SA vs England - 4th ODI

England have blown very hot and cold in this series so far - as to I guess have the Proteas.

We were dominant at Newlands (which is becoming something of a fortress for us) but when we played at Centurion (which should have suited our attack) we found ourselves short of runs.

On Sunday we take on the English in the fourth ODI and I expect South Africa to hit their straps now that they have had a couple of games to start building up their momentum and form.

I'd expect us to win it quite comfortably.

The bets I have taken:

• AB De Villiers - top SA batsman
• Morgan - top English batsman
• SA to win

2nd ODI - Centurion Park - South Africa vs. England

It has been a bit of a disjointed from South Africa in their first ODI match-up against England at Centurion Park.

A couple of guys have gotten starts - Amla, Duminy and Pietersen - but you have to wonder whether or not they should have gone on to make a few more. Personal opinion is you need 270+ to be competitive at Centurion - all it takes is one batter to get going and you can chase down most totals.

Some Boucher heroics at the end as usual helped us along.

Interesting selections from the South African side as well. I don't totally understand how Bosman can get 90-odd and then be dropped while we substitute Alviro Pietersen as a middle-order batter.

Thought maybe we could have gone with another specialist batter but let's see how the bowlers fare.

English bowlers again didn't look like any great shakes.

And then the rain came!

I was so excited - I had box tickets to the Wanderers yesterday to watch South Africa take on England... and then it pissed with rain all week! Grrrrr....

I was going to blame the poms for bringing the bad weather here but then I realised the team is made up of South Africans and an Irishman whose sole purpose in life is to get into the pub as quickly as possible so I can't even blame them for the weather!

Selections - second T20 - SA vs England

After the rain in the first T20 game, it looks like the English have come here to play good, hard cricket this summer which is quite encouraging.

They take on South Africa today in the second of the T20 games and I expect the South Africans to put on a more convincing bowling performance this time around. Credit must be given to Morgan for his destruction of the bowlers at the Wanderers - there were some massive sixes hit there.

I have backed:

- South Africa to win today
- Graeme Smith to be the top SA batsman
- Either Jonathan Trott or Morgan to top score for the English

Pity the rain came

So the first real competition of the summer ended in a wet and miserable wash out... do you think it is co-incidence that it is because we were playing the Poms?

So what can we take out of last night and the couple of warm-up hit 'em ups against Zimbabwe?

• Our bowlers are rusty - don't read too much into the performances in the first few games
  
• Morgan, Trott, Collingwood and even Pietersen are going to be a handful this summer. It's probably the first time I'd say that the English have had a batting lineup that I would be wary of.
  
• I don't think it is out and out talent (although there is some there) but I think it is the attitude which is there. Good gritty English (or more specifically South African and Irish) determination and balls
• I still don't think the Poms have a bowling attack to write home about.
  
• Loots Bosman - not a clue what to make of THAT selection - there is no question he can slog a ball but it all seems a little hit and miss
• Ryan Mclaren looks capable enough - let's see what he can do
• Nice to see Charl Langeveldt back in the mix

All in all - I wouldn't read too much into losing a T20 game via Duckworth-Lewis but I definately think that England have come out here to play hard cricket and if we don't get on top of their batters it could be a hot summer.

Trinidad and Tobago - A positive boost

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while - things have been a little hectic on the home-front!

As a Cape Cobras fan I was a bit disappointed to see them get knocked out at the semi-final stage but I was pretty impressed that they made it that far and had a good run in the tournament while entertaining fans.

T20 cricket by its nature is a bit of a lottery but it does capture the imagination of fans and players.

For that reason I thought it was quite encouraging to see Trinidad and Tobago making it to the finals of the competition. I have blogged on the subject before - West Indian cricket is in absolute turmoil at the moment and administrators and players will probably be pleased to have found a format of the game that suits their style of cricket -it would be nice to see them go on from here.

T20 Champions League - Saturday Picks

Another day in the T20 Champions League competition today and now that a couple of teams have had a chance to stretch their legs punters will be able to make some more informed decisions.

Deccan vs. Somerset
It is hard to look beyond the Deccan Chargers for this fixture - too many big guns for the Somerset side and I would expect them to romp home.

Preditions

• Deccan to win
• Top Deccan batsman - Adam Gilchrist
• Top Somerset batsman - Justin Langer

Cape Cobras vs Otago
The Cobras were good in their last fixture and even minus Charl Langeveldt I'd expect them to win here.

Money on Andrew Puttick to top score for the Cape Cobras with Brendan McCullum top scoring for Otago.