We are surprised?

All I am going to say on the subject of the Proteas going down to New Zealand is.... don't tell me you are surprised.

Prior to the tournament I warned that there was a problem with the makeup the side and the South African brainstrust have nobody to blame but themselves.

In my humble opinion Faf Du Plessis and Imran Tahir were probably the only players in the side to really enhance their international credentials while AB De Villiers and Hashim Amla did their bit. For the rest it was a pretty average performance.

I'm not blaming Robin Peterson completely but he came in at number 8 with 128/6 on the scoreboard. If he and Faf had stayed together - as the allrounders in the side - they could have done a run a ball and gotten us home. Instead he scored zip.

JP Duminy and Johan Botha at 5 and 7, can't be getting out for 3 and 2 respectively.

We can go back to the England game which we tossed away when the pressure was put on us. Duminy (0), Peterson (3) and Morkel (1) didn't keep their heads.

I go back to the point I raised pre the World Cup - we were not building a team for this competition designed to peak in March 2011. One moment Lopsy was going to add variety to the attack, the next he didn't play any big name cricket. At the same time Wayne Parnell was supposed to be the answer to our number 8 allrounder problems and then we decided we didn't need to fill this critical role.

Why invest all that time in Ingram and Miller if they weren't going to be part of the bigger picture? We could really have used an extra batter especially with AB doing the keeping duties.

I'm just looking on Twitter now and seeing all of the sympathetic messages that "winning isn't everything" etc.... KAK - a lot of effort has been put into this side and their goal was to be primed for this event. In short somebody has to take responsibility for this and its got to be the Proteas brainstrust - we can't accept this result.

Time for Robin to go

I hate criticising individual cricketers but the continued selection of Robin Peterson for the Proteas absolutely baffles me. I understand the concept that he brings some variety to the attack being a left arm spinner, who supposedly can bat a bit and not a bad fielder but the stats don't lie - he doesn't fulfil these roles in the national side.

Batting:
T20 - 6 games, 43 runs, average of 14
ODIS - 38 games - 153 runs - average of 12 (Booster by 4 not outs)

Bowling:
T20 - 8 wickets at an average of 15 and an economy of 15.25 from 6 games
ODIS - 21 wickets, 53.19 and an economy of 4.76 from 38 games.

He has taken 11 catches in those 44 games.

England proved a few years back that you actually need some specialists - genuine allrounders not bit players who might get lucky on the occasional day. As Peterson has shown 44 games into his career that he is not getting lucky!

If you want somebody to fill that role then stick JP Duminy in at 7 or 8 and push another batter into the side like Andrew Puttick. A number 7 or 8 in ODI / T20 cricket still needs to be able to bat and at the moment we don't seem to be rushing to find somebody to fill that role.

We need to work hard at balancing our ODI side ahead of the world cup because as it stands, we can't expect people beyond number 6 to carry us through the tight games

---------------------------------------
Buy designer T-Shirts Online Click Here

What disaster?

I have been thinking quite a lot about this whole T20 World Cup "disaster" for the South African side and reading all the negative comments that have been going around in the various media channels.

Everyone is dragging up the whole "chokers" tag again and wandering around with the whole "I told you so attitude".

Game 1 - we played India - lost by 14 runs
Game 2 - we played Afghanistan - won 59 runs
Game 3 - we played New Zealand - won by 13 runs
Game 4 - we played England - got thumped by 39 runs
Game 5 - we played Pakistan - lost by 11 runs

We had 1 bad game against England and then two average games against India and Pakistan. The difference between the two sides was effectively one over.

Yes it irritates the shit out of me that Morne Morkel bowls no-balls in ODI or T20 cricket. Yes it irritates the shit out of me that we battle to pace ourselves to score at 10 an over from the word go. It also irritates the shit out of me that somebody would dare to double step Dale Steyn and slug him 90 metres for a six... but these things happen and in T20 it is going to happen on a regular basis.

With due respect if we took on any of those sides in a test or full 50 over ODI match up, our win ratio would be 75% or higher if playing at home and probably 60% or higher playing away from home.

We need to take a look at what we take away from this event:

• Morne Morkel is not an ODI / T20 bowler - let's not treat him as such. Let him mature as a test bowler
• There is a serious argument to let Johan Botha become the dedicated ODI / T20 captain. He has shown he understands the format of the game - let's use his knowledge
• In T20 cricket, where are we going to use JP Duminy? He's a great middle order batter but is he the big hitter that we need with four overs to go?
• I'm a Herschelle Gibbs fan but at some point he needs to deliver the goods

We have to be a little realistic about what this tournament says about SA cricket. It's not the end of the world - hell it is hardly a black mark on our record - its just that we need to understand what we want to do with this T20 side.

Cricket picks - Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers

The Deccan Chargers need to pick up maximum points this afternoon against the Mumbai Indians if they are planning to make the knock-out stages of the IPL this year. Gilchrist and Co will be cursing the fact that they have dropped some points in earlier games and now need to make it up against Tendulkars men.

Our picks for this fixture:

• Split bet on top Deccan batsman - Andrew Symonds (5/1) and Herschelle Gibbs (4/1)


• Top Mumbai Indians batsman - JP Duminy

Come on Deccan!

Planning to take a bet on the Chargers today?
BWIN Sports Betting & Gaming Click Here

Fair result

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.

JP Duminy

Well at least we have a win at the Wanderers and a draw in the series preventing the English pigs from taking our pride and dignity by beating us on home turf.

A small observation is that JP Duminy has just picked up the last two wickets with his off-spinners and has actually been surprisingly good with the ball in this series. Maybe if the SA selectors are not keen to have Harris as part of the test setup then one idea might be for Duminy to come in at number 7 in place of Ryan Mclaren so we have some variety in the attack.

We could then find an opener and shift Prince back into the middle-order.

I wonder if the South Africans and English side are keen to paly a T20 game to decide the series?

England destroyed

Well England took a bit of a pasting on the first day of the fourth test against South Africa at the Wanderers.

Hostile bowling from Dale Steyn (5-51) and Morne Morkel (3-39) reduced England to 180 all out. Ashwell Prince (15) and Graeme Smith (12) managed to see us to the close of play at 29-0 which was encouraging... I guess the real question is whether or not the weather is going to play ball.

It still looks a little overcast in Johannesburg today.

It was nice to see Wayne Parnell get a run but he managed to roll off just 3 overs for 18 run - fortunately the rest of the team (including Ryan Mclaren) managed to pick up his slack and roll over England.

Mclaren was useful (1-30) although I'm not totally convinced he's long-term test cricket material. I can't see what he brings to the party. Fortunately JP Duminy has been delivering with his off-spinners so it does provide some variety for Graeme Smith to call on.

Will be interesting to see how the SA batters fare today. I got the impression that Englands batters contrived to get themselves out rather than problems with the pitch.

Let's see what Day 2 holds

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:

• 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

Before the first test match started, I had concerns that the South African attack was lacking sufficient penetration and variety in their attack. They managed to take 19 wickets but for big parts of that final day it looked like their attack was going to let them down.

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.
  

Graeme Smith has said that wholesale changes are not needed but you have to ask how hungry this South African side really looks at the moment. You can see that the English have come to fight - that has been their attitude from the time they touched down in the country.

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.

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.

Champions League Twenty20 kicks off

JP Duminy has kicked off the Champions League Twenty20 with a stirring 99 off 52 balls to help the Cape Cobras beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore - a good result but its a pity he couldn't do that for the Proteas in recent weeks!!

I have to say that I am a little disappointed in the low-key build-up to the tournament at least in South Africa. Conceptually I think that it is a great idea and a brilliant way to reinforce the franchise brands and yet a lot of people didn't even know the event kicked off yesterday.

Anyway I'm a supporter of the Cape Cobras domestically and I won some nice money supporting the Deccan Chargers last year so I guess I will spread some money around these two teams to go all the way. Thoughts on which teams are looking interesting this year?

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 .

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...

Selection dillemma

I don't think anybody could have predicted that South Africans would be 2-0 at the conclusion of the Melbourne test but heck here we are...

It's been amazing cricket so far and I can tell you now that Aussie pride is not going to let them just go through the motions in Sydney on the 3rd of January - reputations are on the line....

Going to start with the SA side because they have an intriguing selection dillemma - Prince is back but who goes? Duminy who turned the second test? Mckenzie who has had a torrid series but the first choice opener... I suppose either Amla or Devilliers can open and then Mckenzie will be canned but not sure if I'd agree with dropping him now for a couple of reasons.

The Aussies on the other hand have problems aplenty. Injuries to Brett Lee, Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds (who is out of form) and problems with Matthew Haydens and Michaels Husseys form...

Matthew Hayden,
Simon Katich,
Ricky Ponting (Capt),
Michael Hussey,
Michael Clarke (Vice),
Andrew McDonald,
Brad Haddin (Wk),
Mitchell Johnson,
Nathan Hauritz,
Ben Hilfenhaus,
Peter Siddle,
Doug Bollinger

Bollinger and McDonald are in the Aussie side and I suspect Peter Siddle will also get dropped....

Wow!

If this is not one of the greatest Test series on record - then I don't know what is?!

Its interesting to listen to some of the Aussies who seem to have half their mind on the next Ashes series instead of the South African side who are finally getting their own back for those thrashings!

Guys - forget the Ashes - the real cricket is being played here and now.

This test has had it all... 101 + 99 from Ponting, 160 from JP Duminy in only his second test match, 76 + 10 wickets from Dale Steyn....

Unbelievable cricket in general!

Test team reviewed

It is pretty tough to find fault when your side has just chased down the mighty Australians score and recorded the second highest run chase in Test cricket history.... but I thought I'd use this opportunity to touch on a couple of observations from the sidelines.

Batting lineup
Two failures from Mckenzie asks the obvious question about whether he is the right guy to be at the top of the order - the same questions are being asked of his counterpart Matthew Hayden who has hinted at retirement. Sure batters are there to get runs, but the value these guys bring in terms of steel, brains and intelligence is valuable and shouldn't be discounted too quickly.

Of concern for us is the brittleness and length of our 'tail'. Traditionally South Africa has always enjoyed an 8, 9, 10 who would guts it out for a 10, 20 or 30 but when your number 8 looks shaky then you have to worry. Morne Morkel doesn't look like offering any solidity here so we're going to have to be aware of where our batting starts and ends.

Lots of talk about the quality of AB Devilliers century - which was top notch - but lets not forget the role that JP Duminy played. Unlucky in the 1st innings, he came back well and proved that like Ashwell Prince he's a man for a crisis situation. I reckon this innings proved Duminy has the makings of a top test batsman - Herschelle Gibbs with a brain!?

Bowling
We bowled the Aussies out twice - not much more needs to be said, although I think Paul Harris needs to crack special mention for his contribution - he was awesome.

A balanced and capable bowling attack.

From the Aussie perspective, I don't think that the same can be said. Krezja looked ordinary and Peter Siddle looks like he has no idea how to bowl quality batters out.

The South Africans looked a little sucseptible to the left arm seam of Johnston but I reckon Ponting has to be a little careful about bowling him into the ground. 60 overs in a test match is a surefire way to wear out your premium strike bowler.

All in all - a great performance from SA typifying the new mental strength that the side has acquired and next up we've got the Boxing Day test...

Case for SA 'A' side

Watching the Bangladeshi capitulation against the South African pace attack yesterday, a strong case could be made for a four day fixture between the South African first team vs. the SA ‘A’ side before major tours – if they cannot find quality opposition then the opposition should be produced from our local ranks..

Guys like Dillon Du Preez, Monde Zondeki, JP Duminy, Albie Morkel, Johann Louw, Vaughan Van Jaarsveld etc. who are all a pretty big part of SA cricket could have made for some testing opposition and would have given the SA selectors something to think about ahead of the Australian tour….

Think maybe the SA management have missed a trick here…

SA vs. Bangladesh - 2nd ODI

Sports Trader makes it's predictions for the second South Africa vs. Bangladesh One Day International to be played at Willomore Park in Benoni this morning....

Despite the spirited performance of the Bangladeshi's in the Twenty/20 game as well as the first ODI, we're not giving any consideration to the fact that they will win a fixture. (Rain permitting we get a result)

For this reason, we need to look at the individual player performances from a betting perspective.

Top Batsman odds offered by Worlds Sports Betting:
South Africa
JH Kallis - 33/10
GC Smith - 33/10
HM Amla - 7/2
AB De Villers - 4/1
JL Ontong - 5/1
JP Duminy - 5/1

Bangladesh
M Ashraful - 3/1
T Iqbal - 7/2
MJ Siddique - 5/1
I Kayes - 6/1
S Hasan - 6/1

On the Bangladesh side, we don't think you can look beyond Ashraful, he's been in great form and has very little respect for the SA bowlers at present.

We're backing Duminy at 5/1 as the top batter from the SA side.

Carrying that forward, we're looking at JP Duminy (16/1) to win the man of the match award as well....