Cricket: Industrial Action Edition

[ljkeane]

Er, England can't lose this, can they?

[Paxter]

Wickets tumbling now at Lord's and we could be in for an interesting finish to the match.

[ljkeane]

It was potentially going to be pretty nervy for England if Philander had taken the catch to get rid of Bairstow cheaply. I think they're fairly comfortable on this pitch now. 

[Paxter]

Yeah I'm with you @ljkeane. Just too many things going wrong for South Africa in this match. All those missed chances in the first dig and now an easy drop in the second,

[Jeor]

The collapse probably helped England in the end. They have enough runs and now should have plenty of time to bowl South Africa out.

[Paxter]

Two early wickets and I'd say SA are done for. Great catching from England in stark contrast to the visitors.

ETA: And another failure for Duminy. He may be on his last legs as a test cricketer.

[Xray the Enforcer]

SA now 72-7 -- don't think even England's ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory will overturn the inevitable SA loss.

[Jeor]

Lots of wickets falling today.

The Women's World Cup match between Australia and England is a nailbiter. England favourites now with some late wickets, but it's going to go down to the last couple of overs.

[williamjm]

It was a good victory for England, they may have had a bit of luck go there way at times but I think they did outperform the South Africans in all areas. Root and Ali had particularly good matches, the fourth day pitch may have been helpful to bowlers but they still needed to take advantage of that. I've made a few comments about being sceptical of Dawson's selection, so I think it's fair to acknowledge that four wickets including the key wicket of Amla is a reasonable return, even if he had a miserable match with the bat. That said I'm still not convinced he's the best choice. Gary Ballance similarly made a contribution but didn't really do enough to clear up the doubts about him.

[Paxter]

That was a pretty embarrassing loss for South Africa in the end, especially for a side that has a proud history of performing well in overseas conditions, together with a good record in England and at Lord's.

Du Plessis' return will make a difference in the next test, but the loss of Rabada is a major blow.

[Jeor]

There are major problems in both the South African batting and bowling, so it's not looking good for them.

Trying to be an optimist, at least Philander looks like he should be fit for the next Test, and Morkel and Maharaj both bowled well in the second innings (albeit it was a friendly pitch to bowl on). So even though they're missing Rabada, there's a possibility they could still have a threatening attack.

And re: the batting - a lot of people out of form but Faf's return (I would expect in place of Duminy) is an instant upgrade. If everyone played to their potential, it would actually be quite a powerful batting lineup - Amla and Du Plessis in the middle order with de Kock as the new Gilchrist.

[Regular John Umber]

 Pretty gutless performance in the end from SA. No hundred in either innings. Complete brain fades while fielding.

 

 I'll call it now. 4-0 to England, and SA begin a slide that keeps then below #5 in test cricket rankings for a decade.

[Consigliere]

4 hours ago, Regular John Umber said:

 I'll call it now. 4-0 to England, and SA begin a slide that keeps then below #5 in test cricket rankings for a decade.

I think this isn't far fetched at all. This is the weakest SA Test side for a long, long time. Our domestic game isn't exactly overflowing with talent either not to mention the numerous players we have lost to Kolpak contracts. Big players like AB and Dale not involved, Amla struggling for form for nearly two years now, the departures of Smith and Kallis have left huge gaps and there are no obvious candidates to fill that void. Fifth to sixth place in the Test rankings seems a fair reflection of where we are at the moment.

[ljkeane]

3 hours ago, Consigliere said:

I think this isn't far fetched at all.

I think it's fairly unlikely. The Lords pitch was pretty unusual. Given more traditional English conditions at Trent Bridge or Old Trafford you'd back Philander, Morkel and Morris/Rabada to cause significant issues especially given the question marks over two of England's top 3. Added to that Stokes is very hit and miss at 6 as well and England's bowling attack is rather precariously reliant upon a nearly 35 year Anderson and Broad who seems to be suffering more and more fitness issues.

There are some issues with South African cricket, notably transformation quotas and the lack of an allrounder or alternatively a top class spinner, but you just won a series away against Australia so it's hardly all doom and gloom.

[Consigliere]

The biggest concern in SA cricket is a worrying lack of depth (particularly in the batting department) and the number of players being lost to Kolpak. Transformation quotas has definitely played a part in the latter and that is unlikely to change anytime soon unfortunately, although the Kolpak problem might not be as big of an issue down the line thanks to Brexit. With the likes of Amla, Du Plessis and De Villiers ranging in age from 32-34, it's a cause for concern in the future as there is currently no obvious replacements for those players.

[Paxter]

So Zimbabwe knock off Sri Lanka 3-2 and that seals the end of the Mathews captaincy era. This was a sad way for a fairly successful stint as captain to end. I know many Sri Lankan fans have been disappointed with the team's performances in recent years, but considering the talent that has left the team, winning test series against England and Australia was no mean feat. I hope he stays involved with Sri Lankan cricket for several years to come.

ETA: Oh and LOL at the appointment of Shastri as India coach. I can just imagine some of the blow-ups that will happen between him, Kohli and other players if/when the wheels fall off on tour. They could barely deal with the relatively mild-mannered Kumble!

[Jeor]

11 hours ago, Paxter said:

ETA: Oh and LOL at the appointment of Shastri as India coach. I can just imagine some of the blow-ups that will happen between him, Kohli and other players if/when the wheels fall off on tour. They could barely deal with the relatively mild-mannered Kumble!

Kumble is mild-mannered but he seems to have been a bit of a conservative, old-fashioned type (no direct evidence to support my claim but I imagine that is his personality). Shastri, with his commentating roots, might be more open to things but yes, his flashy personality could definitely see some explosions.

[Paxter]

England have named an unchanged side for Trent Bridge (two spinners at the ground on which Broad got his Ashes eight-for!)

Meanwhile South Africa have dropped JP Duminy for (probably) the last time, with Rabada and (likely) De Bruyn also out of the side in place of Oliver and the all-rounder Morris. I'm actually not convinced they should drop De Bruyn, as batting was a far bigger problem for SA at Lord's than bowling. I think Kuhn will be under pressure for the third test if he fails again.

And some bright news coming out of the West Indies!

Quote

Not only has a resolution been agreed to the Darren Bravo impasse, but the likes of Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle are also available for selection for the ODI side after an amnesty was proposed by WIPA, the players' union.

 

[Jeor]

I thought de Bruyn played reasonably well while he was at the crease - surprised they dropped him.

Given Morris was on the field subbing in for the last Test I'm not completely surprised he's gotten a look in, but still...

[Paxter]

I wouldn't want to be an SA selector right now. Apart from the general lack of depth that Consigliere and others have identified, particularly with the departure of the Kolpaks, they also have to contend with the targets. This from Cricinfo (Firdose Moonda):

Quote

The transformation targets cannot be ignored, especially as South Africa will go into the second Test well short of their minimum average requirement of six players of colour, including two black Africans.