1st Test: Australia v South Africa, Brisbane

The series that is huge for both teams. Australia with a chance to regain the No1 spot or for SA to cement their current occupation as the top ranked team.

Smith has won the toss and South Africa will bat.

No Tahir, Kleinveldt is making his Test debut. And Kallis with a niggle so may not bowl much.

Teams:

Australia; EJM Cowan, DA Warner, RJ Quiney, RT Ponting, MJ Clarke*, MEK Hussey, MS Wade†, NM Lyon, PM Siddle, JL Pattinson, BW Hilfenhaus.

South Africa; GC Smith*, AN Petersen, HM Amla, JH Kallis, AB de Villiers†, JA Rudolph, JP Duminy, VD Philander, M Morkel, DW Steyn, RK Kleinveldt

Morning skyeman

Hi Biltong, Hopefully a good day ahead , been looking forward to this.

Must say though, not heard of Quiney before or Kleinveldt. It will be interesting to see how they both go.

Yeah, Kleinveldt has been around for a while, He is a decnt bowler first class stats is 78 matches, 221 wickets at 27.8

He can bat a bit as well, Having 8 fifties and a century.

If Amla carries on his form he had against Eng, this will be some series.

Here we go

Why is everyone on cricinfo expecting SA to win. I know no-one in SA that thinks the way the people on there thinks. I think if we draw this test series we would have done well. Haven't played well against Aus recently.

You sound about as confident of SA as I am with Oz, FerN.

A solid partnership between Amla and Kallis.

Kallis 'caught' off a no ball off Siddle.

200/2 now.

Haven't been watching the match live, but have the Australians been sledging Amla!? He's batting in the 80, so the disintegration nonsense hasn't worked as much as expected.

No sledging as far as I could see. Maybe that was some pre-match winding up?

Pitch is very flat, no pressure whatsoever on the batsmen.

Only the missed chance above and a dropped c&b from Siddle.

243/2

Linebreaker wrote:You sound about as confident of SA as I am with Oz, FerN.

A solid partnership between Amla and Kallis.

Kallis 'caught' off a no ball off Siddle.

200/2 now.

Most of South Africa's cricket wounds were inflicted on us by Australia. We are still licking most of them. And it was also you that started the whole choking phenomena back when Herschelle dropped the WC. I am never confident when playing Australia. Hopefully we have the players now to see us through Kallis and Amla seem to be doing fine.

That wasn't 'me' it was Mark Waugh wasn't it?

Light not so good even with floodlights on. New ball taken.

255/2 at the close of play.

Very good start from SA. Apart from Smith (10), they have all made some runs.

Petersen 64 (127)

Amla 90* (207)
Kallis 84* (135)

LB who was benefited from the drop?
Kallis is fast catching up with Amla, 84 to the big man and Hashim is walking in the park on 90.

Kallis off the Siddle no-ball, then Amla off Siddle again for the dropped return catch.

On a side note, they crossed over to Tony Grieg in his backyard in Sydney.
He was quite frank about his situation but said he will fight it. He goes into hospital on Monday for an operation on Tuesday and will be undergoing chemotherapy treatment. He hopes to be there for the Sri Lankan match in January.

Not sure going off for bad light and considering the forecast for rain tomorrow will help this test progress toward a result.

If the pitch is this flat, and doesn't deteriorate fast, then a draw is on the cards.

Come on South Africans be positive about your team - jeepers.

It shouldnt be arrogant if you are positive about your team

Thang god the weather has staied kind for the first day. 8 overs short for the day, but well and cleraly South Africa's day. 3 of the top for have scored runs and Kallis and Amla are unbeaten.
Reading through the cricinfo live text commentary, seems like a batting friendly pitch, and nothing much for the bowlers unlike all the hype.
Don't think I like the look of that SA side. If they thought Tahir may not have gained a lot of help from the wicket perhaps they should have gone for Robin Petersen, Australia would be batting last, and on a 5th day track there should be something for the spinner. Kleinweldt might just take a 5fer on debut and prove Guru Garry and Graeme Smith right, but as of now I am not happy at all with that selection.

I'm already hoping for that BB.

I'm not usually in that mindset so early on but I feel Australia is already looking outclassed. They had to resort to Quiney bowling a few overs, Pattinson has a sore shoulder? and Clarke looks as though he's running out of options. Siddle trying hard but not much variation from Hilfenhaus and Patto not firing as expected apart from that 1st wicket (by DRS reversal)

I agree with the commentators - why not bowl a few himself (Clarke) or even chuck on Warner for a short spell in tandem with Lyon?
Maybe it's too early to say this - but the pace attack already looks a bit tired even at the end of Day 1.

msp - the hype was only for the first hour or so... everybody knew it would dry out quickly and flatten out to a great batting wicket. Tomorrow will be key. A bit of moisture and juice in the wicket. Could be very different then.

Good solid display from SA....and there is a lot of batting still to come.
noticeable from that the returns on an Australian win have gone up from 2.8 before the start to 15 now on bet365......
Draw seems to be the favorite option for the bookies. My money still on SA

I believe one more solid session tommorow morning will see SA to 350 by lunch.....
and then even if they collapse in the 4th session....they will get to something minimum between 400-450....whihc puts a firm grip for them on the match.

SA might rue not having Tahir in the 11 as they will bowl 4th on a D5 pitch......since they already have Kallis as the 4th seamer........5th seamer Kleinveldt is an overkill IMO

PS* I notice they lost their part time spinner Duminy also....so it was imperative for them to have Tahir
It's amazing how many injuries these days occur in "friendly fire" equivalent of cricket

How well will Aus's veterans and new comers handle a slightly superior to their own seam attack will determine their fate.

My view as stated before.......Aus's batting will be found wanting to replocate the class of Amla, Kallis etal

You must remember JP Duminy and even Graeme smith can turn a couple. I think Jaques Rudolph as well.

Also Tahir as a leg spinner isn't the most effective against lefthanders of which there is 5 in the Ozzie line up.

Biltong wrote:You must remember JP Duminy and even Graeme smith can turn a couple. I think Jaques Rudolph as well.

they lost Duminy after the close of D1

Smith....well he is not even cclose to Duminy's class....given that Duminy himself is a parttimer

Is duminy injured?

Biltong wrote:Also Tahir as a leg spinner isn't the most effective against lefthanders of which there is 5 in the Ozzie line up.

I know ypou don't rate Tahir highly....as i think we discussed during Eng series also.

But Tahir is a 4th inning bowler....

It is the pitch that will make Tahir potent because of the rough outside Left hander's off stump........because of so many right arm seamer's bowling.....
Tahir with his natural delivery coming in to the LHB would have been perfect to exploit that rough

Biltong wrote:Is duminy injured?

lost to friendly fire


JP Duminy hurt himself after play on the first day at the Gabba © Associated Press

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Related Links
Report : Amla and Kallis lay strong foundation

Players/Officials: Jean-Paul Duminy
Matches: Australia v South Africa at Brisbane
Series/Tournaments: South Africa tour of Australia
Teams: South Africa

JP Duminy's participation in the Gabba Test is in doubt after he injured his left ankle during a training run at the end of the first day's play. Duminy had played no part in the on-field action but was doing drills with fitness trainer Rob Walter when he slipped. He was taken for X-rays immediately afterwards.

After going down, Duminy was treated on the field by physiotherapist Brandon Jackson and had to be carried off by bowling coach Allan Donald and Jackson. He was in obvious pain. South Africa's team manager Mohammed Moosajee accompanied him to the hospital and was not available for comment at the end of the day's play.

That's bad luck, maybe we should bat through tomorrow without losing mny wickets, rack up 6000 runs and let Duminy rest for two whole days.

Very much SA day. Having said that it is only 255 - couple of quick wickets tomorrow and who knows ?
I don't expect a collapse , mind - would expect them to go on well past 400 from here. Then it would become an issue of how well Australia bat in reply. If they were to succumb to pressure in their first knock they might have a job getting out of it ; but if this pitch ends up like the one in the last Ashes series there wouldn't be a result in ten days let alone five...
Not sure Tahir's absence will make too much difference. I don't see him a a wrecker , and I fancy if SA get into a position to press for a win on days four and five the relentless pressure of a four pace man attack will probably do the job anyway. But I am not making any predictions until I see just how Australia bat (presumably late tomorrow)
Just hope we don't get too much rain.

I only saw about an hour of session 3 but the pitch didn't look quite as placid as is being claimed. Not much lateral movement but Amla and Kallis struggled a bit against Pattinson's pace & Siddle's changes of pace. Think Steyn will be quite a handful if he can get any semblance of swing.

alfie wrote:Very much SA day. Having said that it is only 255 - couple of quick wickets tomorrow and who knows ?
I don't expect a collapse , mind - would expect them to go on well past 400 from here. Then it would become an issue of how well Australia bat in reply. If they were to succumb to pressure in their first knock they might have a job getting out of it ; but if this pitch ends up like the one in the last Ashes series there wouldn't be a result in ten days let alone five...
Not sure Tahir's absence will make too much difference. I don't see him a a wrecker , and I fancy if SA get into a position to press for a win on days four and five the relentless pressure of a four pace man attack will probably do the job anyway. But I am not making any predictions until I see just how Australia bat (presumably late tomorrow)
Just hope we don't get too much rain.

Yep that is my motto, wait until both sides bat and bowl before making any quick judgements

Didn't England make a similar score on the first day of the series against South Africa? We all know how that turned out! Anyway, South Africa should be looking to make 450+ here and put themselves firmly in the driving seat. Plenty of batting to come for them.

Good stuff from SA. Perhaps not totally fluent, but Australia didn't take their chances and didn't seem to have too many answers.

Bad news about Duminy. If the England tour is anything to go by then du Plessis is next in line.

Indeed bad news for Duminy and SA .

I suppose one might say , without wishing to appear callous , that it was the one bright spot for Australia for the day as it leaves SA batting ten men in each innings , and deprives them of their only serious spin option.

JP Duminy is a decent parttime spin option. Unlike most of the parttime dartters, JP is a turner. Now Kleinweldt at 7 makes a little bit more of sense, as without Duminy that batting lineup could be stretched a bit, particularly if the first session tomorrow produces a couple of wickets. 2 early wickets tomorrow will bring Jacques Rudolph to the crease, and he certainly is not in the class of the top 5. But then, it could have been Robin Petersen, he can bat, and of late has been doing a fairly decent job in ODI cricket.
The Australians aren't out of this by any means, the South Africans haven't scored a great deal of runs, 2 quick wickets can change the nature of the game. But as KPF said above, 1 more solid session with the bat tomorrow, then it will be very dificult for Australia.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-south-africa-2012/content/current/story/590459.html

Duminy's injury is a very serious one - he will be out for three to six months.

^Ouch .....
sad...is world's No.1 side good enuf to win with 10 men ?

They do have a platform, the morning session will be very important. If SA bat the better part of tomorrow, then I feel scoreboard pressure and the quality of the SA bowling lineup will be even more lethal for the Australians.

unfortunately the playing hours of this series...coincide witht he sleeping hours in europe

Weather doesn't look so good today but should start to clear on Sunday.
Morning 19 deg rain
Afternoon 21 deg rain

On a disappointing day of a washout, lets just console ourselves with a bit of cricinfo page 2 funn.
This extract that I loved, from Andrew Hughes.
"And perhaps they won’t be rude to Hashim after all. Instead, they will applaud him to the crease, enquire frequently after his health and serve him dainty end-of-over pastries on a little silver tray. Few things are more disorientating on a cricket tour of Australia than politeness. Faced with this insidious civility, he will surely crack. And then, once again, Australia will rule the world"
I must say, Andrew has a point!.

looks like forecast is good for 3 days and play an be extended by 1 hour each day...so possibly about 320 overs left.

result likely only if Australia bat horribly and encounter a followon

Still a good chance of a result at this stage.

Nothing more disappointing than staying away from the score to watch the highlights, then tuning in and finding out that the highlights have been cancelled because there wasn't any play...

Will be interesting to see how SA go now. Will probably need to accelerate a little more than they may originally have planned (if they'd known there would be no play on Day 2 they wouldn't have gone into their shells in the last hour on Day 1). Certainly, I'd imagine they feel they need to be bowling sometime around tea.

Unfortunate. You don't often get a full day washout in Australia.

As KP fan says , the extra time allowed to be made up (one very useful modern innovation) may allow enough time to make a game , assuming no more bad weather.
It is possible all this moisture may mean the pitch retains a bit of life tomorrow ...sweating under the covers. So we might see some action ...

Probably the best thing for the game is if SA don't make a big score , and Australia end up batting while the pitch is yet to roll out as a road...two innings completed say with 150 overs left ? Could be interesting , though the smart money would still be on a draw...Anyway , will need Australia to be sharper in the field than on Friday: if Amla and Kallis get through the new ball they could kill the match stone dead as a contest.

Weather stays good so far today, and South Africa have moved on to 404-6. Kallis out for 147, Amla for 104. AB de Villiers, continuing a kind of streak he picked up in England, yet again got out in the 40s, this time exactly for 40. Vernan Philander is the other wicket to fall today. Rudolph is not out on 17, and despite Kleinweldt's all-round claims, Dale Steyn's batting ahead of him.

For Australia, Patinson got the wickets of Kallis and AB, while Siddle picked up the other 2.

SA 434-7 at tea. Steyn and Kleinweldt at the crease. They should soon think of having a bowl I think. Perhaps they give it a go with the bat for at most another half an hour, and if they aren't bowled out by then they should declare and have a crack at the Australian batting which is not that strong at the top.

So SA finishes on 450. Kleinweldt entertaining a bit with couple of 6s in a Nathan Lyon over. He remained not out on 17. Hilfenhaus gets the last 2 wickets.

South Africa all out for 450, let's see how their bowling does now. 7 sessions left in the game, 20 wickets required.

450 all out. Impression that there was a bit more there for the bowlers than was thought on day one ...perhaps a day under the covers changed it a bit , perhaps the Australian bowling on the first day lacked a bit of effort...

Will be interesting to see how Steyn & co bowl on it. Reckon they will need to make serious inroads tonight if they are to push for a win from here.

Australia already 2 down. Quiney caught on the rope by Steyn off Morkel.
30/2