South Africa v Australia: 3rd and final Test, Cape Town

First topic message reminder :

So, a decider at Cape Town where, I gather, big crowds are expected. The only bad thing about this match is that it's the last in the series. This really would have made for a great 5-Test series.

Difficult to call this one. SA did wonderfully to come back at PE after the drubbing in the 1st Test. Much will depend on who bats first. Could be that the team that bats first will win the match. Interesting sidebar is the form of Clarke, who (I think) has not passed 24 in the last five tests. Until PE, they were winning without his contributions, but he may well be needed in Cape Town.

Who am I going for? Almost too close to call. Who are you going for?


South Africa:
GC Smith*, AN Petersen, D Elgar, HM Amla, AB de Villiers†, F du Plessis, JP Duminy, KJ Abbott, VD Philander, DW Steyn, M Morkel

Australia:
DA Warner, CJL Rogers, SR Watson, AJ Doolan, MJ Clarke*, SPD Smith, BJ Haddin†, MG Johnson, RJ Harris, JL Pattinson, NM Lyon

Will it come in and disrupt the play or will it help Vernon Philander swing the ball? What is the update on Steyn's fitness.

Not sure msp83, tough to win when your best player is off the field (long as he isn't bad for team morale), so I hope he's right as rain for the second gig.

I've seen a lot of Smith playing for NSW over the years. I've always thought he had the potential to rise up the rankings despite what others have said on here. He has Captain material written all over him.

I suppose I just want to see the team, as a whole, perform to the best of their ability in every match. Of course I have my favourite players too. However, ratings of players are always dynamic (for each match) and are therefore subject to change. Imagine if Smith had been ditched after 2010? Just because he might have been rated 3/10 back then didn't mean he would always be a 3/10 - forever. I didn't accept it then because I knew he was capable of turning things around given more opportunities over time.

I mean - look at England... Swann and Trott ended their careers with very poor "ratings" in their final Test matches but they will surely be remembered as having better "overall ratings" due to better performances during their peaks.

Australia do have a lot of quality players in their ranks even in this era and they deserve a lot of respect. But not many make it to my favorite list so often. Steven Smith is one though. Was really impressed with him when he toured India last year, other than Clarke, he was the one who looked so assured playing spin and I was appalled when the stupid Australian selectors dropped him from the original Ashes side in the English summer. He has since showed that he can produce the performances in different conditions. He may not look so assured in seaming conditions, but he gets the job done, and that is more important.
I hope he does a bit more reinvestment into his bowling, there are the rawmaterials that could make him a more than handy parttimer who can put in match turning performances now and then.

kingraf wrote:Not sure msp83, tough to win when your best player is off the field (long as he isn't bad for team morale), so I hope he's right as rain for the second gig.

2nd innings is a long way away. There may not even be a 2nd innings or much of one... the way this match is panning out.

Think the weather forces Clarke to declare earlier than usual - Evan Flynn keeps moaning that the pitch was ready on Friday, so yesterday was in effect a day two wicket. Today will effectively be a day three pitch, so if we get any period of time - we'll have the best of batting conditions. The only problem, if you're South African with this equation, is that if it really is in effect a day 3 wicket, by Wednesday it's effectively a day Six mat, and we probably won't be chasing a small target. Gotta keep praying that miserable Cape Town weather shows up, hiding that stupid mountain and their goddam cycling lanes

Clarke leaving dangerously

Smith has a wonderful flick through midwicket.

Blatant ball tampering by De Villiers just then.

He caught, bounced from one glove to another, and then passed it on. Outrageous stuff...

At the risk of stirring up more aggro : I thought kingraf's line about Warner looking like a squirrell was quite funny. Not sure why Linebreaker took offense ?
Let us be honest about this : all teams try to manipulate the condition of the ball to their favour ; and most edge over the line of legality occasionally. For Warner to carry on about this was a bit hypocritical , but SA should have ignored it and got on with things. We have umpires to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.

This match has shown that the current SA team are nothing special : yes they are number one by dint of a great record over several years ; and are likely to stay that way for a while even if they lose this given their well earned lead in the points table. But without Kallis and with Steyn struggling with injuries they look rather mortal.
Also not ready to anoint Australia as the new super power. They have played out of their skins recently , and deserve their success ; but I am waiting to see how long this run lasts before I get overexcited.
Actually quite happy to see Test Cricket looking so open at the top ...should make for some intriguing match ups...

Taking Clarke a long time to get off 99

Hope he does...deserves it for the gutsy display against Morkel yesterday.

Little harsh, Alfie. Steyn and kallis had rather flat 2012's and we won three straight away series then (for comparison, no one else has beaten England in England, Australia in Australia or NZ in NZ for a years). Teams are allowed to have flat games. I hear Waughs Australia once let West Indies chase 418... and allowed a Windies team which had only Brian Lara with the bat chase them down at Bridgetown... Losing a match in which you made a team follow on isn't the best result either...

Teams are only mortal - and can't perform at optimum every single day.

Jeez fantastic Shot by Smith. Could get his ton before Clarke.

Someone has to stick up for him, alfie.

I'm not so sure it's so open at the top. SA v Oz is always a great contest. India will find their feet back at home after their NZ tour. England are in for a period of soul searching with their team selections in disarray.

Even Mark Nicholas sounds good this morning... have a feeling he's about to wet himself.

Well done Michael Clarke. Showed some true grit there. Haven't seen any batsman score a 100 like that for ages... maybe Kim Hughes?

Lots of Clarke fans on here I see, lol.   

i've begun to suspect Australia could bring their u19s for the test series and still eke out a result in S.A.

well played Clarke. painful looking day ahead.

Oh good I've touched a nerve with kingraf    My aim is to annoy everyone ...

Seriously I don't mean to be over critical . But I do think SA have looked rather insipid both in the First Test and here - admittedly with some problem with key bowlers. Perhaps this time their bats will dig them out and draw match and series. We shall see.
To be clear : SA have been excellent for several years. Not - in my view - comparable with the recent great Australian or WI teams ; but very very good. But all good things come to an end ; and I suspect we are seeing the first signs of this team's decline...
I may be wrong. But although I don't expect any team containing players like Amla , de Villiers and three good to great bowlers to fall apart , I think they will struggle to keep that record up over the next couple of years. The back up bowlers don't over impress me. Though if Parnell could stay fit he might ...

Anyway Clarke has his hundred and SA has a huge task on to save this game : they certainly can't win it. Will be fascinating to see how they handle that situation over the last three and a half days ...a tough mental battle. Frankly I hope they can - the Aussies are getting a bit too cocky already   

kingraf wrote:i've begun to suspect Australia could bring their u19s for the test series and still eke out a result in S.A.

Yeah, maybe our 1988, 2002 and 2010 winning U19 sides would give them a good contest. Not sure about the 2014 Australian side though.

Congratulations on your first piece of ICC silverware.  

Not really touched a nerve - Just think you're being a tad harsh. Modern athletes are always held to outrageous standards... Nothing new - These poor guys are supposedly average... No where near the West Indian team of the 70s and 80s... We'll just ignore that the Windies had a win rate of less than 50%, and could bowl only 70 overs a day for no punishment.

Thanks LB - Some decent guys in there. Fortuin is probably the best of the bunch - even if he's been pisspoor recently.

Fortuin favours the brave as they say.... he went to town on our teenagers. (with his parent's permission of course).... 

Life without Steyn looks even worse than life without Kallis

Kallis should have hung around for this series. It was a very odd time to call it quits.

Then again, maybe he was fearful of the Aussie attack given his record against them.

There you are : Linebreaker is implying that Australia is number one elect already   

Why I say "open at the top" is that if SA is a touch past their best  (admittedly yet to be proven ) ; then there is no obvious successor. Australia beat England handsomely : but just months earlier lost seven out of nine away , and I reckon they remain vulnerable , especially in conditions that don't suit them. Candidate , surely : but need to keep it going. And the team isn't exactly young....

Other teams go up and down : India have some exciting young bats , but their bowling is ordinary away from home. Pakistan remain inconsistent.  England are rebuilding...but if they can find a reliable opener and a third seamer they won't be as far away as many think.
I think we could see an interesting few years...

Ponderous retirement - but I suppose he wakes up one day and the though of the Aussie series just seemed too far...

we have Zimbabwe and the Windies next summer, would have been a better chance for us to prepare for a Kallis-less life

Ever the optimist, alfie. Years? Why not months?

I'm surprised the positive Aussie attitude hasn't rubbed off on you after living here for many, many years.

Yes, provisional No. 1 at least. I'm sure mysti would back me up.   

Dammit - I see Steyn chatting to Quinton de Kock... I see what's happening, here. Since Kallis' retirement, Cape Town needs a new spokesman to attract new proteas to the mountain... Who better to replace the guy who used to be the best player in your team than the guy who is the best player in your team? Expect Quinton to move to the Cobras... I hate Cape Town...

ah a wicket

Elgar gets Smith, he has played on of a rank ordinary ball. Goes for 84. Deserved a ton there.

what a useless review

Watson nearly run out

The Watto Wobbles already.

C'mon Shane... get your eye in first before you move into your more "expansive mode" of trying to bully the bowlers.

A thrill a minute our man Watto.  

(raf... he looks like a polar bear to me)

Lord another missed review!

Only hope now is that Clarke and Watson have a massive bust-up and it ends with one of them giving their wicket away in spite... which leads to fellow Sydney man, Haddin refusing to come out - leaving Michael Clarke no choice but to declare - while refusing to allow Watson a bowl...

But Watto is from Ipswich, Qld.


Oh, you mean the Liverpool-cum-Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach lad?  

Yeah I mean the Bondi beach blonde bombshell, as Mark Nicholas once described him.

Another great session for Australia. Keep losing one per session and they'll be all out on Tuesday for 1135...ok maybe declare a bit earlier...

Reckon Clarke might be happy with 550 and a couple of hours bowling today ? Bland pitch suggests SA might be able to respond in kind : but scoreboard pressure and the prospect of Johnson operating in short bursts tells me it is going to be tough for them. Think they need Smith to get back in runs here ...can't leave it all to AB.

I had a feeling yesterday that if Clarke survived that Morkel spell he would bat big. Think he was on a bit of a mission after a string of low scores. Just got to get his declaration right now...

Exactly the same thoughts, alf.

I didn't move on the couch during the Clarke barrage yesterday... willing him to hang in there.
(Probably explains why I was a touch antsy. Apologies to everyone for my behaviour on here)

I'm thinking there may be a declaration around halfway in the last hour before (or after) Tea, depending on how many runs are on the scoreboard. They'd be at least 550 as you say... could even be more if they try and go for some fast runs. Alternatively, if they lose a few sticks in this next session - even 530-550 might be enough in Clarke's calculations.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Starc Pattison and Cummins have never produced between them as many top class performances as Johnsons has in the last few months. His run of form is incredible.

and a few months back Johnson wasn't even in the squad of 15.

Australian system under boof saw his form, got him back in the side and in a physical and mental shape that he turned into a world-demolisher.

Trust the same system to be able to do the same with Starc, Cummins, Pattinson..for on potential they are no less than Johnson

Where's my nuts 

 



Polar bear just out. The raven has arrived at the crease as the beagle reaches 150.

Late night for me and just up.


Clarke, a brilliant century after that barrage from Morkel. True grit.    

Duminy could take a fiver here.

Oh my God, Duminy really is going to take Pheiffer! As if my day could get any worse!!

kingraf wrote:Duminy could take a fiver here.

Could now. Hat-trick ball in his next over.

That woke me up. The crickets are chirping pleasantly outside here.

Very difficult conditions to bowl with that gale blowing. Duminy on a hat-trick. Whoa?

Noooo, no rain please. I might have to watch England.

Linebreaker wrote:

Very difficult conditions to bowl with that gale blowing.

Yes it is, and Cape Town is permanently like that... that's why they use Kallis to reel in unsuspecting cricketers to Newlands

Great for flying kites but dangerous for hang-gliding.

Those poor fellows struggling with the covers! That bloke getting dragged around before (over Mitch's run up area mind you!) wasn't a pipsqueak either.

So when will they declare and what will be the overall result of this match? (while we have some spare time during the rain break)

I'll go first:

527/9 dec.

Aus by 181 runs.

Australia declare after they manage to let JPD get his fiver
*Match drawn
JPD to score a century and remain embedded in this squad until the second coming