England cricketers in South Africa

[wazza]

Zid now now, 1 swallow doesn't make a spring, LOL

I suppose this ground sounds like a tad smaller than your average test arena, Wonder if a 6 at the MCG is worth double ??

According to "Cricketbuzz " an app I use the world ratings are as follows

Im presuming the current tests underway in RSA and Oz are not included ???

1 - Australia 44 matches 5569 points - Rating 127
2 - India 56 matches 6380 points - Rating 114
3 - RSA 57 matches 6382 points - Rating 112
4 - NZ 51 matches 5613 points - Rating 110
5 - SRL 66 matches 6896 points - Rating 105
6 - Eng 56 matches 5639 points - Rating 101


Certainly see Eng grabbing some points here at this Test and moving up a Peg

Sad thing I read in the Australian news today, a new World Record of 80,883 for the Big Bash 20/20 at the MCG.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-03/r ... tion=sport

[Zidane]

Dont worry,wazza,I was talking a little "tongue in cheek" for England but still a magnificent effort from Stokes and Bairstow.
South Africa closed on 141-2 with Amla on 64 and de Villiers,who was dropped by Joe Root,also unbeaten on 27.

[Barney]

11 x 6's and 30 x 4's, as wazza said it must be a small ground. Well done though and it has been a long time since the England score sheet reached 600 plus.
Small boundaries reminds me of playing at home in the seniors for many years. If it was your home game you were responsible for getting the mats pegged down on the pitch and place the stumps then go and put the boundary flags out, usually prior to the other mob fronting up. The gamesmanship was if you were fielding to set the flags out as far as possible and the opposite if you were batting. If the opposition skipper was slightly inexperienced and didn't check well bad luck. Like having an extra fielder sometimes. All good fun, but if you were caught then we always had a fall guy to abuse for doing it wrong. :-"

[wazza]

Barney

Thanks for this valuable lessons learnt on local grounds, we were more subtle, " Local Rains affected country match" as we snuck out at night from the pub to check the pitch and its damp spots.

As my old man always said to me a 100 is still a 100 no matter where you scored it, smaller grounds tend to suck you in for hitting over the top all the time and can be easier to dismiss. Still needs a level head to grab a Ton .

We also had the matting and boundary lines to FIX .

[Zidane]

South Africa ended day 3 on 353-3 with Amla on 157 and du Plessis 51 the not out batsmen.
The only wicket to fall all day was de Villiers for 88 off the bowling of Finn.
Unless something dramatic happens the game looks certain to be a draw which is a good result for South Africa who will still have a chance of winning the series with 2 matches still to play.

[Barney]

South Africa ended day 3 on 353-3 with Amla on 157 and du Plessis 51 the not out batsmen.
The only wicket to fall all day was de Villiers for 88 off the bowling of Finn.
Unless something dramatic happens the game looks certain to be a draw which is a good result for South Africa who will still have a chance of winning the series with 2 matches still to play.

If SA can bat this out and make the draw then England will have to play well in the last tests, as Steyn will be back, he was not there this time to shake up the mid to low order of England with the new ball.
It will make a real test series if it is a draw.

[Zidane]

Second Test, Cape Town (day four)
England 629-6 dec & 16-0
South Africa 627-7 dec: Amla 201, Bavuma 102*, De Villiers 88, Du Plessis 86

A double hundred from Hashim Amla and Temba Bavuma's maiden Test century saw South Africa continue to frustrate England in Cape Town.
Captain Amla finally departed for 201, while Bavuma made an unbeaten 102 as the Proteas declared on 627-7, two short of England's first-innings total.
Faf du Plessis hit 86, while Chris Morris contributed 69 after the hosts lost three wickets for 10 runs.
England reached 16-0 at the close, leading by 18.
Openers Alastair Cook and Alex Hales successfully negotiated a testing six overs in the final half hour.
A draw seems the most likely outcome on a flat Newlands wicket but South Africa will be looking to dismiss the tourists cheaply on day five to set up an unlikely triumph and square the four-match series.
In reaching 100 off 141 balls, Bavuma also became the first black African to score a Test century for South Africa as the hosts' middle order overcame their struggles in the first Test to make England toil.
England squandered numerous chances to exert control and potentially set up victory by dropping eight catches in South Africa's innings, which contributed to them spent 211 overs in the field.

[Zidane]

In the end,England escaped with an unconvincing draw Cook was out for 8,then Hales 5 early on and that set the tone for the day with England slipping to 116-6 before Bairstow and Moeen saw them through to 159 without further loss.
Bad light then stopped play early and,possibly,saved Englands blushes.....Stokes and Bairstow adding 312 in 39 overs on day 2 seems light years away now.
But England still lead the series 1-0 with 2 matches to play.The 3rd Test starts in Johannesburg on January 14th and South Africa will have regained their confidence.....their best bowler,Steyn,is also likely to return.

[BobHelm]

Day 1 of the third Test yesterday.
The Johannesburg pitch has started off looking like (at last) a genuine Test match pitch. Reliable for the batsman, but something in it for the bowler as well if they put in the effort.
The day started badly for South Africa as they lost Quinton de Kock (the wickie) to an at home injury the night before the game. Replacement, Dane Vilas, did not arrive at the ground (after a 1,000 kilometre flight) until 45 minutes after the game had started. Hardly surprising in those circumstances after new South African captain, AB de Villiers, won the toss he elected to bat. I wonder what Alastair would have done if he had won it???

The South Africans started well enough & reached lunch without loss, even if at a very steady pace. England did better after the break & the day ended with SA on 267 for 7 wickets. So probably England will be the happier of the two sides, although much will depend on removing the tail quickly once play resumes.

[wazza]

Newly appointed Boks Skipper also saying his retirement is coming up.

I would be happy as Capt Cook, for now, but those dam tails do wag , as we have all seen and can score that extra 100 that makes a difference in a 5 day test. ( Remember them ? LOL )

[BobHelm]

Well England finished off SA reasonably quickly with them adding 46 runs to end on 313.

Sadly Hales failed again as an opener, going for just 1. Compton, Cook & Taylor all made a bit of a hash of it as well. England slumped to 91 for 4.
However that just brought Joe Root & Ben Stokes together & they had a bit of a field day until Stokes went for a fairly typical 58 off 54 balls.
Root was then joined by wickie Bairstow to see out the day.
He, Root, remains unbeaten on 106 & England are 75 runs in arrears on 238 for 5.

Disappointing batting again by the majority of the top order & England will need a better batting display by the bottom 4 than they had from the top - or for Root & Bairstow to dig in & have a very good morning.

The game is certainly a good one, with the pitch being equally giving to both batsman & bowler..

[Barney]

What does the scorecard reflect of the pitch and conditions? I cant see the game. Not one bowler has hit the stumps yet, and the majority caught behind or close to the wicket.
Majority of batsmen have started and then got out cheaply and only the ever present Root jumping out of the pack to show his class.
Game could be decided tomorrow morning if England fall cheap and don't press on.

[BobHelm]

As far as I can tell there is movement off the pitch & quite a bit of variation in bounce too.
It seems to be the bit of extra movement that is getting the batsmen out - to nicks that are then caught close behind.
The secret to taking wickets that way is the ability to vary what the ball does - but even the best bowlers need some help from the pitch or overhead conditions.
The fact that every single SA batsman at least got to double figures is a fair indication that the pitch is at least playable by the man with the bat...

[wazza]

This is how test cricket should be played, few quick wickets tomorrow, Boks well and truly in it, and if not, then Day 4 batting will set up a good Day 5 hopefully.

Detect a slight bit of excited in Bobs postings Barney, came back from Vietnam with a new haircut and a cheeky grin.

[Barney]

This is how test cricket should be played, few quick wickets tomorrow, Boks well and truly in it, and if not, then Day 4 batting will set up a good Day 5 hopefully.

Detect a slight bit of excited in Bobs postings Barney, came back from Vietnam with a new haircut and a cheeky grin.

Wazza very perceptive on the excitement issue. Vietnam can do that to you, especially if you go to the correct hairstylist. There is a different style of excitement in Vietnam compared to Thailand. It will wear off if England don't dominate tomorrow. Good luck Bob.

I'll be in Vietnam for a week during the TET celebrations to see my 2 kids. To the beach resort of Mui Ne.

[BobHelm]

Strangely, although I saw a lot of barber shops, no one seemed especially interested in cutting my hair..
Will have to get that done now I am back in Udon..

England stuttered along to 323 all out. Root went for 110 & Bairstow was last man out for 45.
A lead of 10.
More worrying was that new SA boy Rabada goes on the board with 5 for 78.

[wazza]

Broad The Man, 3 wickets and has turned the game around in Favour of Bob

Broad can bowl, cant walk, LOL

[BobHelm]

& it just got better Waz.
Broad had 1 of those spells that he has every now & again & defeated SA on his own.
He came out after lunch & took 5 before anyone else could have a look in.
Mind you absolutely everything went England's way - including 2 remarkable catches by Taylor.
SA all out for 83. England need 74 to win it & are currently 17 without loss.

[BobHelm]

Captain Cook decided to take the bull by the horns & ensure England didn't make a mess of the job.
A rather nervous & hesitant Hales poked & prodded until the score was on 64, Compton went for a duck & the captain eventually fell for 45. By then though the game was all but done with England only 3 away from victory.

So some very encouraging signs for England on this tour.
Root has continued his progress towards being a world class batsman.
Stokes is proving to be a genuine all rounder.
Finn has forgotten his Australian nightmare.
But....
Still no opening partner for Cook.
Is Compton the man for the job at 3.
Has age finally caught up with Anderson.

[Zidane]

My PC is currently in for repair,so typing away on the I phone...not easy.But a great win for England...we'll done Stuart Broad....he's destroyed both the South Africans and the Aussies in the space of 6 months !