1-1 was a fair result for this test series... but geez it was achingly close!
I really thought that Hashim Amla and Morne Morkel were going to hang on for those last few overs. But it was not to be and kudos to India for fighting to the end.
This was good quality test match cricket!
Although having said that, both sides really did blow hot and cold over the series. Amla was brilliant through the series, but he was the only one to really stamp his authority down on the game - he really was an asset for the side.
Big question marks continue to hang over Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy. They can't buy runs at the moment. It was really encouraging to see Alviro Petersen making the step up to test cricket - he's going to be pushing hard for a place and one has to wonder whether it will be Prince or Duminy who gets the boot?
And now for the ODI's - should be brilliant.
Showing posts with label Ashwell Prince. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashwell Prince. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Does Mickey Arthur have a plan?
I know that coach-bashing is a popular past-time in South African sports, but the more I look at the selections and planning around our national cricket team, the more I wonder whether or not Mickey Arthur really has a clue about where he’s taking this team?
The openers crisis
Our inability to find a decent opening pair is a starting point. Yes Ashwell Prince has had some success there but he’s indicated that he doesn’t want to play there on a regular basis and it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team when he gets out cheap.
Yes these may be our six best batters, but why are we trying to make an opener out of somebody out of a middle-order batter?
We have the Andrew Putticks and Stephen Cooks of the world who are chalking up the runs, but whenever the mess hits the fan we draft Herschelle Gibbs back in or try and invent an opener.
Friedel de Wet
De Wet at the age of 29 has come out of nowhere to represent the test squad and somehow is now the first choice back up to Dale Steyn. With Ntini’s retirement this makes him part of the first-choice attack. Where did he come from? He was never given a run in the ODI or T20 side before he suddenly got a surprise call-up.
Wayne Parnell, Lonwaba Tsotsobe, Rory Kleinveldt, Johan van der Wath, Yussuf Abdullah, Ryan Mclaren and Albie Morkel have all been given a crack in the ODI side. Somehow De Wet leapfrogs over all of these guys and Johan Botha into the first test team?
Imran Tahir
The Pakistani / we think South African spinner was out of the blue included in the fourth test match squad at the Wanderers.
Then he was dropped when questions around his eligibility were raised.
All of a sudden he has jumped ahead of all the other bowlers – including the very successful and experienced Johan Botha as a test candidate?
For sure it is easy to be an armchair fan and criticise Arthur and the selectors for the makeup of the team, but there doesn’t look like there is any real process happening here to develop and build a sustainable long-term team.
The openers crisis
Our inability to find a decent opening pair is a starting point. Yes Ashwell Prince has had some success there but he’s indicated that he doesn’t want to play there on a regular basis and it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team when he gets out cheap.
Yes these may be our six best batters, but why are we trying to make an opener out of somebody out of a middle-order batter?
We have the Andrew Putticks and Stephen Cooks of the world who are chalking up the runs, but whenever the mess hits the fan we draft Herschelle Gibbs back in or try and invent an opener.
Friedel de Wet
De Wet at the age of 29 has come out of nowhere to represent the test squad and somehow is now the first choice back up to Dale Steyn. With Ntini’s retirement this makes him part of the first-choice attack. Where did he come from? He was never given a run in the ODI or T20 side before he suddenly got a surprise call-up.
Wayne Parnell, Lonwaba Tsotsobe, Rory Kleinveldt, Johan van der Wath, Yussuf Abdullah, Ryan Mclaren and Albie Morkel have all been given a crack in the ODI side. Somehow De Wet leapfrogs over all of these guys and Johan Botha into the first test team?
Imran Tahir
The Pakistani / we think South African spinner was out of the blue included in the fourth test match squad at the Wanderers.
Then he was dropped when questions around his eligibility were raised.
All of a sudden he has jumped ahead of all the other bowlers – including the very successful and experienced Johan Botha as a test candidate?
For sure it is easy to be an armchair fan and criticise Arthur and the selectors for the makeup of the team, but there doesn’t look like there is any real process happening here to develop and build a sustainable long-term team.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
England sneak home
Graham Onions is probably the most hated man in South African cricket right now as he once again frustrated the home team and made sure that England for the second time in three test matches hung on for an improbable draw.
There have been some incredibly exciting moments in this test series and to have had two of them go down to the absolute wire is good for the game.
One of the commentators summed it up perfectly that South Africa have outplayed England for most of the series and apart from one really bad day in the second test, we should be 2-0 or 2-1 up. Yet somehow we are not.
The Proteas are going to have to take a long hard look at themselves going into this last test match. There is some gnashing of teeth and threats that JP Duminy, Ashwell Prince and Paul Harris are under pressure to maintain their places.
Prince is in a no-win situation at the moment. He is playing a role he doesn’t like, he’s relatively short of cricket and he knows he is under pressure in terms of his form. If they are not prepared to shift him down the order, they are doing him no favours keeping him there.
Duminy’s success with the ball in this test match means he will almost certainly keep his place, but he really needs to get some runs and add some stability to our middle-order.
Ironically Paul Harris is the one player whose position is under threat with many people blaming him for our problems and inability to bowl out opposition. The criticism laid at Harris’ door is that he doesn’t take wickets – the reality is that he has taken 11 wickets and only Morne Morkel (12) has taken more than him. Admittedly Steyn missed the first test but the statistics don’t lie.
The wickets he has taken have also not been mugs. Pietersen, Cook, Strauss, Collingwood – they’ve all been taken by Harris at some point in this series.
More important than all of this is the initial reason Harris was included in the side. Harris does a very specific job in the side that allows Graeme Smith to rotate his seamers. Harris ties up and end, squeezes out wickets and he has done it very well for South Africa.
We have one test match to go in this series and it is a must-win situation. By all means look at a jiggle in the batting line-up and find a way to get Wayne Parnell into the side, but don’t lay the blame at the door of Paul Harris.
There have been some incredibly exciting moments in this test series and to have had two of them go down to the absolute wire is good for the game.
One of the commentators summed it up perfectly that South Africa have outplayed England for most of the series and apart from one really bad day in the second test, we should be 2-0 or 2-1 up. Yet somehow we are not.
The Proteas are going to have to take a long hard look at themselves going into this last test match. There is some gnashing of teeth and threats that JP Duminy, Ashwell Prince and Paul Harris are under pressure to maintain their places.
Prince is in a no-win situation at the moment. He is playing a role he doesn’t like, he’s relatively short of cricket and he knows he is under pressure in terms of his form. If they are not prepared to shift him down the order, they are doing him no favours keeping him there.
Duminy’s success with the ball in this test match means he will almost certainly keep his place, but he really needs to get some runs and add some stability to our middle-order.
Ironically Paul Harris is the one player whose position is under threat with many people blaming him for our problems and inability to bowl out opposition. The criticism laid at Harris’ door is that he doesn’t take wickets – the reality is that he has taken 11 wickets and only Morne Morkel (12) has taken more than him. Admittedly Steyn missed the first test but the statistics don’t lie.
The wickets he has taken have also not been mugs. Pietersen, Cook, Strauss, Collingwood – they’ve all been taken by Harris at some point in this series.
More important than all of this is the initial reason Harris was included in the side. Harris does a very specific job in the side that allows Graeme Smith to rotate his seamers. Harris ties up and end, squeezes out wickets and he has done it very well for South Africa.
We have one test match to go in this series and it is a must-win situation. By all means look at a jiggle in the batting line-up and find a way to get Wayne Parnell into the side, but don’t lay the blame at the door of Paul Harris.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Predictions - 3rd test at Newlands, England vs. South Africa
The third test match is here and the Proteas are smarting from the hiding they took in Durban.
You can see that Graeme Smith is not a happy man and I’m expecting the Proteas to finally come to a game switched and ready to scrap. When this SA team has its back to the wall and is taking flak from supporters and the media alike they tend to bounce back … and hard!
With the first innings I am backing either Graeme Smith or Ashwell Prince (no announcement has been made that he won’t play) to top score for us. I’m getting odds of 3/1 for Smith and 5/1 for Prince.
Smith is likely to lead from the front and Prince is too good a player to get himself bogged down after two bad performances.
For the English I am backing Jonathan Trott who I got at 5/1.
C’mon the Proteas.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Two tests down and its not looking good
By: Marc Ashton
So South Africa and England have squared up against one another in two test matches:
The second test match was a disaster with the English team only needing to bat once and the South African bowlers chasing leather.
In both test matches spinners Paul Harris and Graeme Swann have proven their worth. The second test match, Harris was not his usual tidy self and the lack of variety in the attack was shown up for what it is worth.
Where to from here?
This is the question on all the South African fans lips at the moment.
Let's look at the weaknesses at the moment:
De Wet - a selection I admittedly didn't think had merit - and he showed how hungry he was in the first test and got rewarded with wickets. Two or three fringe players being given the chance to create a bit of competition for places isn't the worst thing in the world. Look how hungry Duminy was when he finally cracked the nod last year against Australia - he piled on the runs.
I am pretty sure that the South African selectors won't make any real changes for the third test. There may be consideration to either a swap with Morkel or Duminy, but nothing in the past has shown that Micky Arthurs selection policies are likely to be particularly bold.
So South Africa and England have squared up against one another in two test matches:
- Result one was a hard-fought draw with the poms hanging on for dear life.
- Result two - the English steam-roller the home team at Kingsmead
The second test match was a disaster with the English team only needing to bat once and the South African bowlers chasing leather.
In both test matches spinners Paul Harris and Graeme Swann have proven their worth. The second test match, Harris was not his usual tidy self and the lack of variety in the attack was shown up for what it is worth.
Where to from here?
This is the question on all the South African fans lips at the moment.
Let's look at the weaknesses at the moment:
- Ashwell Prince has been short-changed being forced up into the openers berth. He' s a middle-order batter and is worth his weight in gold when he holds an innings together. He has said he doesn't like opening but will take one for the team. I am not totally sure that this is the most appropriate treatment for one of your most senior players?
- We need a genuine opener and if he has to come in for either JP Duminy or Prince then we need to bite the bullet and bring somebody who is used to the new ball. A bold selection would the decision to include Andrew Puttick but I doubt that the selectors will make that move and will instead plug away with the team that they have.
- Wayne Parnells exclusion is completely baffling. Neither Makhaya Ntini nor Morne Morkel have fired in the last two test matches and both Parnell and Friedel de Wet are chomping at the bit and on song.
De Wet - a selection I admittedly didn't think had merit - and he showed how hungry he was in the first test and got rewarded with wickets. Two or three fringe players being given the chance to create a bit of competition for places isn't the worst thing in the world. Look how hungry Duminy was when he finally cracked the nod last year against Australia - he piled on the runs.
I am pretty sure that the South African selectors won't make any real changes for the third test. There may be consideration to either a swap with Morkel or Duminy, but nothing in the past has shown that Micky Arthurs selection policies are likely to be particularly bold.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Changes to my cricket dream team
As mentioned I had expected Eoin Morgan and Wayne Parnell to play in the first test match and picked them in my "Dream Team". With two 0's against their names I finished the first round of the competition with a global ranking of 1530.
I have made two changes to my side with Graeme Swann replacing Parnell and Ashwell Prince replacing Morgan. Hopefully they can come to the party in the second test match.
I have made two changes to my side with Graeme Swann replacing Parnell and Ashwell Prince replacing Morgan. Hopefully they can come to the party in the second test match.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Payback is a bitch...
That's all I can say - we got put in our place by a damn useful Aussie side in front of our home supporters... Ouch!
Now before we do the usual South African story of throwing our hands up in the air and berating our side, we need to step back and try and put these performances into perspective.
Number 1: When we were in Australia it took heroics from Duminy, Steyn and Devilliers to ultimately keep us competitive in the first two tests which we won... We didn't walk all over the Aussies and I think that is something we need to emphasise. Both sides could have won either of the first two tests in Australia. We were less competitive at home.
Number 2: This is a good Aussie side... We mustn't forget how good this Australian side is... Johnson, Ponting, Hussey, Clarke and Katich are amongst the best in the world in respect of the positions they occupy. On top of that, Hughes looks like a world-beater in the making. Quality cricketers don't roll over and get beaten under any circumstances.
Number 3: Injuries played a part.... An injury to Graeme Smith and the knock that Kallis took invariably rattled us in our first innings. If they had been able to contribute another 100 runs in our first innings and Smith a few in the second innings the series would be all square and we would be patting ourselves on the back for chasing a mammoth total.
We didn't win it and we have to get over it. Imraan Khan and Ashwell Prince have been moved in for the injured Smith and the out-of-form Mckenzie which makes some sense and Wayne Parnell has been added to the squad in place of Morne Morkel...
... and this is where I get irritated with selection in SA cricket. Where the hell is the consistency in moving players in and out.
Bowlers: First test match Lonwabo Tsotsobe is the 12th man and I as a fan believe he will be the replacement bowler if somebody moves out. The second test match, he gets drafted out and Albie Morkel moves to the bench. Third test match, MORNE Morkel gets dropped and Parnell moves into the lineup.... Who the hell is the next choice bowler?!
Personally I think that Tsotsobe or Parnell should be at the top of the line because they offer some variety with left-arm seam where as Albie Morkel (while offering something with the batting front) offers just straight-up right arm seam. Dunno...
Batters:
I think it is great that Khan got a hundred against the Aussies in the warm-up game and he has been the top domestic run getter so he deserves a chance to play. My question is - where was he in Australia or the T20's or the ODI games?
Suddenly the guy has been drafted in to the setup... where is the succession planning. As far as I knew the next two batters in line for international spots (based on selector behaviour) were Herschelle Gibbs and Vaughn Van Jaarsveld with Andrew Puttick on the fringes... Suddenly they are pulling in Khan....
In the same way I see that Ashwell Prince is supposedly going to open the innings. This doesn't make sense and we seem to be carrying on with this idea of "making" openers out of middle-order batters.... Dunno - no consistency.
Let's see how it goes
Now before we do the usual South African story of throwing our hands up in the air and berating our side, we need to step back and try and put these performances into perspective.
Number 1: When we were in Australia it took heroics from Duminy, Steyn and Devilliers to ultimately keep us competitive in the first two tests which we won... We didn't walk all over the Aussies and I think that is something we need to emphasise. Both sides could have won either of the first two tests in Australia. We were less competitive at home.
Number 2: This is a good Aussie side... We mustn't forget how good this Australian side is... Johnson, Ponting, Hussey, Clarke and Katich are amongst the best in the world in respect of the positions they occupy. On top of that, Hughes looks like a world-beater in the making. Quality cricketers don't roll over and get beaten under any circumstances.
Number 3: Injuries played a part.... An injury to Graeme Smith and the knock that Kallis took invariably rattled us in our first innings. If they had been able to contribute another 100 runs in our first innings and Smith a few in the second innings the series would be all square and we would be patting ourselves on the back for chasing a mammoth total.
We didn't win it and we have to get over it. Imraan Khan and Ashwell Prince have been moved in for the injured Smith and the out-of-form Mckenzie which makes some sense and Wayne Parnell has been added to the squad in place of Morne Morkel...
... and this is where I get irritated with selection in SA cricket. Where the hell is the consistency in moving players in and out.
Bowlers: First test match Lonwabo Tsotsobe is the 12th man and I as a fan believe he will be the replacement bowler if somebody moves out. The second test match, he gets drafted out and Albie Morkel moves to the bench. Third test match, MORNE Morkel gets dropped and Parnell moves into the lineup.... Who the hell is the next choice bowler?!
Personally I think that Tsotsobe or Parnell should be at the top of the line because they offer some variety with left-arm seam where as Albie Morkel (while offering something with the batting front) offers just straight-up right arm seam. Dunno...
Batters:
I think it is great that Khan got a hundred against the Aussies in the warm-up game and he has been the top domestic run getter so he deserves a chance to play. My question is - where was he in Australia or the T20's or the ODI games?
Suddenly the guy has been drafted in to the setup... where is the succession planning. As far as I knew the next two batters in line for international spots (based on selector behaviour) were Herschelle Gibbs and Vaughn Van Jaarsveld with Andrew Puttick on the fringes... Suddenly they are pulling in Khan....
In the same way I see that Ashwell Prince is supposedly going to open the innings. This doesn't make sense and we seem to be carrying on with this idea of "making" openers out of middle-order batters.... Dunno - no consistency.
Let's see how it goes
Friday, March 6, 2009
I'm back...
Somebody mailed me this photo and I thought it summed up my feelings as an SA cricket supporter today...Can anyone remember which movie this is from? Its been bugging me!
After a great tour of Oz WE now seem to be on the back foot at home and it hurts dammit!
The Aussies have benefitted from the bold selection of Hughes at the top of the order and he seems to be justifying all the hype around him - he looks like an awesome talent.
Katich (108) and Hughes (115) got the Aussies off to a great start on Day 1 of the Kingsmead test and they ended the day 303/4
Ponting (9) and Clarke (3) fell cheaply to Paul Harris. Now Hussey and North have the chance to bury the match by racking up big scores here. But we all know how this series has gone over the last few months and nobody is down and out.
I think the lack of a decent spinner may prove to be a problem for the Australians on Days 4 and 5 but we'll see.
Can't help but look at the selection of Hughes and the persistence with Mckenzie upfront for South Africa - could we perhaps have enjoyed a bolder selection or a swap of Prince for Mckenzie on current form?
Will have to see how day 2 goes....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
