The SAAF Forum

Choke...meh! Zim were first team knocked out as I recall...England, New Zealand, India...chokers as well...? Methinks not.

Anyway, I have no problem with THE team not going further...T20 is a game for those with a minimal attention span and is merely slap and tickle entertainment...REAL cricket's top spot is held by none other than said "chokers"!! Test cricket is what the game is all about

AGREED

Congratulations

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I have always believed if done right , armed robbery doesn't have to be a totally unpleasant experience- Brad Pitt as J.D in Thelma and Louise

For what? Silly dance of the year award?








































Just kidding Skyhawk, Windies played well and deserve the win.

Busy watching the CLT20 now, some good cricket happening there!

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www.monzlyons.co.uk

Ja, well done to da windies, mon!! it's airie, mon!

I hope this enters a new era of Windie dominance, cause to be quite honest, even though the Proteas are jinxed as far as world cups, etc is concerned we are the clear world champions in the test arena and we need serious competition to measure ourselves against.

I recall the era of Alvin Kallicharan, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh and Brian Lara. Not to mention the speedsters, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Joel Garner, who averaged 90mph ... all four of them.

The Fearsome Foursome:



Those were the days when test Cricket was a REAL battle, with actual blood flowing.

I truely hope the Windies rise from the ashes like the Phoenix and become a world power in cricket again.

Yes, after my boytjies, the Proteas, this is my next favorite cricket team of all times. Chris Gayle RULES!!!!!!!!

We'll be touring Australia beginning of November. Lose the test series there and we'll forfeit the No.1 ranking.

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A plan is simply a basis for change.

I agree and the Kevin Petersen saga cost England dearly.

I know, but I think we've got the test squad sorted and in place and will remain tops for quite a while. It's in the one day and T20 that we struggle with consistency and correct selections.

Gary has done this before though, and won a world cup, so I have faith he will suss out the niggles and get us some silverware real soon.

Since Alan Donald and Sean Pollock retired the Proteas have not had a strike bowler who can be relied on to remove at least two or three of any opposition's top order batsmen.
Our spin bowling is also very patchy, but that's been a problem for SA for a very long time.

That's true Roger, and still we are number one, without a decent spinner.

I think our last decent spinner was a guy called Allan Curie??? Omar Henry wasn't bad, but he didn't have a large selection of different balls. Paul Adams mesmerized the world for a few years, but never really impacted when it came down to the crunch.

We've never had a Muralitharan or Warne. Johan Botha sorta fills the void in the One day team, but he's getting long in the tooth, especuially for Test Cricket. We need a spinner with guts ... and stamina that can keep the overs rolling for three or four hours per spell, so that our strike bowlers can rest up nicely for the new balls. And sommer take a few wickets as well.

Speaking of speedsters ... Steyn and Morkel fits the profile perfectly, however both of them struggle with their own demons. Morkel struggling with line and length and Steyn struggling with inconsistant swing and bounce.

Alan and Polly was the masters of consistancy, line and length, and to win test matches you need to strategise the batsmen out, not bowl his head off his shoulders ... well tell that to the Fearsome Foursome of West Indies, hey???

I think we have some real prospects to develop, though. Vernon Philander shot to fame in that epic ODI against India, getting 4/12, I think? But he's shaping as a Test Seamer very nicely, so does Marchant De Lange. Between the two of them, currently playing the supporting roles for Steyn and Morkel, but learning the tricks of the trade, I see a very bright future for the Proteas Seam attack.

Spin bowling is a totally different story. Tahir and Botha just does not have that ... let's call it X factor. When there was still doubt about Botha's bowling action he was extermely sucessful as he played on the batsmens' nerves, but once the ICC cleared his action, and he worked on extending his elbow and creating a higher bowling arc he lost that element of "surprise" and the "unknown" that unsettled batsmen.

Tahir can produce some gems. I've seen him hiding a goolgy so good that even I watching from behind, on the TV screen, could not spot it until the very last moment. He also plays a very dangerous slider. I've only seen him attempt a chinamen twice, and both times it ended on the wrong side of the white rope, so I don't think that is one of his main weapons. I think Tahir's best ball is his arm ball. He can generate some lightning speeds off a five step run-up, upto 110km/h!!

But, having rambled on our bowling woes, I have to mention that in the recent test series in England it was the bowlers that contained the Brits, and even in the T20 tourny, just now. Our batsmen are the ones that need a SERIOUS kick up the tail pipes!!!

We have some of the best technical batsmen in the world, Kallis, Amla, Duminy, but we lack fire power. Why? I cannot say. Maybe what this team needs to rise above all others in all formats of the game is another Zulu Klusener, someone that can break the shackles and just play the beautiful game as it was intended ... with passion and raw guts and determination.

Ok, that's my take on the Proteas. Your views appreciated.

Oi, I love this game!!!!

We need batsmen who are not scared to moer the ball out of its leather into the parking lot.

Exactly!!!!

We need to clone Lance Klusener.

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A plan is simply a basis for change.

And Adrian Kuiper.

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www.monzlyons.co.uk