267 Responses to Cricket: 3rd Test – South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Cape Town – Live Game Article

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  241

  Puma on 6 January 2012 at 5:52 pm

  237 @ Bullscot:Thanks bud,

  Hope you had a great Hogmanay. Watched the fire display in Edinburgh and it looked brilliant.

  Yeah it is going to be a busy year for our Proteas. They play New Zealand next, then England after England we head off to Australia to play there. Yip a very busy year for our cricket team.

  Looking to come over again to Scotland later this year. Probably around August this time.
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  242

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 5:53 pm

  238 @ Puma:
  First good rugby should be the start of the Six Nations, beginning Feb, then maybe also some of the Super Rugby warm-up matches…. and late Feb only the start of the freegin Super Rugby Competition.

  Having massive withdrawal symptoms myself, this side!

  Could not manage to get excited about the UK and French Club rugby stuff over December and now in January…

  PS! BonzaiGBS got his Matric results yesterday, don’t know if you saw yesterday’s comments on this thread…
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  243

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 5:58 pm

  Next week should see us getting a bit more news from Super Rugby Franchises about their prep work for 2012.
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  244

  Puma on 6 January 2012 at 6:00 pm

  242@ grootblousmile: Yes read about your Bonzaigbs matric results this morning, had a quick look at some threads.

  Tell him congrats from me. You must be feeling proud. Getting a distinction in maths is top class.
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  245

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 6:02 pm

  We’ve got no Sharks Authors who make a regular contribution here on R-T…. suppose I will have to pretend to be a Shark sometimes this year… unless a regular Sharks supporter, hint, hint…. wants to help out by becoming Author too…

  The rest of the Franchises are now covered nicely!
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  246

  Puma on 6 January 2012 at 6:04 pm

  242@ grootblousmile:I hardly watch any of the nh rugby. Only the 6 nations.

  Really looking forward to SuperRugby starting. Feels like a long way a way still.
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  247

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 6:04 pm

  244 @ Puma:
  Will do… and yip, proud of the boy!

  By the way, comment 245 was meant for you….
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  248

  Bullscot on 6 January 2012 at 6:06 pm

  241 @ Puma:
  Was just a quiet one here was busier with the little ones at Christmas which was a super day. Will be lovely for you to get over here again in the summer then you always have such a good time here. Haven’t seen the schedule for the England tour so not sure how far north the Proteas will get would be nice to try and catch a game if I can.
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  249

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 6:08 pm

  246 @ Puma:
  I watch only the odd bit here and there of NH Club rugby… when nothing else interesting is on TV. Also enjoy the Six Nations games, though.
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  250

  Puma on 6 January 2012 at 6:09 pm

  245@ grootblousmile:I am useless at it….hahaha. Get Shark_Lover back gbs, he done a damn fine job here.

  I am only a good blogger……hahaha.
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  251

  Puma on 6 January 2012 at 6:14 pm

  249@ grootblousmile:Must say I do enjoy the 6 nations. Watch all of those games, but that is it. Or when Boks tour NH then I am interested to watch.

  More interested in our own rugby in the sh.

  Still taking me forever to post and to refresh a page. Not sure if it is my pc. I get onto the other blogs that I blog on very easy and very quick to post. So not really sure why I only have a problem here. Seems no-one else has a problem here. What you think could be the problem for taking so long to post and refresh gbs?
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  252

  Bullscot on 6 January 2012 at 6:18 pm

  Time to get going cheers for now gbs and Puma
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  253

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 6:18 pm

  250 @ Puma:
  Don’t know what happened to Sharks-Lover or where he finds himself now.

  Snoek used to write a bit, but he was on here a while ago saying his life is massively busy, giving him far too little time to blog or write.

  You are far too weary about writing, just ask Just for Kicks and the other guys how interesting things become once you contribute as an Author… and it’s easy man!

  Nothing changes either, your privacy stays in tact… you just get the opportunity to voice a bit more than what you’re used to, quite refreshing in fact!

  You’re not doff, you know rugby and you love your Sharks… to my mind there’s only the impediment of your own mind, keeping you from writing…
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  254

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 6:21 pm

  251 @ Puma:
  Very difficult to judge, unless I had a proper look at your PC(s).

  I’ve done that for various bloggers… all problems sorted.

  Maybe you should send a messenger to bring it to me, when next you are in Joburg.
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  255

  Puma on 6 January 2012 at 6:21 pm

  248@ Bullscot: Sounded great.

  Been to many Hogmanay’s in Scoltand and it is a massive party always.

  The summer months there are brilliant. Love those long, long evenings.

  Not sure of the schedule for the Proteas against England. Looked on dstv and it only shows the first test in July. Probably will show the fixture in full later on.
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  256

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 6:23 pm

  252 @ Bullscot:
  Cheers Bully, send regards to Mrs Bully and the little bullies!
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  257

  Puma on 6 January 2012 at 6:27 pm

  253@ grootblousmile: Will think about it, I am really not great with it though.

  Also gonna get very busy once Feb comes.

  Thinking of getting a new pc think it is the problem. Doubt it is worth working on boeta. Not that it is very old but old enough.

  Okay some visitors have come over. Catch up later gbs.

  Cheers everyone.
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  258

  grootblousmile on 6 January 2012 at 6:30 pm

  257 @ Puma:
  Cheers
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  259

  Just For Kicks on 6 January 2012 at 9:58 pm

  257@ Puma:Don’t listen to GBS, he lives in neanderthalland, get yourself an Apple Macbook Pro, can’t go wrong, fast as lightening this baby, only thing that slows it down is the time it takes to get through the microPanne before it gets to the rest of the world!
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  260

  Just For Kicks on 6 January 2012 at 10:01 pm

  235@ Bullscot:Tough choice between Peterson and Botha, I agree, but Botha is as hard as nails, and will fight when all around him have given up. I think we need this hard edge in the team, and thus would always have him in my team
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  261

  superBul on 7 January 2012 at 3:18 am

  @ Just For Kicks:
  204
  i wont throw him away now, a while back he was #1 , only the inactivity of SA cost him his top spot.
  ICC Player Rankings
  Rank

  Name

  Country

  Rating
  1 Saeed Ajmal PAK 736
  2 Mohammad Hafeez PAK 717
  3 D.L. Vettori NZ 690
  4 G.P. Swann ENG 689
  5 M.G. Johnson AUS 688
  6 M. Morkel SA 677
  7 Shakib Al Hasan BAN 662
  8 D.E. Bollinger AUS 660
  9 Shahid Afridi PAK 644
  10 D.W. Steyn SA 642
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  262

  Just For Kicks on 7 January 2012 at 12:24 pm

  261@ superBul:Would never throw him away, you do so at your own peril. I just think he needs to go away and discover himself again, back on the franchises where the pressure is not so high, play himself beach into form and come back again. It just looks as if he is trying too hard at the moment, losing his own belief in himself – evident by his overstepping, and getting more and more frustrated. Coupled to this, he witnesses a young upstart arrive, take seven wickets and wander off again, building the pressure even more. I promise you, take the pressure away, let him discover himself again, and he will come back so much the stronger.
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  263

  grootblousmile on 7 January 2012 at 1:07 pm

  261 @ superBul:
  Nobody wants to throw anybody away, but there’s a fine line between keeping on backing a previously highly world ranking player who is out of form and dropping that same person TEMPORARILY for a youngster who is knocking hard on the door…. in an effort to also possibly become a highly world ranked player.

  Dropping an established player, serves a few purposes…

  1. It shows that player and young upcoming players who want to join the fray that no resting on your laurels is allowed.
  2. It shows everybody that NOBODY can automatically assume his position is safe.
  3. It gives opportunities to new aspiring guys.
  4. It broadens the squad.
  5. It gives the dropped player the opportunity to go re-invent himself and regain vital form.
  6. It surprises the opposition team who does not know the new player’s style and strenghts and weaknesses, possibly gaining a vital edge.

  All in all the message that it sends out is a healthy one, if done right and in moderation.
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  264

  superBul on 7 January 2012 at 8:54 pm

  @ grootblousmile:
  Wrong sir wrong. I have been following cricket from 6 years old sitting next to my sick Dads bed listening to Spiekeries, Charles Fortune and many more esteemed cricket gurus. In rugby where the focus is more on team play yes there you can more often send a player back to get form.

  Maybe i am too old school but words that were spoken by these esteemed commentators sticked to my mind.

  The level of test cricket is way higher than Provincial level. When you invest in a player, in other words if your selectors decided that a certain player is good enough for test cricket they must have studied his technique and all the factors that they reckon will make him a Test player. Once they have done that they must give him a fair chance/time to settle at that level. The fact is that the opponents will study him and do everything in their power to counter him, so dont be misled by a great start. The fact that you must keep in mind is why did you pick him in the first place.

  Morkel in mind. They played him with Dale Steyn as a wild card/bowler in the sense that he went full blast while Steyns accuracy reaped the rewards. Now he is demoted to first change and he is struggling in that role. Philander had a great start but it is again with the help of Steyn. Although Steyn does not take so many wickets now he is very economical and the batsman tries to take on the accurate Philander. Lets see if the batsmen work out Philander soon. I bet they will.

  Marchant de Lange took his chance Yes but in test cricket nowadays the batsman try to dominate a bowler as his speed caught them out, the big question is , Does he have enough variety. Time will tell.

  Back to my first point. Playing Morkel against provincial opponents will give you a skew picture he might rip through a team with a few great batsman or the hit and hope players at provincial level might destroy him more. A test player(bar Shewag)will not risk his wicket as easily as a provincial player so he might find more circumspect batters at Test level.

  I feel that he can only play himself in red hot form by plying his trade against the best. Cricket is not rugby, in cricket individual skill is necessary, and Morne showed that he have it. just watch him come back with a bang.
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  265

  superBul on 7 January 2012 at 8:57 pm

  grootblousmile wrote:

  It broadens the squad.

  Like England in the late 80’s when they picked about 40 players and no one knew each other after a while?

  What if the new player fails?
  Do you bring back the dropped player?
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  266

  grootblousmile on 8 January 2012 at 5:30 pm

  264 @ superBul:
  You say I’m wrong??

  Rash, baseless and presumptious statement… that is MY opinion, not yours!

  What about you, are you ever wrong or just too scared to change anything, too scared to rock the boat… too scared to dump a player or the coach who is clearly not performing or capable? Does loyalty or perhaps false loyalty get the better of you?

  Careful who you say is just WRONG… others have opinions too.

  In cricket as in rugby, as in any team sport… you cannot elevate a player or a couple of players to “Untouchable Status”, we’ve seen too many times what the results are!

  Go back just a couple of months to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and you’ll find the perfect examples right there…. not only in the SA camp either!

  MY OPINION again (you’re welcome to differ), the primary reason why the Proteas choke so easily, I think, is the fact that established players find themselves in an ensconsed comfort zone, which necessarily transposes into some degree of complacency, with the passion to win not being at it’s optimum… and resulting in generally lacklustre and inconsistent performances.

  265 @ superBul:
  Certainly does’nt look like you read my comment properly…. look at the first sentence AS WELL AS the last sentence of my comment again… specially the last sentence! There’s now way I’m advocating willy nilly wholesale changes! We’ve seen what too many changes do too – Dicky Muir’s Lions Super Rugby team immediately springs to mind as well as the Bokke teams of Streauli and Viljoen!

  What if the new player fails, you ask… well the contrary is true too, what if he proves to be a revelation and a massive asset? When do you blood new players and expose them to the big time?

  That’s why I said there’s a fine line… but to just keep an underperformer ad infinitum, in my mind that is just plain dumb, stoid and unimaginative!
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  267

  superBul on 8 January 2012 at 9:02 pm

  Proteas all-rounder Jacques Kallis has climbed back to second position in the world rankings for batsmen and all-rounders, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Sunday.

  Kallis had dropped to fourth among batsmen and fifth in the all-rounders’ list, but a magnificent effort in his 150th Test saw him rising in both tables.

  The 36-year-old, playing at his home ground, struck back at Newlands after a disappointing second Test against Sri Lanka in Durban where he made his first “pair”.

  He delivered a career-best 224 in the Proteas’ first innings in the final match and returned three for 35 to help set up a 10-wicket victory and a 2-1 series win.

  Meanwhile, middle-order batsman AB de Villiers gained three places to occupy fifth position among batsmen after hitting an unbeaten 160 at Newlands, while opener Alviro Petersen, who scored 109 in his comeback Test, moved up 13 places to 55th.

  Hashim Amla fell seven positions to 14th and SA captain Graeme Smith dropped two spots to 16th.

  Seam bowler Vernon Philander, in a remarkable debut season, rose seven places to a career-best 21st in the rankings for bowlers after match figures of six for 100.

  Speedster Dale Steyn remained in the top position in the standings, while Morne Morkel dropped one spot to sixth and spinner Imran Tahir climbed nine places to 58th.

  The Proteas remained third in the ICC Test Championship, but were guaranteed to climb to second after the fourth and final match between Australia and India in Adelaide later this month.

  Trailing 2-0 in the series, the best India can achieve is a 2-2 draw, which will not be enough to retain second spot, with the Proteas climbing one place as they close in on leaders England.