Cricket IV

[Paxter]

This game of cricket never ceases to amaze. 24 hours ago I would have bet anything that England would win comfortably. Now, it seems to be that India will cruise to a 5 or 6 wicket win! You need to give credit to India here, to chase almost 400 in India would be an incredible achievement.

[Horza]

Sehwag looked crappy when we were touring, I congratulate him on his timing in returning to form :D .

[Jeor]

Well, there we go...looks like India is going to cruise to victory, 42 runs to get with 6 wickets in hand, and Dhoni still yet to bat. There would have to be one almighty twist in the tale for England to manage this one.

With that Indian batting lineup I guess it was always going to be a danger. I don't think Pietersen was wrong to declare with one wicket left; it seemed like a bold, good decision at the time. It was the opening partnership, particularly Sehwag, that really made it happen. If Sehwag hadn't scored so quickly and made his burst of 80-odd runs, India wouldn't have realistically thought of chasing it down and I'm pretty sure they would've settled for a draw. As it is, Sehwag unsettled the bowlers, showed that the pitch still had runs in it, and paved the way for Tendulkar and Yuvraj to follow.

Pietersen's not going to like this one. His commanding position basically evaporated in two or three sessions. I haven't been able to see the match on TV, but it looks like India have been able to score at a comfortable clip, and not all of it in boundaries - lots of singles on offer. Wonder what his field placement has been like.

[Hereward]

I didn't think even England could have lost that game. God, I'm depressed.

I watched quite a bit of the game. Pietersen didn't do too much wrong, but his field settings were too defensive too early and he also fell into the trap of continually moving fielders to where the last boundary was scored. Of more concern should be the woeful performance of Panesar and Anderson.

[IheartTesla]

Wow....India, the perennial 4th innings chokers, actually pulled off a win. I am in full blown cognitive dissonance at the moment.

This is one of the modern day classic Test matches, especially considering the circumstances leading up to it.

[Paxter]

[quote name='cyrano' post='1619948' date='Dec 16 2008, 03.49']This is one of the modern day classic Test matches, especially considering the circumstances leading up to it.[/quote]

I agree. This is probably the best successful fourth inning run-chase I have ever seen - eclipsing even Australia's chase of 300+ against Pakistan and the WI chase of 400+ against the Aussies.

[Jeor]

[quote]Of more concern should be the woeful performance of Panesar and Anderson.[/quote]

Yeah, Panesar went missing this match. Swann outbowled him. His statistical record doesn't make for particularly special reading now - 117 wickets in 34 matches isn't a great ratio (most good bowlers take 3.5 to 4 wickets per match, great bowlers take 4+, Hadlee and Lillee were closer to 5). His average is 32.58 and his strike rate is 68.1; I suppose his economy rate is still quite good though at 2.86. He's still a good spinner, but perhaps not the Messianic figure for English spin bowling that he was heralded as.

There are a few left-arm orthodox spinners in the world currently who have those sorts of records. Averages in the 30s, and inflated strike rates. Harris is one of them; Vettori is another. Vettori, for all his heralding as one of the best spinners in the world, averages in the 30s and has a strike rate in the 70s, although economy is his big strong point.

Then again, I suppose even back in the 70s, most spinners had those sorts of records. It's Warne and Murali who suddenly made it possible for a spinner to maintain a sub-25 average and sub 65 strike rate throughout a career.

[Paxter]

[quote name='Jeor' post='1620375' date='Dec 16 2008, 08.56']Vettori is another. Vettori, for all his heralding as one of the best spinners in the world, averages in the 30s and has a strike rate in the 70s, although economy is his big strong point.[/quote]

I think Vettori's statistics are very misleading. Economy is his "strong point" because the pace bowling from the other end is nearly always so terrible that batsmen can afford to just "sit" on Vettori while making all the runs from the other end. If Vettori had McGrath at the other end, his average would be under 30 IMO.

BTW Clark being ruled out of the WACA test is a big boost for the Saffers. Clark was the chief destroyer last time these two countries played. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's game.

[Jeor]

[quote name='Paxter' post='1620526' date='Dec 16 2008, 12.24']I think Vettori's statistics are very misleading. Economy is his "strong point" because the pace bowling from the other end is nearly always so terrible that batsmen can afford to just "sit" on Vettori while making all the runs from the other end. If Vettori had McGrath at the other end, his average would be under 30 IMO.[/quote]

Well, granted Vettori hasn't had much bowling support throughout his career, so I can agree that he should be cut a little slack. That being said, he's boosted his stats by taking boatloads of wickets against Bangladesh - 46 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 14, economy of 2.1 and strike rate of 40. If you take out Bangladesh, his average goes up to 36.66 and his strike rate goes up to 81.7.

I think Vettori is an excellent cricketer. Not an all-time great, but certainly he is one of the tidier spin bowlers going around, and no one doubts his control, economy rate and ability to tie good batsmen down (as demonstrated in the recent series against Australia). I think he does lack the penetration that the absolute top class of spinners need, although as Paxter says that's somewhat an artifact of having no good bowling support. When you add his not-inconsiderable batting prowess to the equation, I think he's one of the best [i]cricketers [/i]going around in the world, but as far as being the leading [i]spinner [/i] in the world or close to it, I think he's well behind the likes of Warne, Murali, Kumble, and perhaps even Harbhajan.

Yeah, Australia's taking another bad bowling attack into this match against the Boks. They really needed Stuart Clark for his consistency. Johnson is inconsistent (he bowls lots of wide unthreatening balls or some just plain bad ones) and Lee can be quite hittable if the ball isn't doing anything, so Clark brought some much-needed dependability into the attack.

This was especially important because some of the vaunted South African lineup can be slowed down with line and length bowling - Kallis, Amla and Prince are unlikely to take any more runs than the bowler gives them, and Clark would've given nothing away. Hope Siddle's up to the task.

[Stubby]

Gorgeous day here. 30 C forecast and light will not be a problem at all. Full day for the first day without a doubt.

No surprises in the selections, other than a finger injury forcing out Prince. Duminy gets a game. Paul Reiffel gets a gig as third umpire! Aussies batting first after Ponting finally won a toss.

Edit: Toss result.

[Horza]

Alderman on ABC Grandstand saying another flat wicket. They want the game to go into 5 days, so no blistering WACCA :(

[Horza]

Hayden nicks Ntini, Ponting out the very next ball - golden duck. 2/14 and Ntini on a hattrick... doesn't get it but we have a game on our hands.

[Jeor]

After all the talk about Morkel and Steyn, Ntini has suddenly bagged two wickets early on, including Ponting first ball. This is going to shape up as a great match. With Australia batting first they had the chance to demoralise the bowlers and put images into South Africa's mind of endless batting on forever, but Ntini has suddenly scythed through the top order.

A bit against the run of play too - the first three overs, Ntini and Steyn were spraying the ball around everywhere and Hayden had cracked three fours. Now it's all changed up and looking to be a real contest, and Steyn is suddenly bowling much better too.

[Horza]

Hussey (0) taken by De Villiers off Steyn, difficult catch but it's 3/15 and we're reeling...

[Stubby]

<- Wonders if Hereward might advise me how to deal with this situation....

:unsure:

[Jeor]

This is a brilliant start to the series. I don't mean to be unpatriotic, but I think it is excellent that the Australian top order is crumbling, and in this day and age, it's rare that you see ball dominating bat. Batsmen aren't tested with top quality bowling regularly enough. South Africa fielding sharply - they've taken some great catches, and a big runout chance where the stumps were thrown down and he was only safe by a few inches.

Overall, I of course don't want Australia to lose our unbeaten series run, but I wouldn't be unhappy if it was a drawn series, say 1-1. I've come off the boil with the Australian team lately (our conduct against India in Sydney etc) and for once it seems that the South African team is humbler than the Australians...I don't loathe Graeme Smith so much anymore. ;)

EDIT: I think Ntini's wickets were crucial in taking pressure off Steyn. Steyn was basically spraying the ball everywhere but once Ntini got the wickets he's suddenly bowled much better, and got the wicket of Hussey. The first two overs looked like it had the potential of a classic Perth rerun of Australia batting first and lasting forever, opposition wasting the pitch, but now that's been distinctly ruled out.

There's been a lot of talk about the bowling attack, but it'll also be the first time in a while that Australia has faced a top-class fielding side. We've been playing India a lot lately, and New Zealand weren't as sharp as they usually are in that last series, but the Boks have shown early on that they've got good catching, and quick and accurate ground fielding.

[sckma]

This is a pretty awesome day of cricket. it has a bit of everything. ill add more when the day finishes. but good comeback by australia.

[Horza]

[quote name='sckma' post='1622425' date='Dec 17 2008, 20.12']This is a pretty awesome day of cricket. it has a bit of everything. ill add more when the day finishes. but good comeback by australia.[/quote]
I don't want to take anything away from the batting but SA have been pretty feeble after the first session. After all the hype Steyn has blasted all over the place and the rest have been honest but not a lot more. SA had the chance to put the foot down but flubbed it.

EDIT: Haddin's dismissal highlights this - he, Symonds and Clarke all got out to poor shots after settling in, it's been assisted suicide.

[Jeor]

Yeah, I think this has started to get away from South Africa. You got the feeling that they had to knock over Australia quickly because the Aussies are only going to get stronger as the match goes on and as the 'shock value' of the new South African pace attack wears off. As it is, they'll get around 350+, and while not a huge total, it's certainly enough for them to bowl at and South Africa will have to bat last in the match.

That being said, Australia played poorly. Good innings from Katich - I've been a Katich fan for a long time, including before it was fashionable. ;) He's a very versatile batsman (batted at No.6 for Australia for a while, he bats in the middle order for his state side, and opens in international matches), handy spin bowler and captains his first-class side, so a good guy to have around in the team. But after the first three, basically it was all cheap wickets.

Clarke and Symonds really threw it away. Clarke's dismissal was terrible, and for all the talk that he's matured and tightened up his batting, this shows he's still got some refining to do. There's only a few more balls before the tea break comes around, Katich has just got out to break up the partnership, and then he goes charging down the wicket trying to loft the spinner. Sure, he was well set, but everything about the situation screamed that all that risk was not worth the paltry 4 runs he would have gotten had it come off.

Lee and Johnson made some handy contributions too, and it looks like Krejza can handle a bat a bit as well. South Africa must knock over Siddle quickly in the morning.

[Paxter]

Well, I just came back from the WACA and it was a pretty decent day's play. SA squandered a fantastic start, but the pitch is very flat, so I didn't expect them to roll the Aussies for 150. Overall, SA will be the happier team having been sent into the field and taken 9 wickets on Day 1. Massive pressure on the SA top order now that the bowlers have done a serviceable job on a flat wicket.

[quote name='Jeor' post='1622465' date='Dec 17 2008, 19.28']That being said, Australia played poorly. Good innings from Katich - I've been a Katich fan for a long time, including before it was fashionable. ;) He's a very versatile batsman (batted at No.6 for Australia for a while, he bats in the middle order for his state side, and opens in international matches), handy spin bowler and captains his first-class side, so a good guy to have around in the team. But after the first three, basically it was all cheap wickets.[/quote]

I have never been a Katich fan, and dislike him even more for letting a personal battle with Mike Veletta cut short his service to WA. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him getting cleaned up several times by Freddie in the '05 Ashes. Having said that, he batted well today and has been one of the best Aussie batsmen in '08. So it looks like he's here to stay :(.