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We're not chokers: Smith


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Posted

Its funny how every time South Africa loses any close-fought encounter, they get ridiculed as being chokers? Whats the alternative? Lose in a big margin? Maybe they should have been all out for 80 maybe? :laugh: The word ‘choke’ HAS to be the most misunderstood and misused word in cricket today. By definition, for you to be able to ‘choke’ you must first put yourself in a position where you can actually win. That alone completely negates the argument that the South Africans cannot handle pressure. All teams lose close matches. England has had 4 close matches in a row, 2 of which they should have won comfortably. So now what, the Poms choke too?

Posted
Its funny how every time South Africa loses any close-fought encounter, they get ridiculed as being chokers? Whats the alternative? Lose in a big margin? Maybe they should have been all out for 80 maybe? :laugh: The word ‘choke’ HAS to be the most misunderstood and misused word in cricket today. By definition, for you to be able to ‘choke’ you must first put yourself in a position where you can actually win. That alone completely negates the argument that the South Africans cannot handle pressure. All teams lose close matches. England has had 4 close matches in a row, 2 of which they should have won comfortably. So now what, the Poms choke too?
Its one thing to lose one or two close matches here and there and quite another to lose almost all the close matches a team plays. With South Africa its become something of a habit - every time they go to a big tournament we see South Africa being involved in 1 or 2 very close matches which they more often than not, end up losing.
Posted
Its one thing to lose one or two close matches here and there but with South Africa its become something of a habit. Every time they go to a big tournament we see South Africa being involved in 1 or 2 very close matches which they more often than not' date=' end up losing.[/quote'] That’s just the public perception. Because their reputation precedes them wherever they go, we just tend to notice their close losses, more than the other teams’. This South African side is one of the best sides in the world and has been so, for a while now. You don’t draw two test series in India in the last 10 years, a feat that has been achieved by no other team, if you’re chokers. You don’t become the first team in nearly 2 decades to win a test series in Australia if you’re chokers. You don’t go on to win a test series in England, a feat that has eluded even the formidable Aussies in the last decade, If you’re chokers. The tell-tale signs of the inability to handle pressure are when you keep collapsing in an embarrassing frequency like the current Pakistani or the West Indies side. That is a genuine sign that the players in the side have significant mental frailties with suspect temperaments. When you keep coming close and keep losing, that just means you don’t deliver during the key moments and that can happen to the BEST.
Posted
Its one thing to lose one or two close matches here and there and quite another to lose almost all the close matches a team plays. With South Africa its become something of a habit - every time they go to a big tournament we see South Africa being involved in 1 or 2 very close matches which they more often than not' date=' end up losing.[/quote'] what about the ODI series we played against India and Pakistan Both went to deciding games and we won both of those I dont think the Engalnd game was a case of choking Our batsman didn't start swinging wildly or running insanely, they played conservatively and carefully The english just bowled really well choking has to imply buckling under pressure, and thats not what it looked like Steyn in particular was very calm and collected for a bowler in such a position what we really need for the India game is for Smith and Kallis to fire, our bowling and fielding is more than decent
Posted
Its funny how every time South Africa loses any close-fought encounter, they get ridiculed as being chokers? Whats the alternative? Lose in a big margin? Maybe they should have been all out for 80 maybe? :laugh: The word ‘choke’ HAS to be the most misunderstood and misused word in cricket today. By definition, for you to be able to ‘choke’ you must first put yourself in a position where you can actually win. That alone completely negates the argument that the South Africans cannot handle pressure. All teams lose close matches. England has had 4 close matches in a row, 2 of which they should have won comfortably. So now what, the Poms choke too?
Choke is used when a team which dominates most of the game and is cruising, suddenly from nowhere starts losing it. SA definately are expert in that.
Posted
what about the ODI series we played against India and Pakistan Both went to deciding games and we won both of those I dont think the Engalnd game was a case of choking Our batsman didn't start swinging wildly or running insanely, they played conservatively and carefully The english just bowled really well choking has to imply buckling under pressure, and thats not what it looked like Steyn in particular was very calm and collected for a bowler in such a position what we really need for the India game is for Smith and Kallis to fire, our bowling and fielding is more than decent
Agree with you that SMITH and KALLIS have been out of form hope that they dont score against us after that they can score as many as they want to :--D
Posted
That’s just the public perception. Because their reputation precedes them wherever they go, we just tend to notice their close losses, more than the other teams’. This South African side is one of the best sides in the world and has been so, for a while now. You don’t draw two test series in India in the last 10 years, a feat that has been achieved by no other team, if you’re chokers. You don’t become the first team in nearly 2 decades to win a test series in Australia if you’re chokers. You don’t go on to win a test series in England, a feat that has eluded even the formidable Aussies in the last decade, If you’re chokers.
Ok, then why does this very formidable side always falter at the doorsteps of victory?? You say they're not chokers. Then what should they be called - a team that lacks the killer instinct to finish off games :hmmm:
The tell-tale signs of the inability to handle pressure are when you keep collapsing in an embarrassing frequency like the current Pakistani or the West Indies side. That is a genuine sign that the players in the side have significant mental frailties with suspect temperaments. When you keep coming close and keep losing, that just means you don’t deliver during the key moments and that can happen to the BEST.
But thats what happens to SA also, does'nt it? Take the recent SA-Eng ODI. They were cruising at 125/3 needing 171 to win and then................Collapse!! In case of the BEST teams it happens very rarely and in the big tournaments it almost never happens while in the case of SA it has become almost a habit to collapse in major ICC tournaments and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Some recent examples of SA collapsing in ICC tournaments and other series': WC 96 99 03 07 and now 2011 also t20 07 09 10 CT 02 04 06 09 others : 1994 Hero cup 1-2 matches of the recent India-SA ODI series. Now this shows a very clear trend that in big tournaments SA can be invariably expected to collapse at some stage. That is what I called Chokers.
Posted
Trivia-> What would be the name of the movies which features Grame Smith? 1. Mera Naam Choker. 2. Choker Bali. 3. Chandni Choke to China.
hha :haha::haha::haha:
Posted
Choke is used when a team which dominates most of the game and is cruising' date=' suddenly from nowhere starts losing it. SA definately are expert in that.[/quote'] Dont really agree surely "choking" has to imply collapsing due to nerves and irresponsible playing if your ahead in a game and the opposition comes back strong enough to beat you, then its not your faut. Example: South Africa vs Australia Australia scored the highest ever score in an ODI and took a South African wicket in the first over of our innings. We then played brilliantly and took the game. But the Australian bowling was not bad, nor was they're fielding, we just played better. The point? In order to choke, you have to lose the game, if your opponent takes it from you it's not the same thing
Posted
Dont really agree surely "choking" has to imply collapsing due to nerves and irresponsible playing if your ahead in a game and the opposition comes back strong enough to beat you, then its not your faut. Example: South Africa vs Australia Australia scored the highest ever score in an ODI and took a South African wicket in the first over of our innings. We then played brilliantly and took the game. But the Australian bowling was not bad, nor was they're fielding, we just played better. The point? In order to choke, you have to lose the game, if your opponent takes it from you it's not the same thing
what about the recent SA-Eng in the World Cup?? or the 2nd and 3rd ODIs in the recent India-SA ODI series?? surely these matches can be classified as chokes!!
Posted
Trivia-> What would be the name of the movies which features Grame Smith? 1. Mera Naam Choker. 2. Choker Bali. 3. Chandni Choke to China.
:haha::haha::haha::haha:

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