Cricket - FOREVER

Some articles compared this to Joburg 2006.  Micky Arthur too had gloated about pace and bounce then, but India outbowled SA.  Some of the batsmen in the lineup are still in the team, and regarded very highly in world cricket too - Smith, Amla, Kallis, ABD.  It seems this Aussie-style psychological warfare doesn't really work for SA.  They end up trying too hard maybe to live up to their boast.

crimson king wrote:Some articles compared this to Joburg 2006.  Micky Arthur too had gloated about pace and bounce then, but India outbowled SA.  Some of the batsmen in the lineup are still in the team, and regarded very highly in world cricket too - Smith, Amla, Kallis, ABD.  It seems this Aussie-style psychological warfare doesn't really work for SA.  They end up trying too hard maybe to live up to their boast.

Funny to see Philander complain about the conditions which he says favored India when they batted and bowled   Would like him to tour India and see him get his average and strike rate dented and painted for such useless talk.

wisden india subtly took a dig at Philander, carrying the subheadline "Philander attributes performance to changed atmospheric conditions".     Yedho Srini mama desktop background madhiri weather-a maathiduvaran, sour grapes is all I can say.

Selfish kohls    don't mind India getting bowled tbh..game on

As I said yesterday, at least India getting bowled will force MSD's hand.  Pitch is pretty uneven.  SA chasing it down is a long shot, though can't rule out anything completely in cricket.

Fully expect Dhoni to cash in now.

Saffers great escape, like captain/like team, Dhoni's captaincy was a sight to behold   don't think India would
ever win a test abroad with him at the helm.
Is Ash's bowling action collapsing again or was he again preparing for second test  

Wizzy wrote:Saffers great escape, like captain/like team, Dhoni's captaincy was a sight to behold   don't think India would
ever win a test abroad with him at the helm.

Looked clueless post tea for an hour. Let Zak bowl 8-9 overs in that spell when it was clear to everyone except Dhoni that Zak was toothless after 2 overs. Let the game drift aimlessly towards SA in criminal proportions.

Both teams made a safe escape from the art of winning.  Goes to show how much cricket misses the Aussies, THE Aussies that is, of Pidge, Warne, Waugh, Ponting etc.  Why did ABD and Faf leave so much to the last 10, why didn't they just knock it off right after tea.  It is surely a heroic effort by SA to defend a position that looked hopeless when they began the chase but they had the chance to convert it into a win.  Suppose India somehow manage a draw in Durban.  Then SA would have gone what four years without a home series win against the other top three teams - Aus, Eng, Ind.  I understand Smith would like to defend his teammates in public and blame MSD for not going for wickets in the last three overs.  But hopefully he will introspect where exactly this talented team fall short when it comes to killer instinct.  It's a disappointing finish for India but even a draw, that too in the first Test, is far better than what they were expected to achieve in the pre-series discussion.  And that is the difference between the two sides.  This Indian side is young and learning about Test cricket.  The SA side on the other hand has a few who will lose the chance to be part of a champion side in a few years time.  Even Steyn is nearly 31 and his performance in this Test was not worthy of a seasoned campaigner at all.

The shot Dhoni played to get out in 2nd innings was Afridisque :banghead: could he do the honorable thing
and call it quits from tests like Afridi and save us the trauma of watching him bat.
Donno what he got to gain by playing tests especially overseas and broadcasting his ineptitude.

sample these from his presser, hearing him makes you wonder how he got test captaincy in the first place.

Dhoni in PC: New ball had no swing, who will bowl 25 overs before we can get reverse? Jadeja cant use it either. It was strategy. #SAvInd

Dhoni in PC: Moment we started bowling, we knew we had to get some reverse. Jadeja bowled well, took wkts n kept one end tight. #SAvInd

Dhoni in PC, on old ball: It was Christmas time but I am not Santa Claus to give them free runs. Using soft, old ball was strategy. #SAvInd

he sees tests just as an extension of odies where he could get away by stifling the opposition for runs.
may be ICC should ban him by invoking the clause of bringing disrepute to test cricket by his captaincy.
even a Ranji cricketer would have shown better match awareness. Even If(big) he plays Ranjis doubt he would
better his overseas average of last 3 tours.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/28081.html?class=1;filter=advanced;home_or_away=2;opposition=1;opposition=2;opposition=3;orderby=default;spanmin1=02+apr+2011;spanval1=span;template=results;type=batting

still 11 more overseas tests to go  

remember during our home series against Eng/Oz cricinfo expert Sanju Manju opined that Dhoni had turned a corner as a test bat and took more responsibility and should bat @ 6 so India could play 5 bowlers overseas   

SunnyG has usual avoided Dhoni q but props to Bengali babus Boria/Gangs for taking the mickey out of him   

To sum up, in test series Ind did well whenever/wherever Dhoni had little to do. if not for Ajinkya
we would have lost the first test and second test by an inning.

As somebody pointed out in cricinfo, not sending a nightwatchman on day 4 was a mistake. Sure, Kohli got a howler but who expose a new batsmen to the bowlers first up in the morning session.  Still, the 2nd Test loss was more down to poor bowling than poor tactics.  I am not sure that anything can be done about it.  Maybe India should stop getting overoptimistic about Zaheer whenever he claims to be 'back' and just persist with younger pace bowlers until they progress.

Vis a Vis the team to NZ, Ojha dropped for Ishwar Pandey and Stuart Binny comes in. Ashwin and Jadeja maintain their positions. Hence proved. Srini Mama > Rhiti Sports. Also, Roger Binny represents South in the selection panel and his son Stuart is playing for Karnataka. magan + zonal quota. appAkAr has hit 2 mangoes in one stone. Like Cheeka, like Roger.

It's ironic.  These world cup heroes had much to say about the board that was not, er, too complimentary.  On being given the chance to make a difference, they have only carried on the status quo and done all those things they would ranted against. And we wonder why nothing changes in this country.

True. While this is weird, there are people saying Stuart has done well for a few years to deserve a look in. Stuart has had a decent Ranji season. Nothing out of the ordinary. No reason to select him now when you did not do so last season. And Roger is there for little more than a year now. Looks quite brazen.

crimson king wrote:As somebody pointed out in cricinfo, not sending a nightwatchman on day 4 was a mistake. Sure, Kohli got a howler but who expose a new batsmen to the bowlers first up in the morning session.  Still, the 2nd Test loss was more down to poor bowling than poor tactics.  I am not sure that anything can be done about it.  Maybe India should stop getting overoptimistic about Zaheer whenever he claims to be 'back' and just persist with younger pace bowlers until they progress.

Dhoni literally grinded Zak to dust with that prolonged spell on 5th day of 1st test no wonder Zak was moving like Zombie
an classic case of Dhoni letting the opposition off the hook would be 3rd day of second test after 2 early wickets it just required
a mistimed 4 from Abdv off Jadeja for Dhoni to have a long-on  

If Cook could be hounded after his first Ashes loss, why doesn't Dhoni get any blame for his horrendous team selection/tactics/test batting?
Haddin just showed how a good no.7 can turn around fortunes of a team. how long do we have put up with this crap.

Keshav Kalsi barely scratches the surface

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/facts-that-figure-as-the-dhoni-era-in-tests-rambles-on-1320619.html

CK, about time you did a CC article on this

complete annihilation..Oz  , would even say the current bowling attack even shades the class of noughties
even though the batting is at minnow level

series avgs 

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2013-14/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=7899;type=series

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2013-14/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=7899;type=series 

Cook's average has taken a free fall after KP uttered this http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/645433.html
must be getting desperate for series against Ind/SL  

About the CC piece, will do.  Thinking of waiting till the NZ series is also over and then have a shot at it.  Right now, lots of stuff going on at home, relatives have come over, no time to write.   Many people are predicting a bloodbath this year as India again plays a busy away season.  Let's see, I am optimistic about the batting, bowling is depressingly bad.  As for Dhoni, he is not a good Test captain.  People can marshal selective stats and figures all they want to defend him but the fact is his tactics tend to be poor.  He still reads Tests somewhat the same way as ODIs, that's his biggest problem.  

As for Ashes, I think the absence of two ATGs, McGrath and Warne, tilts the scales against this current bowling attack but they ARE really good.  Mitch has been great but people continue to underestimate Ryan Harris just because he is an ageing bowler who didn't get a chance to play for Aus when he was younger.  He has been brilliant, every bit as good as Johnson and sometimes better.  Siddle has been incredibly consistent and has that knack of taking crucial wickets even if he doesn't run through sides.  A well balanced attack with Lyon improving by leaps and bounds.  Can hardly wait for the Aus-SA series coming up.  SA may well prevail but the cricket should be riveting.

I think the absence of two ATGs, McGrath and Warne, tilts the scales against this current bowling attack but they ARE really good.

ain't comparing the careers,stats from last whitewash Oz inflicted at home.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=2760;type=series

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=2760;type=series


KP/Colly held up well whilst Cook seem to have had similiar series. Warney filled the boots with some cheap tail wkts.

Mitch has been great but people continue to underestimate Ryan Harris just because he is an ageing bowler who didn't get a chance to play for Aus when he was younger.  He has been brilliant, every bit as good as Johnson and sometimes better

Rhino the sient killer, he is the Amla of test bowling as in not many notice his test avg. expect it go below 20 after Saffer series.

Can hardly wait for the Aus-SA series coming up.  SA may well prevail but the cricket should be riveting.

gonna be epic though Saffers have struggled/looked out of depth @ home  and Oz seems to relish playing there.
If Clarke/Haddin/Warner conjure up some runs they might even whitewash them. got to give it to ballsy Kallis for retiring
just in time before this series  

Wow, those are very interesting numbers. So Lyon has bowled better than Warne and Harris better than McGrath.  Ofc Johnson has been killer but we already knew that.  I agree with you, the gulf between the sides was probably  more due to the batting.  In 2006-07 the Aus batting line up was on fire, this time they have needed bailing out again and again from Haddin.

@Kallis, ha ha, it could be a possibility.  Who wants to get decapitated by marauding Mitch in the twilight of his career!     IF Clarke really hits a purple patch in SA and gets some support from the likes of Smith, an Aus series win is on.  Imo they should drop Bailey and play Hughes.  Also demote Watto to no.6.

Aus-SA: 
* Kallis jumped before being humiliaed
* Smith is one bad series away from extinction - this could well be that series
* It could be a 47 all out innings or 345 with one big partnership. Series could go either way - depends on who has the one catastrophic session in that particular match. 
* SA hold the edge: Although India ran them close, they have the quality, if they perform to potential, to prevail

A series I can watch as a neutral - since not sure which outcome suits my agenda: If SA win comfortably, then Dhoni fans will claim their side ran such a side close that shut out Aussies even; If Aus win, England will feel more comfy since that means they didn't lose to a mediocre side; 

If Steyn and co turn up from day one, then Aus batsmen may implode, leading Kohli and Dhoni fans to claim that only new India stood up to strong SA. (That wouldnt be true because Steyn turned up late in India series - blloody blaggard, should have steamed out Kohls in his first over of the series. Idiot didnt turn up until last innings of the series)
(although these things dont work transitively like this, muddle heads will claim so)

As for 2006 vs 2013 Aussies, bit difficult to go by stats since England failed to turn up this time. There was more fight in 2006.

plum wrote:As for 2006 vs 2013 Aussies, bit difficult to go by stats since England failed to turn up this time. There was more fight in 2006.

Point. We don't know how good Australia were in these 5 matches because they were up against a shitty England.

* Kallis jumped before being humiliaed

lost all respect after that idiot listed KKR's IPL win as his career high   
no wonder uncle Jarrod spites him

http://cricketwithballs.com/2008/05/16/jacques-online/

http://cricketwithballs.com/2009/11/23/the-jacques-kallis-question/

and that legendary graphic post 'Cindy's pre game ritual' which got pulled by Kallis(rasana ketta daddy)

* Smith is one bad series away from extinction - this could well be that series

or broken finger(s) from Mitch's vicious bouncer though like Carl Hooper he scores a 100 just in time.

* It could be a 47 all out innings or 345 with one big partnership. Series could go either way - depends on who has the one catastrophic session in that particular match.

ditto though SA basement(Faf/Duminy/Kallis sub) is as weak as Oz and can't expect either of tails to wag so it could well be a bowling
shootout.

* SA hold the edge: Although India ran them close, they have the quality, if they perform to potential, to prevail

Saffers are a weird lot, they turn into beast mode overseas but struggle @ home. even during their worst transition phase
Oz held up well so expect them to win if the batting could muster 300.

If Steyn and co turn up from day one, then Aus batsmen may implode, leading Kohli and Dhoni fans to claim that only new India stood up to strong SA.

Oz should just play Saf master Philip Hughes :-) series between these two sides can be so unpredictable at times like
Philderval/Twatto who were unplayable last time.

If SA win comfortably, then Dhoni fans will claim their side ran such a side close that shut out Aussies even; If Aus win, England will feel more comfy since that means they didn't lose to a mediocre side;

delikate position thaen though Haddin will comfortably outscore Dhoni and Clarke wouldn't wait till the
on-field umpires to shove him with second new ball.

As for 2006 vs 2013 Aussies, bit difficult to go by stats since England failed to turn up this time. There was more fight in 2006.

or they were never been allowed to do so. not in my memory have I ever see a batting unit to be so dazed and confused
against a bowling unit in a 5 match series, you expect international teams to make amendments in such long series.
like in '06 Eng bats were coming off a Ashes win @ home unlike '06 Eng had all the practice they needed  
still they were obliterated before they could fathom what had hit them.

also do you believe Lee/Clarke would walk into this Oz bowling unit? except may be Singam I expect the other 3 to walkin to '06 side.

stats from 6 months ago

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2013/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=7362;type=series

Starc in place of Mitch whtya contrast, Oz should be forever grateful to BCCI for bringing Mitch back from hiatus

Yeah Johnmagan trumps Lee. But Clark trumps Siddle and tough as it is to choose between Ryan and Glenn, I think Mr Pink edges it

I don't know about you guys but I am backing Australia to win in SA. I need only 4-5 hundreds collectively in three matches from the OZ batsmen to win the series. Go Aussies!.