29 Dec 08
Originally posted by SmookiePIf you can catch it on cable, try some one day cricket or 20/20. Its limited overs and goes really fast. To some people, test cricket can be like watching paint dry.
I have great friends here that go on and on about it, slowly checking it out 😉
By the way, South Africa are smashing us in the second test. They are all over us like uncle touchy at a family wedding! They are about to win for the first time ever in Australia, and Australia are about to lose a test series for the first time in 16 years.
29 Dec 08
Originally posted by lordhighgusWhat is it, the coaching, lack of talent? Injuries?
If you can catch it on cable, try some one day cricket or 20/20. Its limited overs and goes really fast. To some people, test cricket can be like watching paint dry.
By the way, South Africa are smashing us in the second test. They are all over us like uncle touchy at a family wedding! They are about to win for the first time ever in Australia, and Australia are about to lose a test series for the first time in 16 years.
29 Dec 08
Originally posted by SmookiePWell, we have whored our coaches to most other countries, who in turn have shown them how we Aussies play. There a a lot of professional cricketers out there and very few jobs after retirement, so they chase the dollar and i dont blame them.
What is it, the coaching, lack of talent? Injuries?
A couple of guys are carrying some small injuries, one guy just got divorced very publicly and it has gutted him mentally.
I would say the biggest thing is the loss of four players who were the once in a generation type. We were lucky to have them come through at once. It was a huge advantage.
We really suck at bowling (pitching) at the moment, our young guys are not battle hardened, our old guys are on the way out and we cannot get twenty wickets. (10 wickets in an innings, 2 innings each side per game)
Its all cyclic and we had our day in the sun. Big sigh!!!
29 Dec 08
Originally posted by lordhighgusI'm sure this sport has some sort of farm system. It's good to be pro-active and keeping the skill level up from rookies up to the coaching positions.
Well, we have whored our coaches to most other countries, who in turn have shown them how we Aussies play. There a a lot of professional cricketers out there and very few jobs after retirement, so they chase the dollar and i dont blame them.
A couple of guys are carrying some small injuries, one guy just got divorced very publicly and it has gutted him ...[text shortened]... nnings, 2 innings each side per game)
Its all cyclic and we had our day in the sun. Big sigh!!!
29 Dec 08
Originally posted by SmookiePWell, the Aussies have shown the rest of cricket the way with the development of their sports academies (well funded by the government) which takes the most promising young players and put them through the academies with schooling and the best coaching.
I'm sure this sport has some sort of farm system. It's good to be pro-active and keeping the skill level up from rookies up to the coaching positions.
The current problem with Australian cricket (the way I see it as a South African) is that fresh players have not been blooded into the national team. As a consequence, the best team in the world of the past decade has gotten steadily older. (Remember, we're talking of a national sport and team - country vs country, with certain political and national connotations/associations included.)
Australia has hung on to the past for too long. The oldest player in the team (Mathew Hayden), for all his glorious record is 37 and had a terrible year. He should have been dropped because he's now too old, but the national selectors hold on to him, thinking he can still do it again. They also persist in picking half-fit players (Symonds, Lee) based on their past. There's no place for passengers in five-day cricket and there's nowhere for them to hide.
Please, someone correct me, but last time I looked the average age of the Oz team is something like 32. By contrast, the average age of the SA team is about 25 which is currently a great combination of young and old blood. The SA captain is 28 and hitting his peak and - to use a baseball expression - all the bases for the key positions are well covered. Our No 6 batsman yesterday hit 166 runs in only his second Test match and he only played because the player in that position who averages 53 batting, had a cracked thumb.
Test cricket, to add to what has been said, is a greater test of mental strength than any other. As a batsman, to be able to stand out there for more than seven hours, to face over 400 balls, to focus on each and every ball, to decide which ball to leave, which to play and then how to play it, is a great test. As spectators, we can but admire the glorious shots, the skills showed, the balance, the wrist-work, the follow through. And that's just for the batting. We can admire and awe at the fast bowlers all elegance and grace for some and just raw power for others with a very hard, very small and very red ball coming at a batsman at close to 100mph. Sometimes aimed at his stumps and sometimes at his throat. Split seconds is all it takes.
I can go on about the glories of great fielding and the intense concentration it requires, the mysteries of spin and slow bowling. But enough.
Americans will always find it hard to understand cricket because it requires patience. And yes, Test cricket can also be a test for the spectators that rewards patience and concentration, but one that can also be a great social occasion. I say this as one who sat through most of Mike Atherton's 11-hour innings of the most excruciatingly dull cricket at the Wanderers (the English were happy). But then I also saw Donald at his quickest and most awesome against India at the same stadium, so I'm happy on balance.
29 Dec 08
Originally posted by lordhighgusAhem, I can't resist this but where have your coaches gone? India's coached by a South African and so's South Africa. These are the teams currently vying for No 1 and 2.
Well, we have whored our coaches to most other countries, who in turn have shown them how we Aussies play. There a a lot of professional cricketers out there and very few jobs after retirement, so they chase the dollar and i dont blame them.
A couple of guys are carrying some small injuries, one guy just got divorced very publicly and it has gutted him ...[text shortened]... nnings, 2 innings each side per game)
Its all cyclic and we had our day in the sun. Big sigh!!!
Guess I better put a smiley in here now: 😉
30 Dec 08
Originally posted by dylI'm just glad you guys got to see what all the fuss about Dale Steyn has been about. Didn't see it, but apparently when the conditions allowed swing he became almost unplayable...
Well, at least we've bagged one wicket.
Bring back Warnie.
🙁
That guy is still going to take many, many wickets for us.
30 Dec 08
Originally posted by buffalobillWell said William!
Well, the Aussies have shown the rest of cricket the way with the development of their sports academies (well funded by the government) which takes the most promising young players and put them through the academies with schooling and the best coaching.
The current problem with Australian cricket (the way I see it as a South African) is that fresh pl ...[text shortened]... his quickest and most awesome against India at the same stadium, so I'm happy on balance.
30 Dec 08
Originally posted by buffalobillWell bill, before your man, coaching India was Greg Chappell. Tom Moody had Sri Lanka and before that Worcestershire in English county cricket. Now Trevor Bayliss has Sri Lanka. Jeffrey Lawson had Pakistan. Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh. John Dyson has the West Indies.
Ahem, I can't resist this but where have your coaches gone? India's coached by a South African and so's South Africa. These are the teams currently vying for No 1 and 2.
Guess I better put a smiley in here now: 😉
South Africa has cloned Australia's cricket style to great success. India sucked the brains out of Greg Chappell, discarding him when he refused to play politics. They still have our ex-test bowling coach Troy Cooley.
😉
By the way, congrats to South Africa for biatch slapping the Aussies and calling them susan.
I think it was you bill in an earlier post saying the Aussies have no youth policy and i agree 100 per cent.
30 Dec 08
Originally posted by buffalobillVery informative, thanks
Well, the Aussies have shown the rest of cricket the way with the development of their sports academies (well funded by the government) which takes the most promising young players and put them through the academies with schooling and the best coaching.
The current problem with Australian cricket (the way I see it as a South African) is that fresh pl ...[text shortened]... his quickest and most awesome against India at the same stadium, so I'm happy on balance.
30 Dec 08
Well done to the South African team for winning the 2nd Test Match in Melbourne 🙂
It's going to be tough for an Aussie comeback/win against the SA team in Sydney, for the 3rd.
Just my opinion, but I don't think we were no match in the fielding and batting department.
Hayden, he's gotta make way for some younger talent.
Niggling injuries, public marital breakups...if not mentally or physically capable, not 100%...dont' play.
There's no excuse, simple as that.
The Aussie selectors themselves, maybe need to be put under scrutiny for seemingly, making bad choices.
The South Africans have done well leading up to this Test Series, in Australia.
With 3 new faces coming into the Test Squad, its going to be interesting how they perform.
As for conceding the Number 1 ranking, if the Aussies lose it, give it a few years before we get it back again. 🙂
30 Dec 08
Interesting stats, from SuperSport.co.za (don't know if people outside SA can view the site...)
- South Africa were still 253 runs in arrears when the sixth wicket fell in their first innings. Only six teams have been further behind at the fall of their sixth wicket in the first innings and gone on to win the match.
- South Africa have become the first team to win a test series both at home and away against all nine opponents. This excludes one-off tests. Australia have won home series against all nine opponents and away series against all opponents except Zimbabwe, who they have not played in a series in Zimbabwe. They played a one-off test in 1999 in Zimbabwe, which they won.
- South Africa became the third team to win 11 tests in a calendar year, after the 1984 West Indies and 2004 England teams.
- For the first time in their history, South Africa have now won more tests (119) than they have lost (118). Prior to 1970 South Africa won 38 and lost 77 of their 172 tests with 57 draws. Since 1992 they have won 81 and lost 41 of their 168 tests with 46 draws.
South Africa now have an overall winning percentage of 35.00 which has put them in second place of all-time, passing England who had a better record prior to their series in India.
- Dale Steyn's 76 is the joint ninth highest by a number 10 batsman in a test match and the second highest by a South African.
- Steyn provided the 22nd instance of a player scoring a fifty and taking 10 wickets in the same test. The only other South African to do this was Fanie de Villiers (66*, 6-81 & 4-27) v Pakistan at Johannesburg in 1997/98.
- Steyn took his 150th wicket in his 29th test. He is joint fourth fastest to this milestone and joint fastest South African with Hugh Tayfield. He was quicker than Tayfield in terms of innings bowled, with 54 against Tayfield's 56.
- Graeme Smith's 1 656 runs in the calendar year is the third most in test cricket.
- Smith has now made 919 runs in the fourth innings of tests won by South Africa. This passes Matthew Hayden's record of 913. Smith's eight scores of fifty or more in successful run chases is the most and his three centuries is equalled only by Ricky Ponting.
31 Dec 08
Originally posted by CrowleyPersonally I think most of these stats are of debatable value, but this one is most pertinent. Historically, Kallis has been the rock of SA's batting, but with his poor year (just 665 runs), Smith has come more to the fore and surely must be regarded as one of the cricketers of the year. As important is that SA has not lost a home or away series in two years. Neither India nor Australia can boast of such a record and the struggle for claimed world cricket supremacy will equally surely be played out when India tour SA.
Interesting stats, from SuperSport.co.za (don't know if people outside SA can view the site...)
- Graeme Smith's 1 656 runs in the calendar year is the third most in test cricket.
I certainly wouldn't write off Australia yet. Twice they had SA on the ropes and twice didn't have the firepower to finish it off. The Sydney Test is certainly going to be very interesting but I think that (again) the selectors have got it wrong by picking Hayden while indicating confidence he has another year in him.
One of the age old issues in cricket team selection has been whether to pick on form or on record. The best of both worlds is to be able to do both, but that's not an option. Even should Hayden make good for an innings, will that make a difference to the longer term picture for the Aus team? I think not. The rubber is dead and now's the time to pick for the future and not the past. Oh yes, another stat and that (with my dodgy memory) Hayden is already the oldest opener for Aus in 78 years. The eyes go, the reflexes slide and there's always a time when even with the best will in the world, the best have to go. From what I've read, Hayden's mind doesn't seem to be much on cricket these days - rather fishing.
For the rest of the team selection, the quick bowling changes have been forced. I can't comment on the quality of the selections, but that there's a big jump from state cricket to the big stage and the new quicks might struggle to adjust. I look forward possibly to seeing some very quick scoring from SA and I hope they win the toss and bat first.
For the slow/spin bowler the selectors need to make up their minds and play the cards they've been dealt and not the ones they wish they had (ie Warne). The Man's gone and tactics and team selections have to change accordingly. Warne was an out and out strike bowler, yet one who could also keep it tight. Australia were blessed and now need to accept it's time to join the ranks of mortals. Time now also to reflect on the traditional role of the spinner which is to keep it tight, to restrict runs and to pick up the occasional wicket. Krejza was abysmal in Perth, leaking runs and picking up 4 for 204. Hauritz was much better than that in Melbourne. Was it White the Aus selectors picked for the tour of India? They need to decide which has the most potential and can grow into the new spinner's role - which is supposed to be why they're selectors.
I've been gobsmacked by the selector's decision to pick an unfit Symonds for the allrounder role. The allrounder's job is primarily to weigh in with some holding overs and even to be the partnership breaker able to pick up a couple of wickets with his different bowling. Expecting Symond's dibbley-dobblers to do the job just beggars belief. If he was half-injured, was in there purely for his batting and the mainline bowlers were expected to do the job it would be different.
Happily for Aus, and less so for SA, the Aus selectors have realised at least that simple fact. I've said before that there's no room for pasengers or place to hide in five day cricket - your vulnerabilities and flaws will be found out.
I feel sympathy for Australia's cricket problems which to my mind have been purely selection-based and it's hard to blame Ponting who's had very few cards to play with (think bridge for an example). But I also really want SA to grind it in with a good win in Sydney. We've eaten dirt for too long.
Oh yes, have a great New Year for those who still have one left. Here it's still five hours away and Sydney's had their's with a great fireworks display.