South Africa vs West Indies test Series

Well, not much spoken of it here, and I suppose with good reason. The Windies are a shadow of their former selves. At full strength, it would be hard to make a case for them winning a game, but with both Bravos out, and Gayle out, I assume they're on a hiding to nothing.

Still though, Taylor and Roach should fancy themselves in the friendliest country for fast bowling, and Braithwaite and Chandepaul should at times provide resistance.

From a South African standpoint, Duminy is out, which gives Stiaan van Zyl a long awaited chance to prove his mettle.

South Africa likely XI
Elgar
Petersen
Amla
Du Plessis
AB de Villiers
De Kock
van Zyl
R. Peterson
Philander
Steyn
Morkel

S.Africa to crush West Indies, with the series whitewash

Well 15-20 years ago this would have been a marquee series, but I can't see anything beyond a miserable dismantling of a completely disinterested team.

It's this kind of thing that convinces me that Test Cricket is dying, there are only four places left where you would say it's viable, and a couple of those the numbers in the stadiums aren't great.

They lost 5-0 fifteen years ago...

kingraf wrote:They lost 5-0 fifteen years ago...

Would still have been a keenly anticipated series, and Windies had some good and even great players back then, no-one would have expected that outcome before the series. If its a whitewash this time, who is going to be surprised?

Mate, they've beaten us twice in 22 years. We're long past the point of a Windies win being anything but a surprise.

WI can surprise anyone any day in any form of game....they have fast bowlers and good spinners and good batters......they only lack team spirit and will to play tests

Well yes, Windies were on a gradual decline from mid 90s, so since readmission were not competitive for long. But they were not a pushover until about 2000 where the decline became terminal.

Why do we persist with Robin Peterson?

We literally have no one else mate.

What about that lad Pete? Looked good in Zimbabwe....... What about Harmer?

Dane Piedt is injured. He hasn't played any cricket since the Champions League. Not sure about Harmer... guess the selectors just don't like him.

Piedt did look promising, shame for him that he has to miss this series....... Harmer has, by his record, been doing well in domestic cricket, the guy can bat as well, and he's young too. West Indies isn't the most feared international side in the world at present, could have been a good time to get him involved.......

Watched a Lara interview about fifteen minutes ago. The situation in the Windies looks pretty bleak. Really don't think they'll ever come back. Can't blame the players, really. Five days is torturous on the body, and pays peanuts in the Windies. I assume all formats pay awfully, but at least the abbreviated formats give you a chance to sell yourself to one of the pop up competitions. Can't blame the fans. There is no honour in watching your team get slaughtered over five days repeatedly for the best part of a decade. And I suppose for all their bumbling ineptitude, you can't really blame them for being in a region which lacks the capital, both fiscally and in terms of populous, to challenge consistently.

WI had a great start getting SA down to 50 odd for 3......but somewhere fairly soon WI will lose steam and SA cover the ground

KP_fan wrote:WI had a great start getting SA down to 50 odd for 3......but somewhere fairly soon WI will lose steam and SA cover the ground

Yes, however well the West Indies do for a time during a Test these days you sense that there's nearly always a nightmare session just waiting round the corner for them. A sad state of affairs.

Windies always seem capable of getting a side 3 or 4 down for a decent score, but then let the middle and even lower order run away with it. I think it has something to do with the bowlers lacking the fitness to bowl more than short explosive spells which are more suited to limited overs cricket.

But as kingraf says, given the rewards of offer in the IPL, Big Bash etc, you can't really blame them

It isn't hard to get the first few wickets of the Proteas.

Biltong wrote:It isn't hard to get the first few wickets of the Proteas.

Are they that bad though. Petersen seems to get the odd decent score, I thought Elgar and Du Plessis have done pretty well. But I don't follow SA that closely so open to being convinced otherwise.

I'd rather leave them in than have to bowl to Amla and AB anyway!

Alviro has been on borrowed time for two years now, Elgar has a little more time to prove himself, but neither of these two are anywhere near the class of Graeme Smith.

now 256-3....ABDV gets a 100 and SA going merrily at 4RPO

57 for 1, 57 for 2, 57 for 3, and then AB and Amla!. Roach picked up a couple of wickets, but the WI bowling unit has produced nothing special otherwise. Whenever they get an opportunity, will someone stand up to be counted in the West Indies batting lineup?

KP_fan wrote:WI had a great start getting SA down to 50 odd for 3......but somewhere fairly soon WI will lose steam and SA cover the ground

Not a difficult prediction - but a very accurate one as SA close on 340 for 3.  Partnership approaching 300!

Watched this at the ground, so I didn't want to comment until I'd seen it on the telly, to see a few things.

Great day for us obviously, but the first session was pretty tight, and Roach clipped Amla's off stump without dislodging the bail, which was fortunate. Overall, a poor day for the Windies, and their best shot at doing anything in this series went down, so they're up against it.

I will say, though, that the overall state for the Windies isn't too bad. Talking over with a mate if they managed to field a top seven like
Gayle
Brathwaite
Bravo
Samuels
Chandepaul
Pollard?
Ramdin

and then a guy like the left armer they had bowling today, who has decent pace and swings it gets more four day experience, and Roach open the bowling. Get Benn to be your spinner, and find a third seamer who doesn't go at four an over, then suddenly they have a decent test team.

kingraf wrote:
I will say, though, that the overall state for the Windies isn't too bad. Talking over with a mate if they managed to field a top seven like
Gayle
Brathwaite
Bravo
Samuels
Chandepaul
Pollard?
Ramdin

and then a guy like the left armer they had bowling today, who has decent pace and swings it gets more four day experience, and Roach open the bowling. Get Benn to be your spinner, and find a third seamer who doesn't go at four an over, then suddenly they have a decent test team.

i wrote the following on 15th Dec on this thread....reposting

KPF wrote:WI can surprise anyone any day in any form of game....they have fast bowlers and good spinners and good batters......they only lack team spirit and will to play tests

Van Zyl on debut cannot get a better platform to start....with little pressure and a tired un-inspired bowling attack.

a look at his FC record shows...he is a vetrean of 96 games and been around for some time....this being his 9th season.....

SA's middle order selections have been a bit muddled...I see there is no JP Duminy again

Duminy is injured

Amla dropped on 181

Can anyone see Raf at the ground?

Keep an eye out for a constantly smiling Jimi Hendrix lookalike surrounded by chics having a great time.

What do the chicks look like

Amla goes....poor effort ( to have missed the triple

Biltong wrote:What do the chicks look like

Hot no doubt... we'll have to ask him.

Happy with the declaration, Biltong? That's a massive total.

Yes good declaration, but tomorrow and Sunday will be wet, so we will have to make hay when the sun shines.

LD - That's where you went wrong, mate. Watched the game with some gents today. We were light on the hot chicks.

Decent day's cricket. The Windies are being totalled though.

Oh... sorry to hear. Maybe at the shorter formats?

Yes, they were totally totalled. I suppose even the rain won't help them now.

Bloody hell, chaps, at least give them the chance to bat before you write the obits.

Already gone to print, mate.
They (literally) have no chance against the world's 2nd best bowling attack.

Think the weather kept them away. There's generally a large number of women at Test matches. I genuinely think they are just there to tan... I mean, they're barely wearing anything while they're there!!

I expect them to put up a fight in at least one of the innings. Bathwaite is an exciting young talent. Marlon Samuels, for me, is as talented as any batter in the world, just hasn't had the right voices in his ear directing him, and of course Chandepaul is a modern great. They aren't a complete write off, but I think they just lack the overall quality for this not to end in a demolition job.

Nothing a triple century won't fix. South Africa can be a bit flat after the first 15-20 overs, wouldn't be surprised if there's at least one huge partnership for the West Indies.

Woke up in time to catch the perceived drama with DRS. Think it's time the ICC has a drive educating people. Commentators are screaming blue murder, and I'm not sure why.

Is Smith out? Maybe, maybe not, but it's clear as day why the umpire has given that out. TV has a missing frame, so umpires would know it's possible for the sound to appear past the bat. Umpires then look at a few things (as was explained to me) -

What's close to the ball? In this case it was the bat
- If there was an edge in the missing frame, it's not foreign for the sound to appear in the next snicko frame, but further down the graph, which was the case in this particular dismissal.

I have no idea if he actually edged it or not, but I understand why it's been given. Anyway I'm off.

Should the benefit of doubt not go to the batsman?

Biltong wrote:Should the benefit of doubt not go to the batsman?

Yeah.
Thank God Bryce Lawrence wasn't the 3rd umpire... not that it would have mattered very much.

To be honest, I don't know how they choose who gets benefit anymore. I suspect the umpire just goes with his gut now

The Loaded Dog wrote:

Biltong wrote:Should the benefit of doubt not go to the batsman?

Yeah.
Thank God Bryce Lawrence wasn't the 3rd umpire... not that it would have mattered very much.

Brycie likes to be at the coalface, that is where he can generate the most damage

Imagine Bryce and Billy Bowden... with Steve Walsh as the 3rd umpire.

Devon Smith - the Frank Sinatra of cricket!

Steve Walsh won't be impressed with sitting in the Box

Dreadful effort from Windies. 77-0 to 201 ao, batted for 60 overs in total.

Sadly this is about a par performance for them these days

guildfordbat wrote:

KP_fan wrote:WI had a great start getting SA down to 50 odd for 3......but somewhere fairly soon WI will lose steam and SA cover the ground

Yes, however well the West Indies do for a time during a Test these days you sense that there's nearly always a nightmare session just waiting round the corner for them. A sad state of affairs.

VTR - dreadful as you say but I think we all saw it coming. No psychic powers claimed by KP_fan or myself.

So basically, Dale Steyn woke up with that look in his eyes... Absolutely nothing the Windies could have done to avoid the dismantling.