what I've seen of him.

He is a good opener, he is just one of those guys with his own technique... statistically he is the best opener for SA. We have tried some other batsmen as openers (poor van Zyl) but stopped doing that. There is a youngster with great potential (Markram) we hope to see in the opening role within 18 months or so, don`t expect Cook to last longer than that realistically.

The 4 players being line-up a few years ago were Reeza Hendricks, Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl and Rilee Rossouw.

They took the incorrect decision in backing the younger middle order batsman piling on the runs in Stiaan van Zyl to partner Elgar. When on the domestic scene there are hardened pro's like Puttick, Cook and Kuhn and Cook just through consistency and scoring runs at right time has got the nod. Agre with what stphndbsn says now about the timing and finding the younger player. I imagine Kuhn, Hendricks and Markram will all face the England Lions in a few months.

Whilst I like Cook and think he is top guy, he has always been a bit timid at the crease. Like van Zyl. He didn't even nick that ball in the 2nd innings and at 35 he must feel strong enough to go upstairs but he didn't. In saying that he has done fairly well for us. 3 tons in so little tests for a guy 33-35 isn't bad.

Aiden Markram will suit Elgar as well. Confident young man and hits boundaries so will be a good foil for Elgar.

 

[SeamUp]

Faf's got 56 off 155 with ten 4s in there. Just 16 off the other 145 balls. Going for the draw?

SA are not an aggressive team until they are in control of the game... they would rather grind the opposition out. This is particularly true when batting as our order is fragile.

It's been a wicket where if you go chasing you can easily get out.

The test match has been going at 2.5 to 2.7 RPO and the wicket is more up-and-down, two-paced, a bit of reverse and some spin than the beginning where there was some conventional swing but not a lot. The in-field also seems difficult to penetrate but once you do and you time it decently it has been going for 4. It wouldn't surprise me to see a high % of boundaries in this game.

Patience is key as from nowhere you can get a chance but you can't drop catches like NZL. You will get chances but is hard work and patience.

Right now we also only have Elgar (41.82) , Faf (44.92) , Qdk (47.37) definitely knowing they belong in our top 7 to add to matters and our one king-pin choosing not to play and our other totally out of sink with his confidence and technique in Amla (49.51).

The balance
Cook test ave. 36.35
Duminy test ave 34.27
Bavuma test ave 30.41

 

[Bahnz]

So assuming that Boult's injury isn't serious (fingers crossed) I'm thinking well likely return to three seamers and a spinner for Welly. The question is now, which spinner. On the face of it, Santner offers more with the bat, but his form of late hasn't been great and he's also a liability in the field. In terms of bowling, there hasn't been a while lot to choose between these two. Both have bowled tightly, created chances and had bad luck. But one thing in Patel's favour is that, for the moment at least, he appears to have de Kock's number, a very valuable number to have.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I've been enjoying it (I had free time to watch cricket through the night, living in the UK, and chose this over the Sri Lanka one.) One for the purists.

 

[SeamUp]

There may not be glorious on-the-up cover drives or balls flying past the chin but it certainly has been absorbing test match cricket with two teams jostling for position and going into day 5 we can't call a winner. It's what you want really.

 

[Howsie]

How badly are NZ missing Southee

 

[91Jmay]

How badly are NZ missing Southee

Not very? Been a terrific bowling performance on a pitch that isn't great for batting or bowling in my opinion

 

[S.Kennedy]

Neil Wagner has been brilliant.

 

[StephenZA]

How badly are NZ missing Southee

... no worries I am sure Southee will come in for Boult in the next Test match...

 

[SeamUp]

... no worries I am sure Southee will come in for Boult in the next Test match...

9 overs on the trot on the first morning was nuts. Then loads more overs after that due to 2 spinners. In a way the 2-spinners decision probably caused this or not backing Neesham's bowling enough.