SA vs. NZ

[BokMagic]

New Zealand have started their tour of SA in great fashion, whipping the President`s XI by 200-odd runs. And it was a pretty good president`s XI too, with a couple of former internationals and a couple of fringe youngsters. Shane Bond looked in very impressive form, bowling with plenty of pace on an uncharacteristically seamer-friendly Bloem wicket, and Vettori scored an excellent 99 in the NZ 1st innings. They have 1 more warmup game, against a SA "A" side, before the test match series starts.

SA have just completed our tour of Pakistan, having played some very good test cricket in beating the hosts 1-0, making good use of a spin-bowling option in Paul Harris, and giving young paceman Dale Steyn another go. Both performed pretty well, and this augurs well for the series.

But the Proteas once again showed some extremely erratic ODI form, winning the series 3-2, but looking anything but convincing for the most part. The soft underbelly of the ODI middle-order, as well as the middle overs bowling, was again exposed.

So here`s to both teams getting into some decent form before the 1st test, and giving us a good series of cricket!

 

[esoj]

will be interesting to see how NZ go in the test series because that has been our weak point over the last year or so. missing 1-2 guys with injury who should be back for the one dayers. these sides normally are pretty even and produce some good cricket.

 

[bokke]

I think SA should win the series easily

 

[leicester fox]

should be a comfortable win for SA in the tests even against a fit Bond but the ODI's should be much better contested

 

[BokMagic]

Well SA haven`t been too convincing in test cricket since Arthur took over the reins from Jennings as coach. Our top order has been suspect for the last 18 months, and only some very good form from Kallis and Prince in 2006 papered over those cracks. A fully fit Bond, on the faster and harder SA surfaces, might just ask a couple of very interesting questions if Smith, Gibbs, De Villiers and Amla don`t get their obvious technical flaws sorted asap. So I don`t think it`ll be all smooth sailing really.

If Arthur can build on some of the bolder selections for the Pakistan tour, give Harris, Steyn and maybe one of the Morkels or Philander a bit of a show with the ball, we might be in for some fun. But I suspect that it`ll be back to the tried and tested, although last really effective in 2000, Polly to take the new ball at home. And that`ll be a mistake.

 

[woosaah]

well since nz havnt won a test series in the republic its goign to be tough but i think this is our best chance in a long time.

this should be a good series and i look forward to watching it

 

[nam97]

well since nz havnt won a test series in the republic its goign to be tough but i think this is our best chance in a long time.

this should be a good series and i look forward to watching it
[/b]

I'm looking forward to seeing it also, our first test match in almost a year where we got thumped by the Lankans. I can't see us beating SA whomever they have or haven't got in their squad. Our top orders to **** and when they go early, usually the middle order follow suit and our bowlers aren't anything special even with Bond firing. The ODI's will be very closely contended as we actually know how to play that form of the game.

 

[BokMagic]

Close of play on day 1- SA won the toss, elected to bat on an overcast morning, and got promptly dismissed for 226, Gibbs top-scoring with 63. In reply, NZ 40-odd for 2.

So, once again the over-reliance on Kallis and Prince gets exposed. If neither of them scores a ton, SA tends to get rolled for 200/250-odd every time. And the manner of dismissals was oh so typical once again- Smith playing across the line early and dragging on, Amla getting himself square-on to a rather rapid back of a length ball from Bond, De Villiers getting caught in the point-gully area off a full-blooded slash. Kudos to the Black Caps for doing their homework, and getting the ball in the right areas to exploit the technical weaknesses.

So, watch the Proteas taking the entire morning session on day 2 to settle into a length, while they try to bounce out Fleming and co, and start the traditional 2nd innings fightback way behind the 8-ball. Also watch for the typical Arthur knee-jerk reaction for the 2nd test, dropping either Steyn or Harris and bringing in Pollock to bolster the batting. Some people never learn........

 

[BokMagic]

Well done the Proteas, winning by 300-odd runs. Steyn got a tenner in the match, Kallis got 186 in the 2nd innings, and Amla benefitted hugely by being dropped by McCullum when on 2, cashing in with an unbeaten 176.

But I`m really disappointed in the way the Black Caps just rolled over. I mean, dismissing SA for a very poor 226 in the 1st innings, then to get rolled over for 118 on what was a very good batting wicket still on day 2. Kallis and Amla certainly proved that if you applied yourself a bit, you could trust the bounce and cash in heavily on a wicket that gave full money for decent strokeplay.

And I don`t care that it`s been 11 months since the Black Caps last played a test match. 18 of their 19 wickets to fall, was because of the batsman being stuck on the crease. And the other one was Oram throwing it away to Harris. Very poor application, and it needs to be sorted sharpish unless they want to cop another huge defeat in the 2nd test.

 

[I Bleed Black]

Yes, pretty poor all round!!

Im just starting to think that 2007 is just a crap year for NZ sport in general!.

I mean...

1/ Americas Cup
2/ RWC
3/ League - 4 successive defeats
4/ Cricket WC, and now SA tour starting of in dismal fashion.

I think we are just in a low ebb in general - but its hitting us in all our sports at the same time. Just a general underperforming in all areas.

Least we still have a chance in the A1GP and the (gulp) Netball!

 

[woosaah]

yeah, this was an aweful display by the black caps. now with bond on his way home it sucks even more. hopefully he is fit for the home season he is only meant to be out for up to 6 weeks. an abdominal tear has to hurt.

hopefully orams hamstrings are ok, he played well in the second innings of what i saw.

as for our batters, we have none, apart from fleming. our openers are useless. we havng had a decent opener since richardson, and the he didnt have a decent partner. our middle order looks a bit shaky, hopefully styris and taylor can find some kind of form. Also its a bit of a pity that jimmy franklin is unavailable for the whole summer. he would have been good down the order.

well lets just hope we can put up some kind of a fight in the second test.

 

[dobrien7]

This is dead set shaping up to be our worst tour ever, and doesn't get any better with Chappell-Hadlee series after this, could be a very long summer...

 

[Stoffel]

What do you guys recon about Amla? Despite performing well this match I don't know if he's up to Test match standard?

 

[Radman]

This is dead set shaping up to be our worst tour ever, and doesn't get any better with Chappell-Hadlee series after this, could be a very long summer... [/b]

I'd give the Bangas a chance against us this Summer, we'll probably be the underdogs the way we're going, I'll support the Bangas for a laugh .



England will destroy us as well. 'Tis going to be a long drawn out death this Summer I think. Time to blood the new young guns if they wanna get somewhere in the next few years.



And what the hell are our Sportspeople made from these days...sheesh :wacko: .



Congrats to SA as well.

 

[BokMagic]

What do you guys recon about Amla? Despite performing well this match I don't know if he's up to Test match standard? [/b]

I think he`s got all the talent in the world to succeed, but he`s got a great, big, gaping technical flaw in his technique. He doesn`t get back and across properly especially early on in his innings, and especially to decent pace. Bond exposed him in both innings, was it not for McCullum`s poor catching, he`d have been gone for 2 in the second.

That said, Smith, Gibbs and De Villiers have very similar technical flaws, so it really comes down to the coaching. The Aussies have in the past, and will definately in future, expose those weaknesses. So unless Amla works on getting back and across properly, he`ll always struggle against decent pace.

 

[BokMagic]

So the Proteas wins the 2nd test by an innings and 58 runs, and the series 2-0. And while the prose might be purple, the margin was maybe not as big as suggested by the scorelines.

In the 2nd test, once again it was set up by a match haul of 10 wickets by Steyn, and centuries by Kallis and Amla. Great performances by all 3 players, but here`s the interesting stat: between 2 batsmen, Kallis and Amla, they scored close to 60% of all of the Proteas` runs during the series. What if McCullum held the chance off Amla on 2 in the 1st test? What if Amla`s mistimed legside clip went to hand at mid-off to Vettori in the 2nd test, instead of over his head? Or what if Kallis was given out LBW on 20-odd in the 2nd test? Game on then.

And even more worryingly- Steyn got more than 50% of all Protea wickets during the series. Awesome performance alright, but what if it was Steyn and not Bond who pulled up injured in the 1st test?

So although it was a very efficient performance by SA, there is still much food for thought, and a lot of improvement still needed before we can start taking on the likes of Australia, India and England, especially away from home. We need to find openers asap- although Kallis and Amla did a fair job of coming in in the 1st 2 overs and seeing off the new ball! We need a long-term solution to the no. 6 spot, and De Villiers is just not cutting it. And we need to look at maybe Morkel as the 3rd seamer, as Nel wasn`t very impressive IMO.

 

[Steve-o]

Looking forward to the ODI's, but not really the twenty20 though (I just don't dig it). Nel has definately not impressed this series but I've never really thought test matches was his strongest point, being such a big man and all the problems that come with that. Got be honest though, I have only watched highlights so I can't really analyze the series to intensively.

Can't wait till the ODI's!

 

[lance]

SA are doing quite good in tests

Smith battling though

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotemain'> What do you guys recon about Amla? Despite performing well this match I don't know if he's up to Test match standard? [/b]

I think he`s got all the talent in the world to succeed, but he`s got a great, big, gaping technical flaw in his technique. He doesn`t get back and across properly especially early on in his innings, and especially to decent pace. Bond exposed him in both innings, was it not for McCullum`s poor catching, he`d have been gone for 2 in the second.

That said, Smith, Gibbs and De Villiers have very similar technical flaws, so it really comes down to the coaching. The Aussies have in the past, and will definately in future, expose those weaknesses. So unless Amla works on getting back and across properly, he`ll always struggle against decent pace.
[/b][/quote]

Well I've not seen anything of him in this series, will have to wait for the series against the West Indies, which I'd imagine will be a lot easier than NZ but regardless of that I've always thought there were serious questions over his technique but back to back centuries doesn't seem to be a bad way about proving his doubters wrong. There has always been ****ling doubts as to why he's been in the team but then he does manage to come up with a decent score, he seems to have found some consistency in this series. I suppose the doubts will return if he fails in the series against the Windies.

Is there still another test in this series?

 

[BokMagic]

Nah, it`s a 2-match series only. So Amla`ll have 3 tests against the Windies to get himself some more runs. Considering that 2 of those are at St Georges and Newlands, which are normally pretty flat tracks, he should get the chance to do so.

But the really encouraging thing about Amla for me has been his innings in the 2nd test. He was playing a lot straighter than normal, even his pickup was more from 1st slip than the normal gully.

Really, I think he`s got both the talent and the temperament to make it, but the problem remains the technical coaching credentials of Arthur. There has been talk about getting Kepler Wessels on board as a specialist batting coach. If this happens in the not too distant future, it`ll benefit not just Amla, but just about the whole SA batting lineup.