Official Cricket 12/13 Thread

[Axver]

Good call though on a draw with 2 wickets in hand!

Haha, yeah, I was going to post that we both did a good job nailing the outcome!

Didn't at all like the way Lyon was bowling at the death there.

Agreed. It's like he thought that rushing through the deliveries without really thinking about it would lead to wickets because "zomg more balls means more chances of wickets right guys?!" He didn't look a chance of dismissing du Plessis, and he was only a little more threatening to the tail-enders.

 

[cobl04]

He was looking really good I thought until about the last half hour, when he was totally innocuous.

 

[dan_smee]

Cricinfo says du Plessis is man of the match. And of course he should be ahead of Clarke - sure, Clarke's first innings knock was special, but du Plessis's grit and courage changed the entire course of the game. Man of the match should go to the player with the biggest role in the final outcome, and you've got to say that du Plessis turned it from an Aussie victory into a draw.

Victim of timing. Clarke's innings turned a certain Aussie defeat into a draw.

The rest of that batting card is woeful (save for Warner and hussey, but Hussey doesn't score his without Clarke at the other end because Wade and the Aussie tail weren't performing - boom boom from Pattinson aside). Take Clarke's 230 out and the total is 320, but much less in real terms without him occupying the crease - more like 250. Saffers would have cruised to a win.

 

[cobl04]

I don't know about all that. I think you're not giving Hussey much credit there. It's a bit much to say "take out Clarke's double century"...

 

[cobl04]

Faf was man of the match in the end. I guess he can just du what he Plessis.

 

[Axver]

Faf was man of the match in the end. I guess he can just du what he Plessis.

... oh god.

 

[cobl04]

Ponting calls time.

 

[Axver]

Only three or four years too late. His legacy will probably be "a sensational batsman who just didn't know when to stop".

 

[cobl04]

I disagree, again, although you take out the Indian series and he'd had a pretty lean trot.

 

[Axver]

I really don't know why he's kept going this year in the first place. He should've stepped aside long ago but you can tell the man has no idea what to do outside cricket. Star in more Swisse ads I guess!

And I was bummed a couple of hours ago to discover the Perth Test begins tomorrow rather than today.

 

[bono_man2002]

Should have waited till Hobart. I guess the selectors can blood someone new though....

 

[intedomine]

Sad to see him go. One of my favourite ever players. He was fun to watch, and I found him immensely likeable and genuine.

 

[cobl04]

NZ do what Aus couldn't... win late on the fifth day. Great stuff.

Doesn't bode well for SL in Aus though. Hoping Sangakkara and Jayawardene recapture a bit of form.

 

[Axver]

Haha, if Sri Lanka can't beat us, they're fucked against Australia!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I'm South Africa what's hitting a good score.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Du Plessis piling on the runs again.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I am so sick of Hussey being so perfect in the field. I liked seeing Philander go mad.

 

[Axver]

Piss poor start by South Africa.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

They do not deserve the #1 ranking at all.

 

[cobl04]

Aussies have bowled pretty well.

I don't think Hussey has dropped a catch in his life.

 

[cobl04]

And Faf continues to du as he Plessis!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Aussies have bowled pretty well.

I don't think Hussey has dropped a catch in his life.

Neither have I, I will say that about 70% of fielders would have dropped that one. It got hit just about a million miles into the sky and somehow he caught it perfectly.

 

[Axver]

Hahaha and to think I was hanging shit on South Africa yesterday. If it weren't for Wade, this would be even more embarrassing for Australia. Clearly this is totally a bowler's wicket.

The three big twats (Watson, Punter, Clarke) fell for a combined total of nineteen!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I love how Wade has scored half of Australia's runs.

 

[Axver]

Aaaand there goes Wade.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

163. My god.

 

[Axver]

Who thought South Africa would be on top at the end of Australia's first innings!

 

[Axver]

How about the South African batting this time around! Amla's scoring at more than a run a ball - and on 99 at stumps. Whoever bowls the first ball tomorrow morning is going to come at him like a bloody steam train.

Australia's going to need an incredible bowling effort tomorrow to stay in the game though. If the Proteas put on another 127, Australia will have to make history to win (the highest successful fourth innings run chase to date being 418). If the Proteas put on another 160, then Australia reaaaallly will have to make history to win (only two teams have ever scored more than 450 batting fourth - New Zealand lost with 451 on the board, and England scored 654 to play out a draw). Furthermore, Australia's only broken 400 three times in fourth innings, the best of those three was just 406, and they lost two out of those three times. So yeah, suddenly history and statistics have swung dramatically in favour of South Africa. But with THREE WHOLE DAYS to play, anything could happen, and if a record's going to fall, well, now's the time.

PS You know what's annoying? New Zealand's got three of the five highest fourth innings scores, but we lost every bloody time anyway!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Did South Africa seriously make 230 runs already with the loss of only two wickets? What.

 

[Axver]

Thank god somebody in the Aussie sports media has a sense of proportion and history: Between you and me, Ponting isn't our second best

(Oh, and this just makes Bradman look even more incredible. Frankly, anybody who thinks Bradman isn't the best sportsperson to play any sport ever has rocks for brains.)