Story Australian Int Season - RETIREMENT

[MWaugh]

What They Said

(A relieved Ricky Ponting talks to the press)

"These situations make you feel so old and i think cause captains to lose their hair. We looked in a strong position with Matty Hayden and Clarkey out there but losing 3 quick wickets put us on the ropes. I was shaking when Glenn (McGrath) went out to bat but thankfully he was able to hang around and Michael Hussey played so well to get us over the line"

Ricky Ponting - Australian Captain



(Graeme Smith confronts the media)

"This is just devistating. We did such a good job to come back with the bat after a poor start, and then we fell away at the end of our batting innings. We will learn alot from this match in that we have proven to ourselves that we can come back from adversity really well. But a loss like this is just heart-breaking, it will be tough to get back up for the next game but its something we have to do."

Graeme Smith - South African Captain



(Michael Hussey guides his team to victory)

"Never in a million years would I have thought i would have done this. To take the match on the last ball of the game is just the best feeling in the world. Full credit to Matty Hayden and Clarkey who batted us into this wonderful position and also Brett Lee, and Jason Gillespie who carried us along. But im just over the moon at the moment"

Michael Hussey - First ODI hero

(Graeme Smith looks to have returned to form with 90)

"Well I guess myself finding some form is a plus for today. It felt really good out there and im a little bit dissapointed not to have made the century but hopefully this will lead onto better peformances in the next 2 games."

Smith again - Voted man of the match for the 1st ODI

 

[brettLee]

great match mark...
& great presentation aftr the match..
very close win nowadays for aussie..
looking fwd for the rest of the ODIs..

 

[langerrox]

looking forward 2 nextODI then the india tour

 

[joem87]

brilliant stuff, really enjoying this thread

 

[MWaugh]

Australian Scorecard and Worm Graph



(The Australian scorecard. Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey proved the keys for the tourists while Jacques Rudolph was the suprise packet for the home side.)



(The worm graph for both sides. If South Africa had have been able to bat out their full 50 overs things may have been a whole lot different.)

 

[india rock]

how come kallis bowled 11 overs

 

[MWaugh]

how come kallis bowled 11 overs

because he is just such a good allrounder that the ICC decided to allow him to bowl 11. i actually mixed up the gaMCHanger and let him bowl 1 extra over. sorry about that

 

[india rock]

ok

 

[Briggsey]

Thrilling victory!! Suprised that Nel only bowled 3 overs but the spinners nearly did the job! Now Australia should look to seal the series more convincingly but it wont be easy!! Keep it up mate!

 

[S_Harmison]

Good win, Flatten them in the next One Dayer and then onto your biggest test (after England) India!

 

[Cricketman]

because he is just such a good allrounder that the ICC decided to allow him to bowl 11. i actually mixed up the gaMCHanger and let him bowl 1 extra over. sorry about that

COOL!! i hope the Icc does that with an indian bowler too :laugh!

 

[MWaugh]

2nd One Day International - Pre Match Analysis with Mark Nicholas



New Wanderers Stadium - Johannesburg

The Pitch - This pitch is an absolute belta. Hard, fast and very flat. Im not sure that the bowlers will get alot out of it but im sure that the batsmen will enjoy their day out. The faster bowlers like Brett Lee and Makhaya Ntini will probably enjoy banging them in short but i think this is a day definatly for scoring runs.

The Teams

South Africa will go in with the same team as the Cape Town match. To me that is a smart move. They played really well in the first game and they should be rewarded. Boje will struggle to spin the ball but he is a class all round player and diserves to keep is place.

Shane Watson comes into the side to replace Brad Hogg, who appeared out of sorts in the first game and would struggle to turn the ball on this hard track. Probably not a bad move considering Watson should strengthen the batting lineup even more.



The Key Players

Graeme Smith returned to form with 90 in the first match. He will have to go on with it while Jacques Kallis will have to fire aswell to ensure a good start for the home side.



(Jacques Kallis will be crucial for South Africa)

For Australia, I feel Andrew Symonds will be crucial with his bowling and batting along with captain Ricky Ponting, who is yet to really fire so far on tour.



(The talented all-rounder Andrew Symonds may prove the key for Australia)

The Outcome

Whoever wins the toss will go a long way to winning this match. I would love first crack at this pitch and set a really big score. 300 on this wicket would be a realistic target considering the strength of both sides. A score above 270 is a necessity. I feel that Australia may just have the mental edge over South Africa after that tough first match and if they get on top early the match could be out of doubt very quickly.

 

[S_Harmison]

Im thinking with the addition of watson then you could make 330 if all players are on form!

 

[brettLee]

great..waiting for the 2nd odi.
i think u shud try watson..
but then u hav only symonds to spin.
np.. go with watson
Wanderers pitch has no history for spin

 

[MWaugh]

sorry about the delay in the posts guys. i was a little flat out with a few commitments here and there. im just waiting for brettlee to respond to my pm then i will start the next match. thanks for posting. keep it up