South Africa in England July-Sept 2012

[Epic]

What exactly does this Ontong guy offer? Never see him do anything.

 

[Ahmad94]

Ontong is an allrounder, he seemed OK in the tri series but by his stats, don't know why he got an international call

 

[swacker]

Richard Levi really is amusingly fat. Would give Dwayne Leverock a trot for his money.

 

[cricket_icon]

The worst t20 game I've seen in a long time. Got so boring that Bumble started talking about cabbages and crackerjack.

 

[MUFC1987]

We seem to have forgotten that we won the T20 World Cup with 5 specialist bowlers. As bad as the batting obviously was, this worries me more.

 

[sifter132]

^You're not the only team that has forgotten how they got to the final last time...Australia is going to pack their team with extra batsmen/spinners instead of 3 genuinely fast, intimidating pace bowlers. Oh well...

vs AUS : 6/45 off 10 overs (ER 4.50)
Sterling effort, brilliant. England were reduced to 22/3 and never got going in pursuit of 250

Sorry Owzat couldn't let this one go through to the keeper. I thought that this was one of the luckier 6-fers I've seen. If I recall most/all of his wickets were from batsman error: either outfield catches, dragging short balls onto the stumps or from suicidal shots. I remember it biting me at the time that Woakes was getting all this praise for what was really some pretty ordinary batting. Anyway, it was no surprise when he couldn't repeat it next match. Doesn't mean I think he's crap, looked like a bowler with promise to me.

 

[Owzat]

Sorry Owzat couldn't let this one go through to the keeper. I thought that this was one of the luckier 6-fers I've seen. If I recall most/all of his wickets were from batsman error: either outfield catches, dragging short balls onto the stumps or from suicidal shots. I remember it biting me at the time that Woakes was getting all this praise for what was really some pretty ordinary batting. Anyway, it was no surprise when he couldn't repeat it next match. Doesn't mean I think he's crap, looked like a bowler with promise to me.

In fairness I only recall the 5wi, but it is still a 5wi so should we pick and choose how deserved any of them are/aren't? And when aussies were picking off "pretty ordinary batting" from England, and I recall the number of times they left their bat out to dry and were caught behind/at slip, or basically bounced out by intimidatory bowling which for me is as bad if not worse than bodyline when aimed at the tail, were aussies as quick to question the worth of the wickets...............?!?!?

I think he'll be in and out of the side and never get a chance to settle.

We seem to have forgotten that we won the T20 World Cup with 5 specialist bowlers

T20 is the format most open to be decided by fortune. That was our third lowest total in T20Is so I read, not much to do with the bowlers. You could probably get away with Swann, Bresnan and Broad at 7-9 as there's only 120 balls in an innings and if your batsmen ain't faced 2/3 or more of them then you're probably shafted anyway

 

[Haarithan]

How Bopara got the nod ahead of Luke Wright yesterday, I'll never understand.

This would be my XI for the World T20Is:

1. Hales
2. Wright
3. Kieswetter
4. Morgan
5. Bairstow
6. Buttler
7. Fatty (NO OTHER GO!)
8. Swann
9. Broad
10. Finn
11. Dernbach/Briggs

Fairly rubbish batting lineup without Pietersen featuring in it. Ideally would love both Dernbach and Briggs in the XI, but KP's absence leaves me no other choice but to include Fatty.

 

[Sureshot]

The record that matters is World Cups won, not the odd series or ODI win here and there that really means little in the long run. We're still three finals, zero wins in the World Cup, fifty years down the line people won't look back and say "our ODI record that year is something we're very pleased with"

Whilst you make a fair point, it's still relevant and nor did I say, "OMG, dis iz brilliant, 4get bout World Cup!111"

 

[Owzat]

How Bopara got the nod ahead of Luke Wright yesterday, I'll never understand.

Not sure why Wright got only one over and didn't bowl his second, 1/4 is hardly reason not to bowl him. It would have been a farce had the game been concluded, nine overs a side.

I might be kidding myself but I thought I remembered a seven overs a side game, TMS reckoned that was the fewest they could recall. Even 10 overs a side is barely enough cricket for any purpose other than to produce a result

TMS were talking about wicket losses, I totted up wickets left against balls faced. Last time I did it they had six wickets in hand with 19 balls left, the previous time it couldn't have been many more. Off 9 overs or 54 balls you can lose a wicket every six balls (every over) and still not be bowled out so how much caution do you need to show?

 

[Sedition]

Pretty sure I saw Ireland involved in a 7 over match against one of the superpowers. Was probably in one of the previous world cups.

 

[angryangy]

This tour is so long and forever taking

 

[Skater]

I'm a long way from Birmingham but it was dry until about 4pm, very wet since. I don't fancy our chances for this game!

 

[Epic]

Butler, wow, some of the cleanest hitting I've seen in a long time.

 

[Haarithan]

Was long overdue. He's such a special talent who'd endured an unlucky start to his International career. Yesterday was the real him.

Overall a great day for Somerset fans with Kiesy bagging the player of the series award, Buttler's carnage earning him the MOTM award and Compton's return to action with a bang.