South Africa in England July-Sept 2012

[barmyarmy]

It's not needless. Match situation is totally different in this innings. A draw is the same as a defeat so have to be positive.

 

[shravi]

It's not needless. Match situation is totally different in this innings. A draw is the same as a defeat so have to be positive.

That shot just wasn't on though. I understand the need to be aggressive considering the match & series situation, but perhaps they should have waited out around ten overs because the ball is only 19 overs old. As we have seen in this match so far, the wickets have slowed down slightly after the 25th over. It gets (relatively) easier after that.

 

[barmyarmy]

One of the ways of making a new ball old is hitting it. You wait til over 30 then your run rate is already climbing and you've got the second new ball to come as well.

 

[shravi]

One of the ways of making a new ball old is hitting it. You wait til over 30 then your run rate is already climbing and you've got the second new ball to come as well.

I understand this is a chase and a different situation, but similar conditions remain- the scores at the end of the 25th over in this match have been in the 50-60 region. England are about on par with that, at most a few runs short. There is still time to accelerate.

That being said, I think South Africa are going to win this fairly comfortably. I sense a collapse coming soon.

 

[barmyarmy]

I sense constant collapse...

 

[jacobfelix]

Steyn to Jonathan Trott, out James Taylor Run Out!! 3 runs completed. Horrible mix up in the middle! Some outrageous calling between the wickets! It was a fuller length delivery on middle, Jonathan Trott flicked it away with ease through the mid-wicket region, the ball slowed down as it approached the boundary, Amla picked it up and hurled the ball back at the non striker's end, James Taylor wanted a fourth run and he ran half way down the pitch, Trott started to go for it then bailed out and then just stood his ground, the throw came to Steyn who launched it towards the AB quite hastily, eventually AB whipped off the bails with Taylor miles outside his crease. James Taylor run out (Amla/Steyn/de Villiers) 4(23)

Stupid fella ....as though that 4th run would have been the winning run...

 

[Owzat]

Barely putting up a fight, still we lost this yesterday for me when we didn't make most of our position and dropped Amla (previous evening?) and then dropped De Villiers.

Maybe Bairstow can salvage something from this Test with a second good knock, might be a bit much to win with four down already but if Trottsky gets a hundred and Bairstow something close/the same then it might be close. Couldn't afford to throw wickets away and both Strauss' and Taylor's were very avoidable.

 

[shravi]

Hmm, I think the top run scorers and top wicket takers lists show the difference between the two sides. Also, it shows part of where England might have gone wrong. South Africa have the four highest run scorers and the top 2 wicket takers as well. England's highest run scorer is KP. Played only two tests. England's 2nd highest wicket-taker (only 1 less wicket than the leader- Broad) is Finn. Played only 2 tests.

Finn over Bresnan every time. My feeling is that Bresnan is as good as he is ever going to get and is more of a run-saving option than a wicket-taking option. He's a fairly limited bowler. Finn on the other hand has bags of potential, has pace and bounce, and as he showed against the left handers in the 2nd innings has some movement too. He might go for some runs but he is also going to take wickets. It's a risk worth taking, especially considering Jimmy and Swann are very disciplined bowlers.

Close series, and I suspect with some better team selection and more pro-activeness in dealing with KP's gripes before this series, it could have been much closer. That being said, as the 2nd and 3rd test have shown, these teams are fairly evenly matched to begin with (though SA are slightly better), which begs the question why a fourth and possibly a fifth test match couldn't be arranged.

 

[barmyarmy]

150 to win off 40 overs? Easy...

 

[SaiSrini]

I get the feeling England could still run this game close. An England win is not out of the equation yet.

 

[puddleduck]

It should have been a relatively feasible chase, but as per usual the England top 5 failed to get any kind of start leaving far too much to do for the lower order. The standard of a couple of handy partnerships that get England to within dreaming distance before the quick subsidence 100 odd runs short looks about right now. Even just one of the players who gets set scoring themselves a 100 would have run this close, but I think the new ball will all but end this.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Where's the 'Strauss should go..' line PD?

 

[puddleduck]

It's not even worth mentioning anymore. It's so obvious he needs to be dropped because he's quite simply not a good enough batsman. Not even worth considering the merits of his captaincy and leadership when he hasn't made meaningful runs for over 2 years...

 

[Gaurav_7]

It's not even worth mentioning anymore. It's so obvious he needs to be dropped because he's quite simply not a good enough batsman. Not even worth considering the merits of his captaincy and leadership when he hasn't made meaningful runs for over 2 years...

Yeah, I was just seeing the stats over the last 2 years for England in batting. He avgs a mere 32 odd which is really not good for someone who opens an innings. Has just 3 centuries and 6 50s, same as Prior who bats much lower. Is he been kept for captaincy? Or, there is a problem finding another opener?

 

[Gaurav_7]

Wow, an epic match. Prior is such a gun keeper batsman, and Swann has come in and provided the momentum. New ball will be the key but, are there enough runs left?