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So, the series is still weeks away & Michael Clarke with his bowlers are already running his mouth!? That’s ok with me Pup coz:
After demolishing the Poms with a very impressive 5-0 sweep after few gave you a chance to even win 1 test, you can, as we Saffers say, ‘n bietjie bree bors rond loop
I’m so happy your tails are up coz I’d rather see us beat a cocky, confident Ozzie side than a down in the dumps one. No wait, that’s a lie, I don’t care if you’ve won or lost 10 tests in a row, it’s always satisfying beating you. But you get my point.
Seriously though, I don’t care about this whole ‘were the ozzies that good or did the pomps just suck’ debate as we’re not playing both teams next month. A winning Australian team is a dangerous one and I’m positive the Proteas will treat them that way. When looking at both teams bowling arsenal I’d have to say that even with the top 2 ranked test bowlers in our midst, the Ozzies have the slight edge in my opinion and that opinion is based on the fact that they’ve got a 4th seamer & spinner that currently can create pressure as well as take wickets in Nathan Lyon. 175323 With the loss of Kallis & the uncertainty of who’s our primary spinner, we have neither of the former mentioned. But having said that, I’d still back our bowling unit to grab 20 wickets & win us the test because even though there’s little to separate between the 2 teams’ bowling attack, I believe we do have the better batting unit to put us in a position to win a test or at least not lose one.
There are probably still a lot of people out there that’s mad at the Proteas for not going for the win in Joburg in that first test against India and even though I’m not & never was one of them, I understand where they’re coming from. That test did however provide us with confidence that we can put ourselves in a position to win a test by chasing down a huge 2nd innings total or at least have the resilience & fighting spirit to not give the opposition a chance to win the test & that to me is the next best thing to winning. We’ve done that twice now in recent times including against the team we’re facing in our next series, in their own backyard no less, which lead me to believe that overall we do have the upper hand coming into this 3 match series. And lets not forget that even though the Ozzies might feel like they’re the unbeatables or whatever the hell their media hailed them as, we’re still the nr. 1 test playing nation in the world that has a trust, a bond & camaraderie that goes beyond the cricket pitch which really comes through when our backs are against the wall in situations on the field.
OK, time now to talk about the big elephant in the room: Selection
We’ve just lost one of our greatest (if not the greatest) test player in Jacques Kallis and even though some might feel he could’ve waited 2 or 3 more months to retire (& really JK, you could’ve) I think he did us a gigantic favour by allowing us to face a confident Ozzie team without him. Hey we knew this day would come so there can be no excuses so if we’re still unsure who our first 11 is going to be come the first test at the Centurion, we’re in shitter.
Options: Well personally, I think we only have one & that is to bring in a seam bowling all-rounder & Ryan Mclaren fits the bill perfectly. 112932There have been a lot of talks of Faf batting nr.4 and it will be a responsibility he’ll definitely relish. My problem at the moment is who we going to bat at 6 & whose going to be our frontline spinner. With an average of 16, 2013 wasn’t a good year for JP Duminy on the batting front & with players like Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl & even De Kock knocking on the door; he’ll need a good series to keep the vultures at bay. A lot has been said about bringing De Kock into the team & I’m still on the fence with this one. A talent he is no doubt but if they were to pick him it will probably be for that nr.7 position & I just feel it will disrupt the balance of the team by just having 3 seamers & 1 spinner, a lesson England learned and then some. Speaking of spinning, it looks like Robby P is once the again the flavour of the month so we’ll probably go with him come the first on the 12th of February. I’ve never been impressed with his bowling, hell I rate Paul Harris as a better slow bowler than him but the guy can hold a bat which put him ahead of Imo at the moment. Having said that, we should really start searching for a new spin bowler and with Zimbabwe visiting later in the year, it can be an ideal opportunity to ease that guy into test cricket.
Before we get there though, the ‘new’ test team I’d like to see against the Ozzies will look like this: Biff, Viro, Hash, Faf, AB, JP, Robby, Maccy, Vern, Dale & MM.
Man, I wish this series started tomorrow!! I’ve just read that since post isolation, we’ve beaten all test playing nations here at home apart from Australia so like my boy Barney Stinson would say: Mission accepted!! This is going to be LEGEN – hope you’re not lactose intolerant – DARY!!!
I’m outy
After demolishing the Poms with a very impressive 5-0 sweep after few gave you a chance to even win 1 test, you can, as we Saffers say, ‘n bietjie bree bors rond loop
I’m so happy your tails are up coz I’d rather see us beat a cocky, confident Ozzie side than a down in the dumps one. No wait, that’s a lie, I don’t care if you’ve won or lost 10 tests in a row, it’s always satisfying beating you. But you get my point.
Seriously though, I don’t care about this whole ‘were the ozzies that good or did the pomps just suck’ debate as we’re not playing both teams next month. A winning Australian team is a dangerous one and I’m positive the Proteas will treat them that way. When looking at both teams bowling arsenal I’d have to say that even with the top 2 ranked test bowlers in our midst, the Ozzies have the slight edge in my opinion and that opinion is based on the fact that they’ve got a 4th seamer & spinner that currently can create pressure as well as take wickets in Nathan Lyon. 175323 With the loss of Kallis & the uncertainty of who’s our primary spinner, we have neither of the former mentioned. But having said that, I’d still back our bowling unit to grab 20 wickets & win us the test because even though there’s little to separate between the 2 teams’ bowling attack, I believe we do have the better batting unit to put us in a position to win a test or at least not lose one.
There are probably still a lot of people out there that’s mad at the Proteas for not going for the win in Joburg in that first test against India and even though I’m not & never was one of them, I understand where they’re coming from. That test did however provide us with confidence that we can put ourselves in a position to win a test by chasing down a huge 2nd innings total or at least have the resilience & fighting spirit to not give the opposition a chance to win the test & that to me is the next best thing to winning. We’ve done that twice now in recent times including against the team we’re facing in our next series, in their own backyard no less, which lead me to believe that overall we do have the upper hand coming into this 3 match series. And lets not forget that even though the Ozzies might feel like they’re the unbeatables or whatever the hell their media hailed them as, we’re still the nr. 1 test playing nation in the world that has a trust, a bond & camaraderie that goes beyond the cricket pitch which really comes through when our backs are against the wall in situations on the field.
OK, time now to talk about the big elephant in the room: Selection
We’ve just lost one of our greatest (if not the greatest) test player in Jacques Kallis and even though some might feel he could’ve waited 2 or 3 more months to retire (& really JK, you could’ve) I think he did us a gigantic favour by allowing us to face a confident Ozzie team without him. Hey we knew this day would come so there can be no excuses so if we’re still unsure who our first 11 is going to be come the first test at the Centurion, we’re in shitter.
Options: Well personally, I think we only have one & that is to bring in a seam bowling all-rounder & Ryan Mclaren fits the bill perfectly. 112932There have been a lot of talks of Faf batting nr.4 and it will be a responsibility he’ll definitely relish. My problem at the moment is who we going to bat at 6 & whose going to be our frontline spinner. With an average of 16, 2013 wasn’t a good year for JP Duminy on the batting front & with players like Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl & even De Kock knocking on the door; he’ll need a good series to keep the vultures at bay. A lot has been said about bringing De Kock into the team & I’m still on the fence with this one. A talent he is no doubt but if they were to pick him it will probably be for that nr.7 position & I just feel it will disrupt the balance of the team by just having 3 seamers & 1 spinner, a lesson England learned and then some. Speaking of spinning, it looks like Robby P is once the again the flavour of the month so we’ll probably go with him come the first on the 12th of February. I’ve never been impressed with his bowling, hell I rate Paul Harris as a better slow bowler than him but the guy can hold a bat which put him ahead of Imo at the moment. Having said that, we should really start searching for a new spin bowler and with Zimbabwe visiting later in the year, it can be an ideal opportunity to ease that guy into test cricket.
Before we get there though, the ‘new’ test team I’d like to see against the Ozzies will look like this: Biff, Viro, Hash, Faf, AB, JP, Robby, Maccy, Vern, Dale & MM.
Man, I wish this series started tomorrow!! I’ve just read that since post isolation, we’ve beaten all test playing nations here at home apart from Australia so like my boy Barney Stinson would say: Mission accepted!! This is going to be LEGEN – hope you’re not lactose intolerant – DARY!!!
I’m outy
