1st Test, Australia vs. South Africa, 9 - 13 Nov at the Gabba!

[The Red Baron]

Seeing as the rugby season has died down, I thought it would be apt to shift some attention to the upcoming summer of cricket! This series against SA should be a cracker.

South Africa are looking the complete team at the moment. Solid batting, and a very good bunch of bowlers. I think the Aussies will really be relying on Punter and Pup to stand up with the bat, unless one of the supporting cast steps up. Aussie bowling stocks look good, but how will the boys go against the like of Kallis and Amla?

My old man will be up here on holidays when the test starts, so I am looking at heading out to the Gabba on day 2.

What do you guys think? How does everyone think we will go against the Saffas (oh, and if you are one of our resident Saffas, how do you think they will go out here this year)?.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think we will either beat South Africa 1 or 2 nil or it will be 1-1. I think Adelaide is likely to be a draw.

Our bowlers are looking good and I think Clarke, Ponting and Watson are batting well. Our top order will be crucial against Steyn, Morkel and Philander.

I went to the first two days of the Gabba Test a couple of years ago when the Ashes were last on. It was excellent.

I'm heading to Adelaide for days two and three of the second test this year. Hopefully it won't be 40 degrees in late November in Adelaide otherwise I will struggle.

 

[tigerland12]

Cannot wait for this series. I have a lot of respect for the Saffas in the cricket. It should be a very close series. THe battle of the quicks will be exciting.

 

[wilful]

I'll be very interested to see if Ponting still should be playing at this level. I strongly suspect the answer is no.

 

[barbarian]

Well he is the form batsman in the Sheffield Shield at the moment, and that is about as good an indicator as you can get. So I will believe the answer is 'yes' until it is proven otherwise.

 

[Braveheart81]

The squad for the first test has been named.

Warner
Cowan
Watson
Ponting
Clarke (c)
Hussey
Wade
Siddle
Pattinson
Hilfenhaus
Lyon
Starc

So it would appear that Brad Haddin's test career is over.

There has been talk of playing four quicks, but it is very risky going in without a spinner. Lyon's form has been average so far this season though.

Personally I'd squeeze Starc into the team. He has been bowling beautifully of late and I think having a left arm quick provides a valuable point of difference. I'd pick him ahead of Hilfenhaus for the first test.

Hussey has a dismal record against South Africa. We really need him to turn that around if we're a chance in this series. A terrible series could really put his test career in the balance.

 

[tigerland12]

Clarke is batting way too low in that line-up. I'd be tempted to swap him and Watson in the order.

 

[The Red Baron]

Clarke is batting way too low in that line-up. I'd be tempted to swap him and Watson in the order.

I agree with having Watson drop down the order, but I would slot Ponting into 3 and have Clarke at 4. I have never been a fan of Watson at the top of the order.

I don't mind the 3 quicks we have decided on. Starc really hasn't had any time with the red ball recently, and I wonder if that is the reason why he is the 12th man? Even though Lyon is down on a bit of form, he is still a serviceable bowler and shouldn't let anyone down.

Unfortunately any spinner in the test team is measured against Warne. Ever since Warne retired, every spinner that has had a crack in the test team is expected to perform like Warne did. Problem is, the guy is a freak (and now even looks like one!) and it is likely we will never have another spinner of his talent again.

 

[disco]

I'd actually swap Clarke & Punter.
I think we can win the series I was in England when the Saffas won the 1st test at Lords & Hashim Amla really won the series with his 1st innings. I think he is their best test batsmen & really doesn't have many flaws in his game we really need to get his wicket early because once he's in the 40's he has a habit of making a big score.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Clarke is not a test 3 IMHO, though I reckon he plays well at 4 or 5. I also don't think we can carry both Huss and Punter in the batting line up. Both are (or were) great players, but that Saffer pace attack is mighty good. At this point in time I'd go with:

Warner
Cowan
Watson
Clarke (c)
Punter/Huss
A. N. Other
Wade
Siddle
Pattinson
Hilf
Lyon

I really don't have a strong sense of who should be batting at 6 right now, but the rest of the team I'd be happy with. I reckon we'll have a very hard time trying to knock these guys off, they are clearly the best team in test cricket right now.

 

[disco]

Watson & Punter with injury scares & Pat Cummins gone for the season.
What is it with the injury gods & Australian sport ATM.

 

[PaarlBok]

Starting on friday.

Australia Sqaud:
Michael Clarke (c) NSW 31, Shane Watson(vc) NSW 31, Ed Cowan TAS 30, Ben Hilfenhaus TAS 29, Mike Hussey WA 37, Nathan Lyon SA 24, James Pattinson VIC 22, Ricky Ponting TAS 37, Peter Siddle VIC 27, Mitchell Starc NSW 22, Matthew Wade VIC 24, David Warner NSW 26.
South Africa Squad:
Graeme Smith (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras, capt), Hashim Amla (Sunfoil Dolphins), AB de Villiers (Nashua Titans), JP Duminy (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (Nashua Titans), Imran Tahir (bizhub Highveld Lions), Jacques Kallis (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Rory Kleinveldt (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Morne Morkel (Nashua Titans), Alviro Petersen (bizhub Highveld Lions), Robbie Peterson (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Vernon Philander (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Jacques Rudolph (Nashua Titans), Dale Steyn (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Thami Tsolekile (bizhub Highveld Lions)

VS

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Big task ahead of the boys in this series, especially with the bat. If we can score well against that pace attack I reckon we're a chance. Our bowlers should take enough wickets, though that Saffer middle order is very powerful. I thought were going to get absolutely shellacked last year in the Republic and it turned out that we could have snatched it if not for that woeful second dig at Newlands.

Hard one to call this.

 

[PaarlBok]

The pitch and toss will be important. Most of the Cricket Bokke will be either rusted or in T20 mood and will have to adabt to test cricket very quickly. Starting team wont differ from the last one in action against England. Just have the feel that JP Duminy will be our main batsman, Steyn obvious will be the bowler to break the Aussies. He is in superb form with Philander.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Philander will be key I think. He's had a terrific start and looks to be quality, but the big test is kicking on after a good beginning. In his favour is the amount first class cricket he's played, so he's no flash in the pan. He didn't have the greatest series in England (in comparison to his blazing start) but conditions in OZ should suit him (especially Brisbane). I think Amla is the key with the bat for you guys. He's in imperious form and will be a real threat here. He's the key guy for us to get early if we're to be any chance.

 

[PaarlBok]

Philander will be key I think. He's had a terrific start and looks to be quality, but the big test is kicking on after a good beginning. In his favour is the amount first class cricket he's played, so he's no flash in the pan. He didn't have the greatest series in England (in comparison to his blazing start) but conditions in OZ should suit him (especially Brisbane). I think Amla is the key with the bat for you guys. He's in imperious form and will be a real threat here. He's the key guy for us to get early if we're to be any chance.

Thought Vernon had a decent tour in England and ended with a MOTM and match winning 5 for 30 in the last test and also showed his worth with the bat. He'll be rusted , havent bowled since that test and may struggle at the first test. Kleinveldt also from the Cape Cobras is very simliar to him, maybe a bit quicker but not tha dissiplin in line and length but quite handy with the bat.

 

[cyclopath]

On paper, SA should have this series reasonably comfortably. But, it is in Oz, and they have struggled here with strong teams before. I still think there is a brittle aspect to the Oz team, and suspect it will be 2-1 to the Proteas.

 

[PaarlBok]

On paper, SA should have this series reasonably comfortably. But, it is in Oz, and they have struggled here with strong teams before. I still think there is a brittle aspect to the Oz team, and suspect it will be 2-1 to the Proteas.

OuBoet who gave you that blue shiner? Dont agree totally on the Australia thing. Most of the Cricket Bokke were part of the previous winning squad in Australia. (Smith, Amla, Kallis, AB, JP, Morkel, Steyn) been there, done that.

 

[cyclopath]

OuBoet who gave you that blue shiner? Dont agree totally on the Australia thing. Most of the Cricket Bokke were part of the previous winning squad in Australia. (Smith, Amla, Kallis, AB, JP, Morkel, Steyn) been there, done that.

Yeah, this is a very good Protea team, I agree, and they ought to win. Let's see.

 

[PaarlBok]

Sport24

Proteas ready for key moments


2012-11-06 20:04





Brisbane - Proteas coach Gary Kirsten believes the Test series between Australia and South Africa will come down to “key moments”, as the teams put in their final preparations ahead of the opener starting here on Friday.

The squad pulled into the Gabba for a lengthy and intensive session on Tuesday, eager to continue with their build-up which started in Sydney last week.

“Any preparation for a game is good,” Kirsten said about the fixture against Australia A. “It pulls the team together and it allows us to work specifically on what we need to do.

“You don’t always get the ideal conditions that you would like, but you still have to take positives out of it. I think the week we had in Sydney has been crucial to our preparation.”

The intensity will taper off as the week progresses, as the players look to maintain mental and physical freshness ahead of the battle for No 1.

Kirsten refused to be lured into thinking that Australia poses a weakened challenge, after the loss of Shane Watson to a calf injury and poor form from their top players in matches leading into the series.

“Any guy can score runs in a Test match, we have to make sure that we do our business right,” Kirsten said. “We have looked at areas that we can exploit within the Australian team as they would do with us.

“We feel that if we can put pressure on them in certain areas then we can make some plays in those big moments, that is ultimately what the Test series is going to boil down to.”

Tickets for the match have been selling fast, with locals anticipating the biggest non-Ashes crowd at the Gabba since 1995.