New Zealand in South Africa

[m_vaughan]

I think he is talking about the test series and I fully agree with iceman_waugh regarding the same.

Though both teams look good at the moment, I think SA will win simply because they have more "quality" allrounders in Kallis, Pollock, Kemp and Boje. Allrounders win you one day matches.

 

[jazz]

would gibbs travel to india?

he never went last year partially becasue of the delhi police and i think he may of been injured too

 

[m_vaughan]

The problem is that the Delhi Police aint making any guarantees or assurances that they wont interrogate him should he decide to tour India. Hence he isnt taking the risk.

It would be good if the ICC did something about this, as clearly it is affecting the visitors' performance.

 

[Dhoni]

Great win for SA!!! YES!!!! Excellent batting by Gibbs and what a finish by my boy, JUSTIN KEMP!!! First ball SIX and second for four. AMAZING.

 

[lukedapuke]

irottev, the more I read from you, the more it becomes apparent that you don't actually know anything about cricket. you sound more like a fan grasping at straws, trying to justify your teams loss.
Listen, don't talk about having bad luck, u are playing against South Africa..let me not remind u of how unlucky SA have been over the years. Coin tosses and umpiring decisions are part of the game. If New Zealand are as good as you have said they are they should have won no matter what the conditions are or if they lose the toss or not.

How do u figure SA had 12 players? Nicky Boje didnt even bat.

don't worry though, you were beaten by the 2nd best team in the world

 

[aussie1st]

Good to see SA recover after their slump. If Aus ever go into one at least we will know its possible to come back to the top in a few years.

I wonder what the ODI standings will be after this series. The English, SA and India will be near the top now.

 

[Dhoni]

Good to see SA recover after their slump. If Aus ever go into one at least we will know its possible to come back to the top in a few years.

I wonder what the ODI standings will be after this series. The English, SA and India will be near the top now.

India?? Just because they beat Sri Lanka twice in row; and still the series is not over yet...5 ODI left. Sri Lanka still can come back and win. I don't think India should be near the top, yeah only if they white wash Sri Lankan 7-0 then they might.

 

[irottev]

irottev, the more I read from you, the more it becomes apparent that you don't actually know anything about cricket. you sound more like a fan grasping at straws, trying to justify your teams loss.
Listen, don't talk about having bad luck, u are playing against South Africa..let me not remind u of how unlucky SA have been over the years. Coin tosses and umpiring decisions are part of the game. If New Zealand are as good as you have said they are they should have won no matter what the conditions are or if they lose the toss or not.

How do u figure SA had 12 players? Nicky Boje didnt even bat.

don't worry though, you were beaten by the 2nd best team in the world

Not the second best perhaps 4th. Rankings are bullshit. Which is why the old second team Sri Lanka got thrashed by India who are about 7th or so.

I know a lot about cricket, I am only young so theres no need to feel like your better :/. Luck is part of the game. I think we have batted poorly and bowled average in this third game. We didn't deserve to win but the fact that Fleming finally, the only batsmen to play a good innings was run out so unfortonatly. Its just heart breaking. I'm not blaming the toss or anything. its cricket. Thats paret of the game. So is umpiring. Its what I call luck. Luck is a huge part of the game. These 50/50 things need to swing your way if you want to win. I will admit in the third game we were outplayed, not totally because it was close but the best team on the day won. Not in the first 2 though. They were even.

We arnb't at 100% at the moment. If we were we might of made a better challenge. So sorry about that. I guess your notm complaining though.

So long as we learn from this disaster for the World Cup which I believe will be the best yet so long as they scrap these new rules.

 

[aussie1st]

India?? Just because they beat Sri Lanka twice in row; and still the series is not over yet...5 ODI left. Sri Lanka still can come back and win. I don't think India should be near the top, yeah only if they white wash Sri Lankan 7-0 then they might.

This is assuming India win the series I forgot to add. Below Aus the competition has evened out. The English probably would be 2nd if things were updated now.

 

[irottev]

The competition is extremly strong at the moment. Most nations are very evenly matched. Its going to be a fantastic World Cup.

 

[jackrussell]

i think england n south africa are evenly matched in ODIs, with india in 3rd place.

 

[m_vaughan]

England's form in ODIs has been pretty average. But England did give the Aussies a tough time in the Natwest Series and Challenge. The ODIs against Pakistan should give us a good indication of how much Michael Vaughan's team have improved in the shorter version of the game.

Between New Zealand and South Africa, I would have initially gone for New Zealand, but now the Proteas seem to have a near perfect ODI team in terms of balance as well as the number of allrounders. New Zealand were leading in this regard, before they decided to drop Chris Cairns. I think the man is still in top form and NZ need to play him if they want to win the 2007 World Cup.

India have looked good in the past two ODIs against Sri Lanka, but the visiting side have underperformed. We know how bad Sri Lanka play when not on home soil, but they have done well against India.

So imo, the correct ODI Rankings at this stage would be:-
1. Australia
2. South Africa
3. Sri Lanka
4. New Zealand
5. England
6. Pakistan
7. India
8. West Indies

This, hence, setups the Australia v South Africa series very well. Australia are a tough team to beat at home, while South Africa have the perfect team to do just that. We witnessed a cracking Ashes series with the top two test teams in action, and we could see a similar (or even better) ODI series between the Aussies and the Proteas.

 

[aussie1st]

Don't tell me the English did what the Kiwis do. Lift against the Aussies. From what I saw of England they look like a very good ODI side.

SA will defintiely be a good contest for Aus.

 

[icyman]

They should be.
They should not be complacent.But if they are in top form like in 2002 ( VB series ) they might just give the Aussies a run for their money.

Rankings are bullshit. Which is why the old second team Sri Lanka got thrashed by India who are about 7th or so.

Rankings are always going to be bullshit.
Seeing as the World Champions were beaten by Bangladesh....that does not mean the Bangladeshis become the new number one. does it ?

 

[Paelleon]

Agreed. From the posts in this thread - it appears that most people have underestimated the Proteas. They are not a bad side, and could well go on to challenge the Aussies for top spot. All they need is consistency.

Poor performance from the upper middle order in this series, and a struggle to find a good - in form number 2. I must say I thought AB did pretty well. And the real tail hasn't really needed to wag yet.

The attack seems to be a bit on the weak side. Ntini is excellent, Pollock stingy, and Boje is turning out pretty well. Nel is occasionally brilliant - but always funny, and a good firey head. But Langervelt, and Kemp lack that pace, line and length to put enough pressure where it counts. Maybe the non pressure matches coming up wil help with their confidence. Probably not.

I'm also looking forward to the Aus series. But with a helluva lot of fear. Kinda like how I feel about a thriller - have to watch, can't bear to see ...