Feed Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 More... Proteas eye No.1 Test spot Wellington February 16, 2012 SOUTH Africa opens hostilities tomorrow against New Zealand on a six-week tour it hopes will climax with a 3-0 sweep that would topple England from the top of the Test rankings. The tour begins in earnest with a Twenty20 international in Wellington, but most attention will focus on next month's Test series as South Africa, sitting second in the International Cricket Council world rankings, looks to become top dog. England's lead in the rankings was slashed to a point after its 3-0 drubbing by Pakistan, meaning South Africa can overtake England if it posts a similar scoreline in the Test series against New Zealand. The Proteas have never had a clean sweep in a three-Test series against the Black Caps and coach Gary Kirsten conceded his charges might have trouble adapting to unpredictable wickets. ''For any team, it takes a bit of time to adjust to the weather and wickets,'' he said. ''The wickets can be quite different every time you come here.'' The tour, including three Twenty20 internationals, three one-dayers and three Tests, will be a gauge for New Zealand coach John Wright of how far his team has come after his appointment in late 2010. New Zealand scored a rare Test victory on Australian soil to draw a two-match series in December and Wright has unearthed a rich seam of young talent, including batsman Kane Williams and seamer Doug Bracewell. Kirsten said last year's World Cup bust-up over a runout in the semi-final with New Zealand was in the past and his players would not be drawn into a slanging match with the home side.
saneindian Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Expect the proteas to choke at the worst possible moment. WOuldn't be surprised to see them lose the first test and end all this talk of being the new no 1.
Dhoni_fan Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Expect the proteas to choke at the worst possible moment. WOuldn't be surprised to see them lose the first test and end all this talk of being the new no 1. Given their record I more expect them to win the first two and then lose the 3rd when the ranking becomes a possibility only thing is they have been number 1 before socthat should help them out a bit it's not like they are trying to reach a world cup final or achieve something they have never previously achieved.
Trichromatic Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 They will get rank 1 sooner or later. At present SA is best team in the world and they can perform in all conditions. Even if they choke, they won't go downhill like India and will do better than England in Asia.
CG Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 They will get rank 1 sooner or later. At present SA is best team in the world and they can perform in all conditions. Even if they choke' date=' they won't go downhill like India and will do better than England in Asia.[/quote'] Yeah can't go downhill as they never get to the top of the hill as they choke at the last stage.
gaurav92 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 They will get rank 1 sooner or later. At present SA is best team in the world and they can perform in all conditions. Even if they choke' date=' they won't go downhill like India and will do better than England in Asia.[/quote'] Welcome back Vibhash :icflove: And yes, agree with you, SAF are the best Test team currently.
Karan114 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 They will get rank 1 sooner or later. At present SA is best team in the world and they can perform in all conditions. Even if they choke' date= they won't go downhill like India and will do better than England in Asia. :hysterical: The best team in the world wins just two series over a three year period, one of them against a dreadful West Indian team and the other against a Sri Lankan side that has won two Test matches in the last two years?
Robelinda Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 SA are nowhere near the best team, they cant even win at home.
Ultimate_Game Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 SA are nowhere near the best team' date=' they cant even win at home.[/quote'] True. IMO Aus are the best team... at least they don't et whitewashed and are competitive everywhere.
chainsmoker1985 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Do they have binoculars? I think its too far for them.... They would need binoculars to see it
cowboysfan Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 I too feel that they are going to lose one of those games,they are good for one ugly performance in every test series.
TalhaSyed Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 They can thanks us later :P I will be surprised if the get 3-0 tobe honest however with Eng spending a lot of time in the sub continent in the near future I can see SA getting that spot soon enough.
Desi Cartman Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 The games are in NZ and its already mid feb, I expect one test to be washed out and other 2 will have rain interruptions. BTW Im supporting SAF as I want ENG to get dethroned asap
Ultimate_Game Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 The games are in NZ and its already mid feb, I expect one test to be washed out and other 2 will have rain interruptions. BTW Im supporting SAF as I want ENG to get dethroned asap Can you imagine the stuff that will come out of Smith's mouth if Saffers get there? I still remember Smith and saffers b****ing about India's ranking when India toured SA only for him to shut up by the end of the tour :haha:
Desi Cartman Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 Can you imagine the stuff that will come out of Smith's mouth if Saffers get there? I still remember Smith and saffers b****ing about India's ranking when India toured SA only for him to shut up by the end of the tour :haha: Its best if SAF get there since we all know that they wont be there for too long either :cantstop: He can talk all he wants but in the end his team will be no1 for a month or 2
Ultimate_Game Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 Its best if SAF get there since we all know that they wont be there for too long either :cantstop: He can talk all he wants but in the end his team will be no1 for a month or 2 Eventually India will get the ranking coz we are playing mostly at home the next couple of years :two_thumbs_up:
Desi Cartman Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 Eventually India will get the ranking coz we are playing mostly at home the next couple of years :two_thumbs_up: I wont get my hopes high :(( .. with the team we have, Im not sure if we can whitewash even Bangladesh
Trichromatic Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 Welcome back Vibhash :icflove: And yes, agree with you, SAF are the best Test team currently. Thanks Gaurav. :hysterical: The best team in the world wins just two series over a three year period, one of them against a dreadful West Indian team and the other against a Sri Lankan side that has won two Test matches in the last two years? And they are only ones who haven't been whitewashed also. :P
Blackout_ Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 I believe South Africa are the most talented test side in the world. It will be interesting to see whether they can live up to their potential.
Blackout_ Posted February 17, 2012 Posted February 17, 2012 SA are nowhere near the best team' date=' they cant even win at home.[/quote'] You should probably open your other eye Rob.
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