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Australian tour of SA

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Aussie D

Dick Tooth (41)
Lindo,
Think you may be taking Whatto out of context. My reading of it is similar to the ABs in rugby, the team all other nations love to hate (due to success and perceived favouritism from officialdom) but admire the approach they take.

Whatto, if I'm mistaken please explain more of why the Aussies are the most hated cricketing nation.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Whatto, if I'm mistaken please explain more of why the Aussies are the most hated cricketing nation.

I think it's their uncompromising approach on the field.

I'm a cricket player and I think sledging is part and parcel of cricket at all levels but Australia certainly excells at it.

The situation was certainly incredibly tense yesterday. With so many fielders gathered round the bat what you could hear over the stump microphone was relentless. The barking like dogs to Faf between every ball was pretty puerile.

I can understand why other teams hate them. I'm not suggesting that the Aussies should cease this approach though.
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
Smith wasn't a great captain - he only sought victory once the possibility of losing was off the table. Ultra-conservative, rarely did anything inspired in organising his fields. Just plodded along on the same old formula - bat a massive first innings on flat pitches at home and grind the opposition down.

He was an 80s captain in a modern game, relying solely on legends to deliver. When they broke down, he had very little except stodgy batting to save the day. With the talent he had at his disposal, a 49% win rate - and ZERO series wins against Australia on home soil, is laughable.

Just for the record: Steve Waugh 72%, Ricky Ponting 62%.

Smith's longevity as captain cannot be denied though it was controversial at the time and there have been a distinct lack of candidates ever since. His batting was often some of the most reliable in the world.

But let's not bow down and polish him too hard as captain.
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
P.S. You little fucking BEWDY!

Time for a rest. Next test in October. Great run lads. Great run.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Hopefully Harris is rested for the series against Pakistan. He's probably got a season left if all goes well. Would be good to have him fresh for the Aussie Summer and then the Ashes in England after that.

Give Bird/Starc/Cummins etc. a crack in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or wherever the Pakistan series is.
 
T

Train Without a Station

Guest
You'd have to be quite a saint yourself to claim that was going too far I think.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
What a relief to get the win there. When I went to bed last night we still needed three wickets and only had about 25 overs to get them. Memories of that torturous game in Adelaide came flooding back. Ryno is a bloody legend as far as I'm concerned. He's got a bung knee and looked knackered during the series but kept charging in when his captain asked him to. He epitomises what Aussie cricket is about for mine.

Jeez I'm stoked we won that series and kept our record over there intact. What a way to shut up a few doubters and stick it right up the Indians too.

Best of luck to Graham Smith in his retirement. Not only would he open the batting in an all time Saffer XI, but he'd be captain too. Yes he could be conservative at times (to our taste) but you can't argue with his longevity in a job that's pretty unforgiving, especially in The Republic.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
I don't think it's going too far and I quite enjoyed it, but I think people are naive if they think that sort of behaviour isn't going to lead to your opposition thinking that you're a bunch of dickheads.



I think it all gets left on the pitch to be honest. Both countries go red hot on the sledge so I don't think it will be taken personally.
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Best of luck to Graham Smith in his retirement. Not only would he open the batting in an all time Saffer XI, but he'd be captain too. Yes he could be conservative at times (to our taste) but you can't argue with his longevity in a job that's pretty unforgiving, especially in The Republic.

I assume you are like the South African Cricket Board and consider everything prior to 1992 doesn't count?
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
I assume you are like the South African Cricket Board and consider everything prior to 1992 doesn't count?


Wouldn't say that at all. What I didn't say was that Barry Richards would be the other opener in that partnership. The only other Saffer captain that holds a candle to Biff is Ali Bacher but he probably wouldn't make the team on the basis of his batting record. They've had some ripper players over the years.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I must admit I don't know a huge amount about South African cricket prior to isolation, but their all time XI could be something like this:

1. Barry Richards
2. Graeme Smith
3. Hashim Amla
4. Graeme Pollock
5. Jacques Kallis
6. AB de Villiers
7. Mark Boucher
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Mike Procter
10. Dale Steyn
11. Allan Donald
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Did Pollock open the batting?

BH, your team looks pretty good, though I would have the likes of Dennis Lindsay (keeper), Eddie Barlow, Colin Bland and Peter Pollock in the mix.

I agree it is hard to leave these players out, but it's also hard to drop any of the players I picked.

Amla is probably the most dubious selection I've made and he has a test average over 50.
 

light

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Jeez, this thread sounds like an obituary to South African cricket. They are still ranked #1 in the world and have easily the best batsman in the world. It wont be long before they rebound once they find permanent replacements and it will be established blokes like Amla, AB, Faf and Morkel who spark the change in fortune.

Australia still has work to do and I'd wager that we won't have the services of Haddin, Rogers and Harris (potentially Clarke and Watson) for much longer. This will be no problem if the form of Warner, Smith and Johnson continues and we can hang onto our captain while blokes like Hughes, Cummins, Doolan, Starc and Faulkner get experience.

We do seem to have the best coach going around and Clarke's decision-making and tactics also appear spot on.

Australian cricket is on the way back up and the last two series have been extremely successful but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. Redemption against the Indian's and keeping this consistency must be our long term goals.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
I'm not really getting that from this thread, Light. The Saffers still have plenty of quality but I think a few folks (not here) have underestimated the balance that a player like Kallis brought to the team. A truly great all rounder is worth their weight in gold and that's why they are so rare. Smith retiring leaves a void in terms of leadership, but also runs at the top of the order. He's been rock solid for many years and they're going to miss that. You're right though, there is still plenty of quality in that team.

As far as we are concerned, the batting still needs some work and a couple of blokes are getting on a bit too. It's going to be important for the development of the young blokes in Shield cricket to keep pushing the guys in the test team. Haddin, Rogers and Harris are going to be calling time in the not too distant future and we need to have a plan to replace them. I feel pretty confident that Boof and CA do though.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
It will be interesting to see what SA does now regarding the captaincy.

AB de Villiers is the obvious man for the job, but I don't think making him captain, wicket keeper and their key batsman is a good idea.

Personally I'd use this chance to bring in Quinton de Kock as wicket keeper and make AB captain.

Then you've got a lineup going forward that is something like:

Elgar
Petersen
Amla
de Villiers
du Plessis
Duminy
de Kock
Spinner or 4th seamer. <--- the current problem position for SA.
Philander
Steyn
Morkel

The added bonus of bringing in de Kock to keep wicket is that it returns their best fielder to the team (de Villiers) who certainly isn't a world class keeper.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
I think you're spot on there BH. ABD is a stellar batsman and one of the best fielders I've ever seen. I don't know anything about his leadership abilities but he's the most obvious choice. You're right that it's very hard to combine all three jobs, hence the reason why you don't see it done very often.
 
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