England tour of South Africa, Test Series Thread

[LordPrabhzy]

49 minutes ago, LordPrabhzy said:

Who wants to bet England will become cry babies as usual and blame player illnesses on this loss? Wouldn’t be surprised.

Time for the presentations, starting with England captain Joe Root: "Yes, been really tough off the field, had pretty much everything thrown at the group, 10 guys going down ill and credit to everyone they stood up and tried to put in the best performance possible, didn't let anyone down. 

 

And as expected...

[GeeGaw]

2 hours ago, LordPrabhzy said:

Time for the presentations, starting with England captain Joe Root: "Yes, been really tough off the field, had pretty much everything thrown at the group, 10 guys going down ill and credit to everyone they stood up and tried to put in the best performance possible, didn't let anyone down. 

 

And as expected...

Of course.

F England.

[Nikhil_cric]

The problem for SA is that such wins mask their weaknesses. Hopefully Smith and boucher demand flat, fast and bouncy wickets that at domestic level rather than greenish pitches. Their batsmen can't hit those daddy hundreds and their bowlers are a little too dependent on conditions. Beating this England side doesn't mean much seeing as England are rubbish away from home and not that great at home either. 

[prinzo]

39 minutes ago, Nikhil_cric said:

The problem for SA is that such wins mask their weaknesses. Hopefully Smith and boucher demand flat, fast and bouncy wickets that at domestic level rather than greenish pitches. Their batsmen can't hit those daddy hundreds and their bowlers are a little too dependent on conditions. Beating this England side doesn't mean much seeing as England are rubbish away from home and not that great at home either. 

actually this is a huge achievement for SA taking into account of of what has been happening in the country.

a test series loss to SRI Lanka and a hammering in India.

SA cricket board was in disarray until Smith and Boucher got into the mix only a few weeks ago.

So to come back and beat England is a huge confidence boost for SA . Agreed SA has alot of weaknesses since alot of seniors have retired or left, but in reality alot every Nation has a weakness that they need to work on.

England were licking their lips before this tour started knowing what was happening in SA cricket.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

9 hours ago, prinzo said:

actually this is a huge achievement for SA taking into account of of what has been happening in the country.

a test series loss to SRI Lanka and a hammering in India.

SA cricket board was in disarray until Smith and Boucher got into the mix only a few weeks ago.

So to come back and beat England is a huge confidence boost for SA . Agreed SA has alot of weaknesses since alot of seniors have retired or left, but in reality alot every Nation has a weakness that they need to work on.

England were licking their lips before this tour started knowing what was happening in SA cricket.

 

I know the wider context of the SA economy and even what is happening with CSA etc. and it is a good win but expectations are much higher for a team like SA than it is for some other teams. In the mix of CSA administrative issues, the weakening Rand and difficult transformation targets, SA must make sure that they manage and develop talent properly at the franchise level. I have a feeling it's not been as good as it was in recent years and we are seeing the effects of that. 

[Ankit_sharma03]

 

 

 

 

[gakgupta]

I think CSA quota / reservation system is hurting them most.....

[GeeGaw]

13 hours ago, Stumped said:

 

 

How exactly did you want him to reply to a question specifically asking if it had been tough off the field in the run up to and during the test match? "Nah, it's all been good. Half the touring party being quarantined at some point and many unable to train in the run up to the match, numerous players being off the field ill at some point during the game, and our best player not training because his dad is in critical condition in hospital hasn't affected us at all".

"We aren't the first team to have a wave of illness hit us nor will we be the last.  That's part of the game sometimes and we need to find a way to play better under difficult circumstances."

That would have been a lot better rather than pulling a bitch move like he did.

[Stan AF]

10am: England win the toss and bat, finally a dollop of luck for Joe Root. "Looks a good surface, hopefully we can exploit that," he says. Crawley, Pope and Bess all confirmed as returning, in place of Burns, Bairstow and Archer. This will be Crawley's first chance at opener, having made his debut at No. 6 in Hamilton a few weeks ago. "Great opportunity for him," adds the England captain. Du Plessis confirms he would have batted, too, but is hopeful for a little assistance for his quicks early on. "Always at Newlands, day one first session, there is something in it. We'll try and get three or four." As for their new face, du Plessis says Malan "knows his game, he's from here, so it's the perfect place to make his debut".

 

 

South Africa: 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Pieter Malan, 3 Zubayr Hamza, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Anrich Nortje

 

 

England: 1 Dom Sibley, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Joe Denly, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Sam Curran, 9 Dom Bess, 10 James Anderson, 11 Stuart Broad

Edited January 3, 2020 by Stan AF

[ssurenn]

England won the toss and elected to bat.

[express bowling]

Why is Archer not playing ?

[ssurenn]

Crawley edges behind, de Kock takes a good catch & England are 8/1 ....

[ssurenn]

12 minutes ago, express bowling said:

Why is Archer not playing ?

Elbow injury

[express bowling]

10 minutes ago, ssurenn said:

Elbow injury

 

Could have played Wood in his place then.

 

Very medium paced attack from England now.

[ssurenn]

26 minutes ago, express bowling said:

 

Could have played Wood in his place then.

 

Very medium paced attack from England now.

Wood is not fit.

[ganeshran]

fantastic bowling by Rabada. He's troubling root

[Stan AF]

After getting a life in the very over, Joe Root gets a nasty nbouncer and gone...

[Cricwala]

Nortje looking so good..hitting 146-152 without seeming to put much effort. Dismissal of root, and dropped catch few balls before when root was stuck on crease, goes to show value of raw pace in high 140s. India needs to blood guys like Saini, Siraj..let them bowl flat out with cushion of guys like Bumrah, Shami arnd. Build a conveyor belt of hostile quicks 

[Real McCoy]

England crumbling again like usual. They have one gun player in Stokes. Root scores in meaningless dead rubbers and others are missing in action. They lost to NZ ffs. SA may not have the talent as before but are mentally equipped to beat the poms

[putrevus]

Nortje has effortless gas and I think he can sustain his pace even in his third spell.He is better prospect than Duanne who did the right thing by cashing his chips when he was on top.