South Africa v England (& Zimbabwe)

ENG in serious trouble... once again Colly and Bell will have to do the job!

Come on mate - cant you think beyond India's rankings?

How well has Colly played this season. Awesome. Bell has also surprised me, I honestly did not think he will do this good. Colly probably enjoys batting in tougher situations which brings the best out of him. Top stuff - another cracker of a game is in the offing I suppose.

Fair enough matey - dies hard supporter you are!!!

Originally posted by zuhair_abbasi Fair enough matey - dies hard supporter you are!!!

Come on, being an Indian by all means I will support India and Indian intetests in each and everything.

ENG in tatters... Morne is such a fine bowler, I wonder why he was dropped in the first place... great to see Steyn back in business... I like ENG but I want RSA to win because they have been so unlucky so many times... I feel bad for them sometimes!!!

Great catch by Amla first up, sheer reflexes involved there.  Morkel has come back good, he's a very fine talent, gets bounce and have pace.  Steyn deserved a fifer, just for the heart he bowled with in Cape Town.  Collingwood is the man, big reason why I don't call for him to be dropped, he really has been a good player these last few years.  He didn't carry on here but man, that pull of Parnell was just spectacular.

Yes Clobs , they've the batsmen to do just that. I can't think of a player better suited to this situation than Kallis.  Very disappointing from an English perspective and they'll have to make quick inroads this morning to get back in this match.  They must restrict the South Africans to no more than a 100 lead and then bat sensibly second time around to have any chance at all.  

Steyn is a very fine bowler, the guy simply just looks for wickets, by pitching them up and close to the stumps with the devastating late swing that you have to play at.

This SA bowling attack looks dangerous .

Even the rain couldn't save England - Collingwood aside, the batting has been disappointing in this Test.

Still, England will be happier with the 1-1 series result than South Africa and the second tour to South Africa in a row where the home side hasn't won the series.

well nice win for RSA, it was inevitable really. ENG though fought hard in this series and I think in the end both teams will be happy with the result.

As for the UDRS, I think there should be some standardization, either the same rules apply to all nations or none... what is happening is not at all acceptable. Also the path of the Hawk Eye should not be considered, most of the times we get a feeling that it is not correct, only the point at which the ball hits the pad should be considered apart from Edges and No-Ball verification, that will make the system fairer and ready to use full time.


Edited by sam_ahmed - 17 January 2010 at 11:34am

Fair enough Raj, but what if the umpire is certain that the batsmen is out, when in reality he isn't?or vice versa.


Edited by sam_ahmed - 17 January 2010 at 7:13pm

Originally posted by sam_ahmed Fair enough Raj, but what if the umpire is certain that the batsmen is out, when in reality he isn't?or vice versa.

when one of them feel that wrong decision is given (bowler or batsman), they can ask review.Umpire can have a quick look at it again and make a decision which will be final.Asking reviews against a decision which was correct (and obvious for everyone to see) will have to be dealt with some sort of punishements, so that players do not make it as a habit.

Edited by MalhotraRaj84 - 18 January 2010 at 2:32am

As for the cricket , well England got blown away by some ferocious fast bowling from Steyn and Morkel. The selection of Sidebottom over Onions has to be questioned - not that Sidebottom bowled badly , he didn't , but that Onions had performed well on unhelpful surfaces and came out with much credit. He must have felt rather peeved not to get a go on a pitch with something in it.
             So 1-1 it is and as Clobs has said , most English fans (and players , if they are honest) would've taken that at the outset.  The successes and disappointments were surprising - Cook and Bell with the bat were consistently good , as was the ever reliable Collingwood.  Swann's great form continued and his haul of 21 wickets was tremendous - spinners (Warne aside) don't do particularly well down here.  Onions impressed too , as did Anderson in patches , although he had a poor match in Joburg - maybe that knee injury finally caught up with him.  KP was poor apart from his 2nd knock at Centurion. A lot has been written about his mental state and he did seem frenetic or frozen at different times - the swagger had gone and the South Africans just wouldn't let him off the hook. Trott was up and down and very poor in the last test , but he needs a decent run and maybe a lot of runs in Bangladesh will cement his spot in the side.  Prior's keeping was splendid , the work with French obviously paying dividends. His batting is worrying though - when England have runs aplenty , he's excellent , but when he has to change gears and stay there , he struggles.
              Broad infuriated me at times (sorry Clobs!) - his petulance is becoming tiresome and someone needs to rein him in. He's a fine prospect , but he needs to grow up. I'd bat Swann above him in Bangladesh too.
                Finally the skipper - just 1 half century was very disappointing , but it was the innings that catalysed the other batsmen and led to that resounding victory in Durban. Otherwise he battled and rarely looked the player we know he is. His captaincy was solid rather than assured and maybe each decision he took after winning the toss was the wrong one !  He's stil the best man for the job though and I hope he does go to Bangladesh - he needs to make some runs before the summer and make his mark as a captain.

      Finally , well done SA - terrifically intense cricket in the last test and that should give them confidence ahead of the Indian tour.


Edited by Sledger - 18 January 2010 at 6:10am