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2017: England V South Africa & West Indies

mattitouk

Life President
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
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I thought we may as well get this thread underway, what with the upcoming tours over the summer from South Africa & the West Indies from now until the end of September, and our thoughts and opinions for who should make the grade for the up-coming ashes series.


I will start with tonight's easy victory in the T20 over SA, Bairstow was clearly the star of the show with he's 60 from 35 balls (6 4's & 2 6's).....To be honest, I didn't think we would wrap up the victory so easily in just over 14 overs.

I'm guessing the next 2 T20 games will be a closer affair, and quite sure the 3 test series will be a sterner challenge also.
 
Strange old game that. To be 142/3 after 20 overs is pretty odd. I did enjoy watching England smash them around the park though - the kids were getting sore arms from all the 'six' and 'four' signals they were doing :smile:

Awful fielding from the Saffers too - they will surely only get better.
 
Strange old game that. To be 142/3 after 20 overs is pretty odd. I did enjoy watching England smash them around the park though - the kids were getting sore arms from all the 'six' and 'four' signals they were doing :smile:

Awful fielding from the Saffers too - they will surely only get better.

I wouldn't be so sure.

South Africa are a team in decline.

AB's way out of sorts and the likes of Steyn and Amla seem to be on the way out.

Quinton de Kock is a genuine superstar as is Rabada (who didn't play) but other than that? I just don't rate the likes of du Plessis and Behardien.

They have better players playing in the County Championship on Kolpaks (Roussow, Abbot, Viljoen, Levi) than currently playing international cricket for them. It'll also weaken their domestic structure and mean there's a bigger gap between that and international cricket.

They are in for a tough few years.
 
I wouldn't be so sure.

South Africa are a team in decline.

AB's way out of sorts and the likes of Steyn and Amla seem to be on the way out.

Quinton de Kock is a genuine superstar as is Rabada (who didn't play) but other than that? I just don't rate the likes of du Plessis and Behardien.

They have better players playing in the County Championship on Kolpaks (Roussow, Abbot, Viljoen, Levi) than currently playing international cricket for them. It'll also weaken their domestic structure and mean there's a bigger gap between that and international cricket.

They are in for a tough few years.

I wasn't talking about their general play. Did you see their fielding yesterday? It was like watching India in the 1980s. Any team of reasonably athletic young men would expect to do much better than that.
 
I wasn't talking about their general play. Did you see their fielding yesterday? It was like watching India in the 1980s. Any team of reasonably athletic young men would expect to do much better than that.

I thought England were poor in the field as well.

Crane on the boundary letting a ball go over his head but go for 4; Morgan missing a run-out and Buttler watching it go by; numerous catches landing just short with players slow to react - but maybe it was just difficult to see the ball.

South Africa looked a beaten team in the field.
 
SA's problem is partly money, as well as strict selection criteria.

Kyle Abbott retired, as he could earn more money playing the county circuit.

As 'Yorkshire' says, Steyn probably has one year left, if at all.

They do have some genuinely high quality cricketers. Dean Elgar is a class opening bat and Du Plessis is a high scoring middle order bat, who performs under pressure. They turned over Australia in the winter.

However, probably they have too many average back-up players. Look at the attack they had at Cape Town, when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow smashed 200 in a session.

Overall, like a lot of sides, they are in transition, but certainly the one-day side has too many gaps starting to appear.
 
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but certainly the one-day side has too many gaps starting to appear.

Or, depending on your perspective, not nearly enough :smile:

On to the Tests, we've not beaten them in a series at home since 1998 under Alec Stewart (four series in total). A win is long overdue.
 
South Africa currently 96-3 (after nearly 12 overs), England not looking to shabby so far.

Update: SA 174/8 after 20 overs. De Villiers did well for his 46 from 20 deliveries.

Curran did well on his debut for taking 3 wickets. Should be do-able for England pending any obvious disasters.

Roy gone, England now 134-3.. We need 41 from 27 balls, this is going to be close! :sad:

Update: Bollox!!... What a game of cricket though, those that didn't watch it, I urge to watch the highlights!..Oooh Well... Bring on Cardiff...

I think ultimately I think those drop catches cost us those 4 runs we were chasing. If i'm not mistaken I think that loss, also cost us the number #1 title in the International T20 world rankings.
 
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Good game, that, though the light went towards the end.

Pleased for AB. Decent fella and has had a run of bad form and results, lately.
 
Well that's the T20 series wrapped up, with a 2-1 win. Malan batted a blinder for us.

I think it will be a far tougher affair against the Safa's in the test match series though.
 
And of course this summer will be the last one where Henry Blofeld is commentating on TMS.

I know the man after whom this forum is named couldn't abide him, but I do enjoy listening to My Dear Old Thing. That said, he was losing the plot a bit in terms of actual commentary (as opposed to spotting buses down the Harleyford Road) so the timing was probably right.
 
Like all good commentators their time comes to go

For me John Arlott and Jim Laker are still the kings of the airwaves, and my favourite umpire the late great Arthur Fagg, flat white cap and a face that looked like he had sucked lemons all day
 
LOL :smile: ... I heard that!

Ps, Some great commentator names there and all the very best ones.

Arthur Fagg, of course, the only player in the history of the game to score a double century in both innings of a match! :cool:
 
I started listening to the final yesterday on 5 Live. Not for the first time, I found the commentators unlistenably dull. I always prefer the county radio as the commentators are actually characters. Anyone on 5 live cricket who isn't the actual TMS A team is dull and boring beyond belief
 
Yep, remarkable player.

Averaging over 54.00 in Test Cricket and still only 26 years of age.

Could go on to break all records.
 
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