Cricket Strategist reviews the SA tourists

A 4-1 victory over Australia in the One Day Internationals (ODIs) wraps up the away leg of the tour. We look at some of the cricketers whose reputations were advanced and who went backward on the tour.

Advanced

JP Duminy: Without question the find of the tour. Runs, wickets and a reputation for being a tough and nuggety player under pressure. (10/10)

Graeme Smith: Love him or hate him, Smithy led from the front with runs and a tough as nails attitude that was apparent in the spirit shown by the entire side. (9/10)

Johan Botha: Following in the footsteps of Graeme Smith was always going to be tough. His bowling in the ODI's was tight and played his role to perfection. His stock definately advanced in world cricket ratings. (8/10)

AB Devilliers: A match winning innings that will probably never be forgotten. Devilliers has answered any doubts about his ability as a middle order batter in both forms of the game. (8/10)

Dale Steyn: The worlds premier fast bowler again showed his class and that partnership with Duminy which buried the Aussies will probably be the stuff of bar legends for MANY years to come (8/10)

Hashim Amla: I battled to judge Amla's performance. Without question he's proven he can play the game at this level and get runs in both the Test and ODI arena but I thought he got out at some bad times in the series. Answered any questions about his technique. (7/10)

Morne Morkel: Morkel came into the test series with a few questions hanging over his head. Plenty of fire and more importantly BRAINS in his bowling. (7/10)

Jacques Kallis: Bowled his heart out and made some important breakthroughs when they were needed. A little disappointed in his batting over the series though.... (7/10)

Makhaya Ntini: I reckon Ntini impressed this series. I think there were some concerns that he had grown a little long in the tooth but he delivered a solid performance (7/10)

Paul Harris: Harris played his role to perfection. Personal opinion - the Aussies didn't hold him in particularly high regard - but his hard work and scrapper spirit earned a few more fans. (7/10)

Albie Morkel - I'll confess I was a little surprised to see him named man of the series in the ODI's but he weighed in with some nice little contributions. Needs a bit of work on his bowling but a brave performance all in all. (7/10)

Unchanged / Too little to judge

Mark Boucher: I have to be honest and say Boucher didn't do much to advance his reputation in the series. Kept wicket solidly and chipped in with a few runs but really expected a bit more from him. (6/10)

Lonwabo Tsotsobe: A surprise inclusion for the tour he spent a lot of time on the sidelines. Four wickets on debut shows some ability, but he needs more game time. (6/10)

Wayne Parnell: A good opportunity for a youngster - can't say we had enough time to judge him. (6/10)

Ashwell Prince: Injury ruled him out early on. Without the injury the tour would not have belonged to Duminy though... makes you think.... (5/10)

Went backwards

Neil Mckenzie: He had such a vital role to play in the side and yet he never really got going. A few scratchy contributions but never seemed to stamp his authority on the game at any time. (5/10)

Herschelle Gibbs: Flashes of his true ability and one innings where he really got going. Going to have to work harder to deliver the runs to keep his place (5/10)

What a tour though... Can't wait till the Aussies hit our shores.

Happy Australia Day!

Sorry I can't help putting the boot in but hell its satisfying to see the South African cricket team put one over the Aussies...

Having said that, we can't get too cocky. Apart from this fourth One Day International (ODI), the other three games were extremely close and if one over in each game had gone against us, we'd have been in a very different situation.

One of the things I think that South Africa HAS done better than Australia in this series is clearly defined the roles of each player in the side... something I believe Australia has not gotten right this time round.

Every player in the SA side knew and played to their role and Johan Botha was a standout despite some criticism from Ricky Ponting.

David Warner is a perfect example. The guy has come in to the side with an extremely random role - he's been employed to hit or get out - if it comes off great, if not then its a wasted wicket and Ponting gets in early.

A couple of people are probably going to disagree with me but I thought Shaun Tait and Nathan Bracken bowled really well in the series. Tait was a bit of a spray gun from time to time but I reckon he'd be good in the test side... As for Bracken - he's been the pick of the Aussie bowlers. However I got the impression that Tait doesn't know what his role is - he charges in, bowls the ball at 150km/h but isn't sure if he is supposed to be containing or taking wickets.

In South Africa's setup, Johan Botha, Albie Morkel, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy knew their roles and bowled to them... Where was the spinner in the Aussie side who could bowl ten overs for thirty runs??

What about Brad Haddin and David Hussey? The guys can bat, but they seem to be coming in at the wrong times. I'm no Aussie selector but I reckon Haddin would be a real pain in the arse type of batter to bowl at at the top of the order and somebody like David Hussey would be great at the end of an innings.

What was the role of Ben Hilfenhaus in all of this?! I thought he was the guy supposed to keep things tight in the middle of the order, but I got the impression he thought he was a strike bowler?

Dunno what our readers think but would love some feedback.

Otherwise well done SA and HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY....

Hhhhmmmm

It was something I warned about at the start of the tour and it looks like its my concerns were justified...

Injuries are mounting in the SA camp - although surprisingly it seems to be the batters and not the bowlers who are picking up the knocks at the moment - and this poses a problem over the next three months.

Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher have now had their tours cut short while Jacques Kallis and Vaughn Van Jaarsveld are nursing strains. AB DeVilliers is also probably still feeling a little tender after the blow he took recently.

There's a lot of HARD cricket still to be played and squad depth is going to become increasingly important - which was why I argued that Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn shouldn't be bowling in all these games and Kallis shouldering a major batting and bowling role for EVERY game...

The last thing SA can afford is to see the likes of Ntini, Steyn, Kallis or Morne Morkel not available for the home leg of the test series....

Something that has been bugging me...

Since the start of this test series ONE question has been bugging me...

We've watched this incredible cricket, some great bowling, great batting and some really really good fielding at times.

Which brings me to this "Classic Catches" competition that the Aussies have on Channel 9... Every time it advertises a years supply of KFC for the winner plus 2000 aussie dollars....

The question that has been bugging me is:

HOW MUCH IS A YEARS SUPPLY OF KFC?!

Johan Botha

The South African captain having a good game so far in the third ODI vs. Australia...

A couple of catches and 3 for 32 off 10 overs AND in between that he's managed to pull a rampant Aussie side back just when they were looking like they were running away with things...

Neller ripping up the club game!

Andre Nel - South Africa's favourite knuckle-head fast bowler made a rare club appearance recently and boy did he rip up the deck...

Turning out for Pirates Club in Greenside against Randburg he recorded figures of:

14-7-18-3 - 1st innings and
4-3-6-4

It really is good to see an international cricketer turning out for club teams from time to time...

Well done Neller'

1-1

The Baggy Green came out on top this time around with a hard fought victory over SA in the second One Day International against SA...

Hell the test series was hard fought and the ODI's look like they're going to be nail biters!

How good was Bracken in this game? That over he bowled that only went for 4 (when Duminy got out) was brilliant. Methinks that's where the match was won for Australia.

Bracken, Tait and even this Harris guy - where were they during the Test series??

Tough to point fingers at anyone in this game - two good sides clashed and the Aussies came out on the top this time around.

Bit worrying to see SA dropping catches... Ponting has been dropped at least three times in the last two games and Marsh also got a lifeline today.

Disappointed to see Van Jaarsveld dropped and Parnell and Tsotsobe sitting on the sidelines again. These guys need the game experience and Steyn and Ntini are shouldering a helluva lot of work. I know I keep harping on about this point but it definately worries me...

1-0 good guys!

Our mates over at The Baggy Green are cursing their boys today after they dropped the ball in the first ODI international...

Well it says something for the psychological strength of our boys and chalks up a few points for Johan Botha who took a bit of criticism following the losses in the two T20 games...

Even though he has taken some flak, I rate Botha as a good, thinking cricketer. He's no Graeme Smith but people regularly underrate him and his contribution to the side... Note who was there at the end (even though he gave us some heart attacks along the way)

JP Duminy's golden summer continues as he made 71 - WITHOUT A SINGLE BOUNDARY BEING SCORED... tells you what a good thinking cricketer he is.

Neil McKenzie also came to the party with a vital 63 and then it was left up to Botha (12*) and Albie Morkel (40* off 18 balls) to see us home.

The Aussies made some pretty big fielding mistakes in the last few overs and at the end of the day those two misfields cost them dearly.

Vaughn Van Jaarsvelds problems continue having dropped two catches and then getting run out for 4. I just can't understand why they don't push him to the top of the order and put some bloody responsibility on the kid - he thrives on aggro situations and it makes more sense to open with Vaughn than it does with Amla (in my humble opinion) ...

I thought Kallis' contribution with the bat and ball needed to be highlighted. He scored 41 and then bowled 10 overs taking 0/35. The way he changed pace and mixed and matched it up a bit was an important lesson for anybody looking to bowl well in the ODI form of the game .

Punter Ponting at his subtle best

This is Ricky Ponting "Not giving" advice... (Quoted in SA Media here)

“The difference in the field is visible with a new captain. It was particularly evident in Brisbane the other night when there were about four or five captains by the end and everybody had something to say.

“However, it’s their problem and we just observe it from afar. It’s not my job to give them advice,” he added with a smile.

I enjoy Punter ... he's always got a clever dig to stick in...

In mourning

I'm in mourning... a test match loss and two losses in the T20 format of the game...

Ok not really but I guess all the South African fans have felt a little disappointed having been on the losing side after the success of the test series.

JP Duminy (pictured) was again brilliant but didn't really get much in the way of support from the rest of the lineup.

While T20 is a bit of hit and giggle format of the game. I guess I am also a little confuzzled about how the South African management have approached these games and a couple of my questions come back to the Kenya and Bangladeshi warm up series.

1. We know that Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini are world class bowlers capable of bowling in either format of the game against the best in the world.

2. We DON'T however know whether Parnell and Tsotsobe are good enough yet and how successful left arm seamers are as part of the SA make-up - so why not give them a consistent role in the ODI format.

3. We DON'T know who the backup to Boucher is and whether or not he could do with a break. Maybe a few games off to recharge the batteries.

4. Mckenzie is picked for the side and then as wickets started falling yesterday he gets shunted down the order. He is a known quantity - Why not give somebody like Andrew Puttick a run? And while you're at it, why not shove Van Jaarsveld to the top of the order so we can test out an alternative opener?

I appreciate that not much can be read into T20 cricket but still I wonder a bit about the "bigger picture" planning here. I've gotten the sense that this is a big shortfall of Mickey Arthur and hopefully management keeps his eye on the ball...

2nd T20 game

From the Cricket Strategist blog It was an odd performance by South Africa in the 1st of the T20s.

Admittledly they got blown out the water by shock batter Warner but I thought they made a couple of mistakes that they didn't have to make and its going to be interesting to see how they approach the second T20 game.

1. I still maintain that neither Ntini nor Steyn should be bowling (Due to fatigue / stress / strain) and both Tsotsobe and Parnell should have been bowled in the series against Kenya and Bangladesh - but no point crying over spilt milk.

2. Van Jaarsveld has to go to the top of the order. This is his game and he must shoulder some of the bloody batting risk.

3. While I thought JP Duminy was brilliant, I also felt that he chucked his wicket away just when he had turned the game... That shot he went out to was completely unnecessary. (Having said that, the 6 he belted off Tait with the paddle over the keepers head was phenomenal.)

Just from an Aussie perspective - I know our mates over at The Baggy Green have been calling for Nathan Bracken to be in the test squad and I think he justified this call yesterday. Shaun Tait also impressed me with some of his bowling.

Sports Trader
The following is the odds from the Sports Trader blog relating to the 2nd T20 at the Gabba tomorrow.

Well 1-0 Aussie at the moment and despite being firmly in the SA corner from a fans perspective, we're expecting them to go down again against the Aussies who looked like a very flexible ODI outfit on Sunday.

Here is some of the betting from World Sports Betting relating to the second

T20 game:

Best Batter - Australia
Warner - 33/10
Ponting - 7/2
Marsh - 7/2
D Hussey - 11/2
M Hussey - 7/1
White - 8/1

Best Batter - SA
Gibbs - 7/2
De villiers - 4/1
Duminy - 4/1
Amla - 4/1
Kallis - 4/1
McKenzie - 5/1
Van Jaarsveld - 9/1

Van Jaarsveld looks like a no brainer assuming he plays - which would seem likely given the bump to Devilliers

Man of the match odds
Warner - 7/1
Ponting - 8/1
Marsh - 9/1
Kallis - 10/1
Gibbs - 10/1
Bracken - 11/1
D Hussey - 12/1

Thought David Hussey at 12/1 could be a useful bet given his allrounder status.

SA lineup

The SA lineup for the first T20 game has been announced.

Have to be honest I'm a little disappointed on two fronts.

While appreciate that we took some inexperienced bowlers to Australia, I don't think it was fair to include both Ntini and Steyn in the side after the workout they had in the three match test series... They mustn't complain if these guys break down over the next few months if they are going to bowl them into the ground.

Secondly I think that Van Jaarsveld should be opening ahead of Kallis. T20 is Van Jaarsvelds game - he doesn't need to be sheltered...

Otherwise it looks like some big cricket action coming up!

SA team
Johan Botha (Warriors, captain), Mark Boucher (Warriors), AB de Villiers (Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Herschelle Gibbs (Cape Cobras), Jacques Kallis (Warriors), Albie Morkel (Titans), Makhaya Ntini (Warriors), Dale Steyn (Titans), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Warriors), Vaughn van Jaarsveld (Highveld Lions).

Cricket - T20 betting

From the Sports Trader blog.

After such a thrilling test series its almost a relief to be able to "slow down" to the T20 format of the game.

T20 is always a bit of a lottery when it comes to picking winners but lets see what's on offer at http://www.worldsportsbetting.co.za/:

Top team batters:

Australia
Marsh - 7/2
Warner - 4/1
Ponting - 4/1
Hopes - 9/2
M Hussey - 5/1
D Hussey - 7/1

SA
Kallis - 7/2
Amla - 7/2
Gibbs - 4/1
Van Jaarsveld - 9/2
Devilliers - 9/2
Duminy - 5-1

Van Jaarsveld looks like a good bet at 9/2 and Ponting at 4/1 could pay off very nicely. Both are in form and have plenty to prove to their respective teams.

Man of the Match odds:
Marsh - 8/1
Gibbs - 9/1
Kallis - 9/1
Morkel - 9/1
Amla - 9/1
Warner - 10/1
Ponting - 10/1

A bit of favouritism toward the SA boys?? Maybe we just don't know the Aussie players well enough to make a fair call??

Here come the ODI's

In my humble opinion one of the greatest Test series of all time has come to a close and we're now onto the smash-and-grab version of the game.

Without question the two teams were very closely matched with SA holding the aces in the bowling department and the Aussies persisting with a couple of guys who were out of form.

However Ian over at The Baggy Green believes that the Aussies may have the upper hand when it comes to the shorter version of the game in terms of the players they're putting out:

To give you an idea of what the two teams face I've posted the fixtures below:
11 January 2009 Australia v South Africa 20/20 MCG, Melbourne
13 January 2009 Australia v South Africa 20/20 Woolloongabba,
16 January 2009 Australia v South Africa ODI MCG, Melbourne
18 Janary 2009 Australia v South Africa ODI Bellerive Oval, Hobart
23 January 2009 Australia v South Africa ODI SCG, Sydney
26 January 2009 Australia v South Africa ODI Adelaide Oval,
30 January 2009 Australia v South Africa ODI WACA, Pert

The Aussies have named the following two teams and Ian has done a write up on the players here:

The KFC Twenty20 squad is:
R. Ponting (C)
M. Hussey (V/c)
D. Hussey
B. Hilfenhaus
J. Hopes
N. Bracken
B. Haddin (w/k)
S. Marsh
S. Tait
D. Warner
R. Harris
C. White
N. Hauritz

The Commonwealth Bank Series squad is:
R. Ponting (C)
M. Clarke (V/c)
B. Haddin
J. Hopes
N. Bracken
S. Marsh
M. Hussey
D. Hussey
N. Hauritz
B. Hilfenhaus
C. White
S. Tait
P. Siddle

The South African squad minus Graeme Smith is:
Johan Botha
Hashim Amla
Mark Boucher
AB de Villiers
JP Duminy
Herschelle Gibbs
Jacques Kallis
Albie Morkel
Morne Morkel
Makhaya Ntini
Wayne Parnell
Dale Steyn
Lonwabo Tsotsobe
Vaughn van Jaarsveld

My concerns are that Steyn, Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini need to be used very sparingly for these games after the long hard test series. The Aussies are resting Johnson for the series and Siddle for the T20s. which is a smart move.

That leaves SA with Botha, Tsotsobe, Albie Morkel, Wayne Parnell and Jacques Kallis shouldering a lot of the bowling work.

Albie Morkel hasn't bowled much with an injury niggle and Tsotsobe has been sitting on the sidelines in Oz so they might be a little rusty as well.

Tend to agree that the Aussies may have the upperhand with this one but would never write SA out of anything.

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Odd English

Oh brilliant cricket administration! The captain and coach of the national side have decided to resign at the same time because they can't work with one another?!

Gents - politics 101 - there has to be a winner you can't both lose and quit your jobs.

Sigh... English cricket in action again.

Graeme Smith

If the South African captain has any detractors in either Australia or at home after todays heroics at the Sydney Cricket Ground then I don't know what to say to those people.

The SCG rose as one as Smith stepped out to bat having cut the cast off his hand as he and Makhaya Ntini sought to face another 50 balls.

It was the kind of display that has typified SA cricket throughout this series - a truly heroic, sporting gesture!

One cannot say enough about the spirit and heart with which every player has battled their way through this series. It is like no other cricket series I've watched and South Africa still has the home leg to consider.

Brilliant cricket all round!

Morne Morkel opening

What the hell was Mickey Arthur thinking when he decided to open with Morne Morkel?!

Don't get me wrong - there's nothing to be faulted with a bit of experimentation from time to time, but seriously Morkel coming in with such a big total to chase doesn't make sense.

A pinch hitter from time to time might work, but not in this case - he should rather have stuck with the tried and tested and let them work their way through...

Dunno - thoughts? Comments? Criticisms?

Whatever Trevor...

I've got a lot of respect for Aussie cricketers. They play the game well and they play it hard. They're also good students of the game.

However watching all the back patting and talk about how well Peter Siddle bowled earlier today really got my back up.

With all due respect - if you are sending the ball down at 145km/h on a bouncer length and its skidding through at ankle height, I think you have to be a little more circumspect about the result...

Yeah he bowled okay but would he have achieved the same results on a more reliable track??

Am I being unfair?

KP vs. England Cricket

What do you guys make of the Kevin Pietersen escapades with the "powers that be" in English cricket?

It seems helluva disruptive to have such a public fallout amongst the captain and the coach and even worse that the administrators haven't been able to cool it off?

So what do you do now - back the player or back the coach?

It's a tough one - big season ahead of England with the West Indies and the Ashes ahead of them. It doesn't help that their side seems shy of firepower in terms of players - if they can't trust the support structures from the side of the field, how the hell can they be expected to have confidence on the field?

Weak administrators off the field seem to have translated into weak players on the field for England - what do you think?

Charmed life

Michael Clarke is leading a charmed life here...

Tight chance to Mckenzie, castled by Jacques Kallis (much to the amusement of everyone except perhaps Clarke) and then being dropped by Hashim Amla.

I like Clarke - classy cricketer - good to see him scrapping a bit for the Aussie cause...

Track

Just watching Ntini bowling this first over with the new ball and the track looks like its dying quickly...

No real bounce and movement... Probably don't want to be batting last on this strip...

Also noticed that the SA bowlers (notably Morkel and Ntini) look very flat and tired. Probably some very sore and tired bowlers in both camps and you don't want these guys breaking down.

Welcome to Test cricket Mr McDonald!

Well that was subtle from Morne Morkel .... He gave Andrew McDonald a rip snorting welcome to Test cricket with the bouncer that bashed his helmet off.

Can't say this guy strikes me as a number 6 test batter but the guy is still there which is more than one can say for Punter Ponting... ;-)

Third test prediction

There's a couple of hours to go until the third test match kicks off in Sydney and I really don't think that I can look beyond South Africa.

Although having said that... the Aussies over at The Baggy Green do point out that their team hasn't lost a game in 2009 yet... Trust an Aussie to put a positive spin on things... especially if Nathan Hauritz isn't going to...

Ok maybe that was a bit harsh ;-)

Sometimes you just hit a streak where nothing you do goes right and with the Aussies nursing injuries to the likes of Watson, Lee and Bracken (??) and only Mitchell Johnson really coming to the party with the ball, there seems to be a lack of punch to them at the moment.

South Africa is again unchanged and why not?! They've fought back hard in the last two games and have never quit - despite things looking bleak at times.

The Aussies should take heart from the fact that they have had SA on the ropes for big parts of the test match and its taken heroics from Devilliers in the first test and Duminy / Steyn in the second test to swing it SA's way.

Still have a concern that the Aussie attack lacks punch and can't see them bowling SA out twice - especially if they are depending on the likes of Hauritz and Siddle.

Should be an interesting game either way and its been one helluva series!

Well done to the Aussies for letting us out of jail a coupla times - its been such a pleasure to finally knock up some wins on your turf at last!

Want to know why the Aussies

are wearing pink tomorrow at the cricket?

Full details of their support of The McGrath Foundation can be found here on The Baggy Green.