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SA v England & Wales

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[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=37951.msg1034803#msg1034803 date=1263565111]
I don't buy the "lucky" argument, Wizzy, especially when it happens twice in a row. What that sequence says to me is that - so far at any rate - S.Africa have simply not been good enough to close the match out against tail-enders whereas, in the one game in which there has been a positive result, your boys weren't even close.
[/quote]

England are getting mauled 48-3 in their second innings ... so I guess unless South Africa (again we may struggle with those prolific 'tail enders') or the rain can screw this up, I'll stick to my 'England have been lucky to get out of this series with a 1-1' ...
 
Collingwood gone for 71 after a really good innings -

154-9 ... only a few more overs left I'd guess before the favor for the 2nd test is returned.
 
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=37951.msg1034803#msg1034803 date=1263565111]
whereas, in the one game in which there has been a positive result, your boys weren't even close.
[/quote]

make that two games ... and your boys were utterly humbled by an inning and 74 runs ... As I said, South Africa were the better team over the 4 tests and England were by far the better outfit over the ODIs.
 
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37951.msg1036417#msg1036417 date=1263732804]
An enjoyable Test series and a fair result.


[/quote]

My ONLY problem (no NOT the draws) is that there should be a 5th test now! Let's get a winner b/c the cricket has been fantastic at times ...

MVP of the series still goes to Onions in my opinion.
 
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=37951.msg1036443#msg1036443 date=1263735622]
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37951.msg1036417#msg1036417 date=1263732804]
An enjoyable Test series and a fair result.


[/quote]

My ONLY problem (no NOT the draws) is that there should be a 5th test now! Let's get a winner b/c the cricket has been fantastic at times ...

MVP of the series still goes to Onions in my opinion.
[/quote]

Yeah it would of been nice to have another match, especially when you consider England & Wales are off to Bangladesh next.

I would have given it to your man Smith, he really stepped up when needed.
 
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37951.msg1036456#msg1036456 date=1263737325]
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=37951.msg1036443#msg1036443 date=1263735622]
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37951.msg1036417#msg1036417 date=1263732804]
An enjoyable Test series and a fair result.


[/quote]

My ONLY problem (no NOT the draws) is that there should be a 5th test now! Let's get a winner b/c the cricket has been fantastic at times ...

MVP of the series still goes to Onions in my opinion.
[/quote]

Yeah it would of been nice to have another match, especially when you consider England & Wales are off to Bangladesh next.

I would have given it to your man Smith, he really stepped up when needed.
[/quote]

two points:

1) Smith did play very well, but I always have issues with him for the Kluesner 'expulsion'. Don't get me wrong, he's a wonderful player and the leader of a very gifted Proteas team, but he reminds of Ponting in a way that his attitude is what people think about more than his achievements on the pitch (On that note, did you see Ponting's inning against Pakistan? Sheesh)
2) It was wonderful series and good luck in Bangladesh
 
On their own territory, Bangladesh are a better outfit than many people assume. Seems like Strauss is giving the tour a miss so as to have a rest.

I sense that a spectacular upset may be on the cards! 😱
 
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=37951.msg1036462#msg1036462 date=1263738192]
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37951.msg1036456#msg1036456 date=1263737325]
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=37951.msg1036443#msg1036443 date=1263735622]
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37951.msg1036417#msg1036417 date=1263732804]
An enjoyable Test series and a fair result.


[/quote]

My ONLY problem (no NOT the draws) is that there should be a 5th test now! Let's get a winner b/c the cricket has been fantastic at times ...

MVP of the series still goes to Onions in my opinion.
[/quote]

Yeah it would of been nice to have another match, especially when you consider England & Wales are off to Bangladesh next.

I would have given it to your man Smith, he really stepped up when needed.
[/quote]

two points:

1) Smith did play very well, but I always have issues with him for the Kluesner 'expulsion'. Don't get me wrong, he's a wonderful player and the leader of a very gifted Proteas team, but he reminds of Ponting in a way that his attitude is what people think about more than his achievements on the pitch (On that note, did you see Ponting's inning against Pakistan? Sheesh)
2) It was wonderful series and good luck in Bangladesh
[/quote]

You've just got to let the "Kluesner" issue go mate, and appreciate the great opening batsman that you have 😉 . I don't really like Smith (from what i see on the TV anyway), but as always along with Kallis, he's the wicket you want most.

I watched about 30 mins of the Aus/Pak match and saw Ponting dropped at fine leg for 0 (one of the easiest catches you'll ever see, the young Pakistani lad didn't have to move). Ponting was all over the place and looked like a walking wicket...............I wake up the next morning to find out he'd got to 137no.
 
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=37951.msg1036501#msg1036501 date=1263742540]
ha ha - i know mate but i absolutely loved kluesner. he was my favorite player after Jonty.
[/quote]

LOL you obviously go for the subtle type of player! 😉
 
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=37951.msg1036380#msg1036380 date=1263727315]
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=37951.msg1034803#msg1034803 date=1263565111]
whereas, in the one game in which there has been a positive result, your boys weren't even close.
[/quote]

make that two games ... and your boys were utterly humbled by an inning and 74 runs ... As I said, South Africa were the better team over the 4 tests and England were by far the better outfit over the ODIs.
[/quote]

Yeah, well, we didn't need the help of the third umpire to win by an innings and 98. 😉

Fair enough though - the Saffers deserved this one. As far as the series goes, they underperformed (and we didn't) in the Tests if the ICC computer is right to make them the best team out there, so the question of "better team over the 4 tests" is moot. But well played, and here's to the next time.
 
Annnd it is over? What happens to the 5th day? Lunch and tea breaks no more?

*strange game* 😉
 
Nothing happens, Y1 - the players play sudoku or catch an early flight home. The ground stands empty. Tumbleweeed blows across the wicket. The sellers of beer and hot dogs weep sadly back at their homes. Sky Sports play recordings of the previous four days' play.

The County clubs in England have been accused of telling their groundsmen to make the wickets easier to bat on, to make sure that the games last for the full time allocated, and the club maximises its revenue from ticket sales, plus corporate hospitality, sales of food and beer and so-on. I think there may be something in this - the scores in the County Championship do seem to be bigger than they used to be.
 
[quote author=Portly link=topic=37951.msg1036804#msg1036804 date=1263805446]
Nothing happens, Y1 - the players play sudoku or catch an early flight home. The ground stands empty. Tumbleweeed blows across the wicket. The sellers of beer and hot dogs weep sadly back at their homes. Sky Sports play recordings of the previous four days' play.

The County clubs in England have been accused of telling their groundsmen to make the wickets easier to bat on, to make sure that the games last for the full time allocated, and the club maximises its revenue from ticket sales, plus corporate hospitality, sales of food and beer and so-on. I think there may be something in this - the scores in the County Championship do seem to be bigger than they used to be.
[/quote]

Ah so cricket can be 'adjusted'. Exciting games like the last test means lost revenue. Makes sense to make sure every match ends up as draws then since draws can be so exciting! ;O
 
Yes indeed, Y1

One of the ways cricket differs from baseball is that the ball usually bounces on the ground before getting to the batsman - although sometimes a bowler bowls a "full toss" which doesn't bounce and any batsman worth his salt is expected to whack to the boundary for 4 runs.

The ground between the wickets (also called the "wicket" confusingly&quot😉 is carefully prepared by the groundsman who repeatedly rolls it and cuts the grass right down so that most wickets look brown rather than green.

When a wicket is not perfectly regular, or has a bit of grass left on it, the ball will do unpredictable things when it bounces. Batters don't like that at all because they have only half a second to decide on their shot and play it, and if the ball bounces more or less than expected, or goes off in a different direction, they are liable to make a mess of their shot and get out.

The "state of the wicket" is one of the things that most occupies the thoughts and discussions of the cricket experts and commentators and adds to the interest of the game.
 
That is why they discuss the weather, the field, the wicket and ball tempering so much. It is an intellectual game and no wonder predominantly played by public schools boys who speak with stiff up lips and clip accents, Boycott being the exception?
 
It's true that the ruling classes tried to "take over" cricket and to make it a sort of mirror of life, inserting all kinds of rules of morality and good behaviour into a game which had formerly been played by rough country yokels on village greens.

Here is a rather good poem by Sir Henry Newbolt which typifies this attitude:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/newbolt.htm

However, the game continued to be played by rough working chaps around the country and especially in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The rough working chaps were often better at it than the posh chaps, so many were recruited by cricket clubs as professional players. However, on the scorecard and the match reports the professionals would be shown as "Smith" while the posh amateurs were shown as "Mr. A.B.C. D. Smith."

Fortunately most of that snobbery is behind us now.
 
Oh so it is not a snobbish game after all then? But I remember during my time there in the UK, all the captains were Oxbridge graduates it seemed. They spoke with such clip accents, and those commentators, even from Oz land spoke with clip Queens English! haha
 
I wouldn't claim that the snobs have been completely driven out of cricket, Y1, but we are all trying to be more democratic and inclusive nowadays.

One of the problems is that nowadays, state schools don't often include cricket in their sports curriculum. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, teachers nowadays tend to regard their occupation as a mere job, while when I was at school teachers saw their job as a vocation and were willing to give up their free time at evenings and weekends to cricket. Secondly, in the past few decades, many state schools have sold off their playing fields for property development, and cricket requires a reasonably large field.

The consequence is that many of the schoolboys who go into cricket clubs have come from private schools which are prepared to put the time and money into the game.
 
No wonder other countries are so much better in cricket nowadays. When a sports is taken away from the masses, talents will hard to find.
 
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