South Africa's tour of India - October/December 2015

[Prithvi]

Saffers are touring India, and it is a 70 day long tour, thanks to erstwhile CLT20.

South Africa tour itinerary:

T20Is:
Oct 2 - First T20I in Dharmashala
Oct 5 - Second T20I in Cuttack
Oct 8 - Third T20I in Kolkata.

ODIs:
11th Oct - 1st ODI in Kanpur
14th Oct - 2nd ODI in Indore
18th Oct - 3rd ODI in Rajkot
22nd Oct - 4th ODI in Chennai
25th Oct - 5th ODI in Mumbai

Tests:
1st Test, Nov 5-9 in Mohali
2nd Test, Nov 14-18, Bangalore
3rd Test, Nov 25-29, Nagpur
4th Test Dec 3-7, Delhi.

*India had clean swept the visitors the previous and only time I created tour thread, lets see what happens this time *

 

[SpitfiresKent]

Wow that is a rather long tour but should be a good one nonetheless.

 

[PokerAce]

It is a rather odd schedule to be honest.

3 T20s jeez, just too many. No cricket is more pointless and meaningless than those bilateral T20s on a bilateral tour. No one cares if your side loses, and thus no one cares about who wins. Suffice it to say that on a bilateral tour, the outcome of the T20 series (usually a one-off) is of the least importance. BCCI has never had 3 T20s on a bilateral tour before and I can't quite decide what is the rational behind that. Perhaps that the World T20 is to be held next year is perhaps the reason. However SA do get to play some games that will help them get used to the pitches so that will be good.

The ODI series should be exciting, I think both sides are evenly matched and the sub-continent wickets should provide a good platform, for the games. Just as long as the pitches are reaonable and no one really wants wickets where one side scores 350 and the other side chases down the target easily, like it was with the Aus ODI series a few years ago.

The test series is of course the centerpiece event and should be a good spectacle. Despite India being very dominant at home, SA (unless I am wrong), have not a series in India for 15 years. So that is something for India to look to over turn. I think India will beat SA, and that SA have been far from convincing in B'desh, sort of is an indication. It should still be a good series.

 

[Prithvi]

3 T20s jeez, just too many. No cricket is more pointless and meaningless than those bilateral T20s on a bilateral tour. No one cares if your side loses, and thus no one cares about who wins. Suffice it to say that on a bilateral tour, the outcome of the T20 series (usually a one-off) is of the least importance. BCCI has never had 3 T20s on a bilateral tour before and I can't quite decide what is the rational behind that. Perhaps that the World T20 is to be held next year is perhaps the reason. However SA do get to play some games that will help them get used to the pitches so that will be good.

This was something done intentionally by BCCI because India were the team to play least number of T20i games in a certain period of time. The next year world cup is also a reason, but I believe I've come across an article few months ago, which states BCCI is kind of looking into T20i cricket seriously than usual and hence they are playing 3 T20i's per bi lateral series.

 

[PokerAce]

^ Thx for the info, but call me old fashioned but I don't like T20. Its not real cricket, more about the fun and big hits.

Okay T20 is fun, but I can watch T20 only when there is a meaningful big end reward at the end of it. For instance IPL, there is eventually a winner and a loser, and I can thus draw interest and watch the event. I can track the results, oh this side is going to qualify, this side isn't, okay this is a must win game this isn't and so on.

World T20, I can watch because there is a winner at the end of it. Its fun to watch, its a 'meaningful' tournament with a real payoff at the end.

However a bilateral T20, I couldn't care less about it. so India and SA will play 3 matches and then ... what? Sure one of them will win more matches than the other, but you could have just tossed a coin 3 times, heads for India and tails for SA, and one of them would win more coin tosses than the other. Is that something to get excited about.

 

[Prithvi]

^ Thx for the info, but call me old fashioned but I don't like T20. Its not real cricket, more about the fun and big hits.

Even I wouldn't love to see a three match bilateral T20i series. In fact they could invite one more team and make it round robin+final (4 or 7 match series) and it would be a better contest than boring bi-lateral series.

 

[PokerAce]

Even I wouldn't love to see a three match bilateral T20i series. In fact they could invite one more team and make it round robin+final (4 or 7 match series) and it would be a better contest than boring bi-lateral series.

I tell you what thats a good idea ... a tri-lateral T20i series, (preferrably with the third team being someone like Afghanistan or another associate nation), and then qualification for final and a final to win it all, that sounds like a much much better and more purposeful tournament. Thats a tournament worth having. Great idea.

 

[War]

Despite what the faulty ranking have noted over the years, S Africa have been the best test team in the world since the decline of the great AUS team in 2006/07. They have only lost 2 series (coincidentally to AUS in 2009 & 14) in the last 7 years. India however is the one place they have not won, after drawing two series in 2008 & 2010 in which they won first test dominantly and slipped up at the end.

If this series was played maybe 1 year ago when Smith & Kallis were still around, i'd say S Africa easily. But a slightly rebuilding S Africa who are trying to figure out their opening pair, how to balance side especially in SC conditions without Kallis and lack of strong spinner is a work in progress. They have the fast bowlers who can win shoot out India, but early bets on a drawn series.

 

[Biggs]

Nevermind, wrong thread. As you were.

 

[Epic]

Such a long tour, 5 ODIs are going to be a drag to get through (for me), good to see 3 T20Is tho.

 

[PokerAce]

^Those two T20s are a two T20 Internationals too many.

Look I get the point of T20 leagues, and T20 tournaments. They are not the greatest cricketing show on earth but they serve other purposes. Primarily they generate money for the baords, and ensure that the players are well paid. I am all for that. IPL actually has put the salaries on par with the very best sports has to offer.

CHART: NBA Tops All Sports Leagues With Highest Average Salary For Players | Business Insider India

If cricketers are paid on par with the best that the sports world has to offer I am 100% behind it. Similarly an Int'l T20 event, like World T20, I can get behind it. There is a start and there is a definite winner, if its your team its great. Its a complete tournament. Same is true of all domestic T20 leagues. I get the point there.

However like you said, bilateral tours outside of the tests don't make much sense. ODI bilateral series have for far too long been the definitive pointless cricket matches for far too long. A tri-series, atleast feels like a tournament, and you can get behind it. However a bilateral series, where the only reward for winning is some distant long term goal of eventually climbing up some ranking table which never made much sense anyway, doesn't really thrill one.

Bilateral T20 Internationals, have taken the pointlessness of bilateral ODIs to while another level. A T20 tri-series, I would like that, there is an immediate payoff and a sense of achievement. Bilateral T20 Internationals are just nonsense.

 

[CerealKiller]

^Those two T20s are a two T20 Internationals too many.

Look I get the point of T20 leagues, and T20 tournaments. They are not the greatest cricketing show on earth but they serve other purposes. Primarily they generate money for the baords, and ensure that the players are well paid. I am all for that. IPL actually has put the salaries on par with the very best sports has to offer.

CHART: NBA Tops All Sports Leagues With Highest Average Salary For Players | Business Insider India

If cricketers are paid on par with the best that the sports world has to offer I am 100% behind it. Similarly an Int'l T20 event, like World T20, I can get behind it. There is a start and there is a definite winner, if its your team its great. Its a complete tournament. Same is true of all domestic T20 leagues. I get the point there.

However like you said, bilateral tours outside of the tests don't make much sense. ODI bilateral series have for far too long been the definitive pointless cricket matches for far too long. A tri-series, atleast feels like a tournament, and you can get behind it. However a bilateral series, where the only reward for winning is some distant long term goal of eventually climbing up some ranking table which never made much sense anyway, doesn't really thrill one.

Bilateral T20 Internationals, have taken the pointlessness of bilateral ODIs to while another level. A T20 tri-series, I would like that, there is an immediate payoff and a sense of achievement. Bilateral T20 Internationals are just nonsense.

Bilateral ODIs should be replaced by a four-year league where everyone plays everyone home and away ( I think someone already talked about it in some other thread).

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Bilateral ODIs should be replaced by a four-year league where everyone plays everyone home and away ( I think someone already talked about it in some other thread).

Me. We finally agreed on something.

 

[CerealKiller]

Me. We finally agreed on something.

Haha true

 

[Epic]

^Those two T20s are a two T20 Internationals too many.

Look I get the point of T20 leagues, and T20 tournaments. They are not the greatest cricketing show on earth but they serve other purposes. Primarily they generate money for the baords, and ensure that the players are well paid. I am all for that. IPL actually has put the salaries on par with the very best sports has to offer.

CHART: NBA Tops All Sports Leagues With Highest Average Salary For Players | Business Insider India

If cricketers are paid on par with the best that the sports world has to offer I am 100% behind it. Similarly an Int'l T20 event, like World T20, I can get behind it. There is a start and there is a definite winner, if its your team its great. Its a complete tournament. Same is true of all domestic T20 leagues. I get the point there.

However like you said, bilateral tours outside of the tests don't make much sense. ODI bilateral series have for far too long been the definitive pointless cricket matches for far too long. A tri-series, atleast feels like a tournament, and you can get behind it. However a bilateral series, where the only reward for winning is some distant long term goal of eventually climbing up some ranking table which never made much sense anyway, doesn't really thrill one.

Bilateral T20 Internationals, have taken the pointlessness of bilateral ODIs to while another level. A T20 tri-series, I would like that, there is an immediate payoff and a sense of achievement. Bilateral T20 Internationals are just nonsense.

All that's fair, I just hate ODIs lol, they're a drag and in general just bore the hell out of me, so in the long term what I'd like to see happen is the end of ODI cricket in favor of more T20Is and more Tests, that way we can both support the big money making format and real cricket better.