International Cricket

Greame Swan.lol.
What a ripper. Last time Amla was in England didn't he score 311.lol
Great achievement by the Proteas. Absolutely demolished the aussie attack in the 2nd innings.
Amla and AB were Brilliant. But not 4gtng Smiths knock of 84. No matter what ppl say about Greame Smith- when he bats well, SA almost always come out with a favourable result. Depending on the situation be it a win or draw

Englander, England are generally rubbish away from home .... if they win the next two ashes series I will give up punting forever. Proteas battled in Oz due to the pitches prepared in the two first matches. It is difficult to get 20 wickets on a flat lifeless pitch.

Magi Wrote:

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> Englander, England are generally rubbish away from
> home .... if they win the next two ashes series I
> will give up punting forever. Proteas battled in
> Oz due to the pitches prepared in the two first
> matches. It is difficult to get 20 wickets on a
> flat lifeless pitch.

I think you'll find Magi that I was one of the very few who thought SA would not lose the second test because of the track. And I put my money where my mouth was. Were you not one who was thinking things looked a little bleak after Australia's 1st innings?
England generally rubbish away... on what do you base this argument? We normally struggle in the sub-continent as do most teams and we are often slow starters, again as are most teams playing away. But England have lost neither series in the last two visits to SA and absolutely thrashed the Aussies in the last Ashes. Including a win on the batting haven that is Adelaide. Player for player Magi... go through the two teams and I think you will struggle to put more than two Australians into England's current team. Once you have done so, you may wish to reconsider your statement about giving up punting if England win the next two. If you need further help, look at the scorecards of the last Ashes series. Really, how you can make statements like that is beyond me, England are a far stronger side at the moment and I repeat I will be very disappointed if we don't win the next two convincingly. Who do you think is going to win it for the Aussies??? :S
Cricket is cricket and it can change very quickly but as things stand it looks like you'll be saving yourself some money come Feb 2014 <

shrek Wrote:

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> Mav just wish these two teams could play a 5 test
> series, leave the ODI's against NZ.

100% agree with you on that, Shrek.

@Englander ... I think you are trying to start an argument, ducky. "Australia are a poor team currently and you scraped to a 1-0 win" ... SA were in England during the British "summer" and they scraped to a 2-0 win there in the Brits' back yard. Just a modest score of an innings-plus for the first win, then a rained out non-result, then another win. Yes, I know ... they should have made it two innings-plus wins. Jolly poor show, that.

"[AB]'s competent as a WK but not brilliant and his batting (last innings excepted) has definitely suffered imo." I wonder what makes a brilliant wicketkeeper in your opinion? AB doesn't miss much. OK, he's not much good at sledging, being a good-natured guy and just no use at swearing. I'll give you that. But where is he falling short? As for keeping affecting his batting, maybe, maybe not. The jury is still out and we are just spectators in the courtroom.

[By the way, I'm not a guy. Mavourneen means my darling in Irish.]

OK, any more arguments? I'm home sick till Wednesday, so I'm at leisure to answer your questions, respectfully put of course {Mav leans back in her comfy chair, smiling sweetly as a plaster saint at her rapt audience}.

Hey Mave...... so on collateral form Engand should get at least one hiding in Oz

Don't worry guys the England side had to be the worst side in test history to occupy the number 1 spot. Didn't hold it for long maybe we can say it was there Swann Song. <

Englander - you're on your own here - imo England has 2 quality players Cook and Petersen, and that's it - I think the Aussies may white-wash the English (tu)

I am not trying to start an argument Mav, my darling ... I am simply talking cricket from an honest and open perspective, as I always do. And I always try to be respectful... where of course respect is due

Where is it that I said SA did not thoroughly deserve their success in England? If you want to say they scraped the win in England that is up to you but I would say apart from a slight wobble which gave England a glimmer of a chance in the last test, SA gave them a very sound beating. Indeed, I made SA favourites as I have long been an admirer of many in their team. And partly based on that success I expected them to win 3-0 in Oz... that said, Clarke was outstanding in the first two tests and it is difficult to factor such performances into the equation. The tracks in Oz are generally becoming more batter friendly too as I have also said previously.

And because SA win 2-0 in England, why does that mean that Australia are not currently a poor team? If you think England are not that good (?) and they just beat Australia 3-1 in Oz then it seems all a little illogical to me. And exactly who are these shining starts of the Oz team?? :S Clarke has come back to form, Hussey is a difficult and dangerous opponent and... and it stops there imho.

As for AVB, I am not going to discuss the ins and outs of being a wicket keeper and what makes one brilliant and another not. I have played in the position though and watched with interest some of the scrutiny they do on tv which highlights certain aspects. The impression I get is that AVB is not brilliant. Boucher was a mighty fine keeper... are you suggesting AVB is as good as Boucher? Or there is no better WK in SA? And if you believe it is not affecting AVBs batting that is your opinion and I respect that. My opinion is that since he became WK he has not looked at his brilliant best with the bat. Time may change that but personally I would prefer him back to his best now and I would groom another for the WK/bat position.

Shrek... there you go again!!! I agree. By the way, who did England replace as the world number one team and how long have there been test rankings?

Frodo... your opinion... but if that is true how come we thrashed the Aussies 3-1 in Australia, India 4-0 in England... explain your reasoning? You think Trott? Prior? Bell? Anderson? Swann? don't have any quality???? Seriously? Who are the Aussies you rate so much better?

Mav... sorry... hope you are feeling better soon!!

The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England) 2009 England 2-0 (2)
The Ashes (Australia in England) 2009 England 2-1 (5)
Basil D'Oliveira Trophy (England in South Africa) 2009/10 drawn 1-1 (4)
England in Bangladesh Test Series 2009/10 England 2-0 (2)
Bangladesh in England Test Series 2010 England 2-0 (2)
Pakistan in England Test Series 2010 England 3-1 (4)
The Ashes (England in Australia) 2010/11 England 3-1 (5)
Sri Lanka in England Test Series 2011 England 1-0 (3)
Pataudi Trophy (India in England) 2011 England 4-0 (4)
Pakistan v England Test Series (in United Arab Emirates) 2011/12 Pakistan 3-0 (3)
England in Sri Lanka Test Series 2011/12 drawn 1-1 (2)
The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England) 2012 England 2-0 (3)
Basil D'Oliveira Trophy (South Africa in England) 2012 South Africa 2-0 (3)
England in India Test Series 2012/13 In Play 1-1 (4)

Some seriously sh1t cricket teams around in the last 4 years then wouldn't you say Frodo if England have only had 2 quality players??? lol

England in England are okay............'ish !! Away they are cr@p....and one swallow do not a summer make...so don't chirp about their one win in India on the current tour.

Englander, from India and June 2003.

What I enjoy with you is you always take the bait. <