South Africa not only managed to stem the rot, but it matched the England's first innings huge total of 629/6 declared with 627/7 declared.
South Africa after the England onslaught in the first innings on the back of Stokes-Bairstow record 399 run partnership did manage to hold on to the match by a gritty performance by Skipper Amla notching a double hundred and Bavuma's maiden Test hundred.
De Villiers 88 and Du Plessis 86, too had a good outing in the match another positive from the match for the hosts.
The knocks by Amla and Bavuma for South Africa has infused new energy in the team. This will surely help South Africa in the remainder of the series with two more Tests to go.
There was every possibility of an England win in the match. Overcoming the deficit on the back of some lucky dropped chances by England, South Africa clawed it's way back in to the series and does have a hope to match the visitors strong showing in the series.
England 87/5 at Lunch on Day 5, could have secured a win and go 2-0 up. It may rue that possibility, but credit must also be given to South Africa for the temperament it showed in the match.
South Africa down by 1-0 in the series does have a chance to stop England from taking away the series after dominating performances in both the Tests.
Valleyz.Blog
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
South Africa should pull it's overall game together after the Durban Test
England won the Durban Test in a convincing manner, it outplayed South Africa in all the departments.
I still think that there is not much difference between the two sides, but South Africa's overall game is under scrutiny.
There is not much South Africa can do except stick to the basics and complement each other on and off the field, they are still the no.1 team in the world.
Steyn's injury should be a cause of concern but not to an extent that overall team's performance is affected.
One or two players performance or failure never should bother a team.
Before the start of the first Test, James Anderson's non availability due to calf strain was big news as everyone knows his contribution to the England side.
Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes combined well to keep the pressure on South Africa in crucial stages. Moeen Ali already among the wickets repeated the performance at Durban.
It was a mixed bag of luck for South Africa as van Zyl was out 2nd ball of the innings, thus exposing an out of form Amla very soon in the first innings.
Amla could only defend some but not all from Broad's usual probing line with a hard new ball. The way South Africa lost seven wickets in the first innings on the third day too proved an advantage for the England team, securing a vital 89 runs.
England team looks solid both with the bat and the ball and everything seems to be going there way at the moment, which is a very positive sign for the remainder of the series.
South Africa on the other hand should pull it's overall game together and tighten up the loose ends.
Valleyz.Blog
I still think that there is not much difference between the two sides, but South Africa's overall game is under scrutiny.
There is not much South Africa can do except stick to the basics and complement each other on and off the field, they are still the no.1 team in the world.
Steyn's injury should be a cause of concern but not to an extent that overall team's performance is affected.
One or two players performance or failure never should bother a team.
Before the start of the first Test, James Anderson's non availability due to calf strain was big news as everyone knows his contribution to the England side.
Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes combined well to keep the pressure on South Africa in crucial stages. Moeen Ali already among the wickets repeated the performance at Durban.
It was a mixed bag of luck for South Africa as van Zyl was out 2nd ball of the innings, thus exposing an out of form Amla very soon in the first innings.
Amla could only defend some but not all from Broad's usual probing line with a hard new ball. The way South Africa lost seven wickets in the first innings on the third day too proved an advantage for the England team, securing a vital 89 runs.
England team looks solid both with the bat and the ball and everything seems to be going there way at the moment, which is a very positive sign for the remainder of the series.
South Africa on the other hand should pull it's overall game together and tighten up the loose ends.
Valleyz.Blog
Monday, December 28, 2015
Despite Dean Elgar's ton England on top on the third day at stumps at the Durban Test 2015
South Africa were bowled out for 214 handing over a handsome lead of 89 runs to England in the first innings at Kingsmead, Durban. Dean Elgar notched a well battled hundred and carried the bat through the innings remaining not out on 118.
South Africa lost it's last six wickets for just 70 odd runs,
Questions has been raised about the way South Africa batted. Are they too much dependent on some of the players? Are they not playing spin that well?
I think England bowled really well, even in the absence of James Anderson due to a calf strain.
Dale Steyn went for a scan that made South Africa a bowler short and there were a number of dropped chances behind the stumps while Morkel bowled.
Though England is on top of the game, but South Africa didn't play that bad as it looked. England lead by 261 runs with seven wickets in hand.
I think 400 would be a total England would be looking to set for South Africa to chase in the second innings.
If South Africa can bat for long hours it can still salvage a draw, but England has got more balanced bowling unit, only a determined effort can save South Africa now.
Valleyz.Blog
South Africa lost it's last six wickets for just 70 odd runs,
SA 137/4, ENG 303 Elgar 67* Bavuma10* Stuart Broad took 3/16 and Moeen Ali 1 wicket at stumps on Day 2 at Durban. #Cricket #SAvENG #SAvsENG
— CricketCorner (@PlayingCricket_) December 27, 2015
Moeen Ali added three wickets to his overnight tally of 1 wicket and Steven Finn finished off the tail.Questions has been raised about the way South Africa batted. Are they too much dependent on some of the players? Are they not playing spin that well?
I think England bowled really well, even in the absence of James Anderson due to a calf strain.
James Anderson doubtful for Boxing Day Test against South Africa after calf scan #Cricket
— CricketCorner (@PlayingCricket_) December 23, 2015
Stuart Broad making early inroads in the South African top order with consistently probing line. Made batting difficult for South Africa batsmen taking the wickets of Van Zyl, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers.Dale Steyn went for a scan that made South Africa a bowler short and there were a number of dropped chances behind the stumps while Morkel bowled.
Though England is on top of the game, but South Africa didn't play that bad as it looked. England lead by 261 runs with seven wickets in hand.
I think 400 would be a total England would be looking to set for South Africa to chase in the second innings.
If South Africa can bat for long hours it can still salvage a draw, but England has got more balanced bowling unit, only a determined effort can save South Africa now.
Valleyz.Blog
Sunday, December 27, 2015
It is totally a different ball game Down Under
India need to play to it's strength in the upcoming series against Australia in January 2016 where it is scheduled to play three T20's and Five ODI series before the WorldT20 Finals in India in March.
The last match it played down under was the semi-final of the World Cup 2016, which India lost to Australia by a huge margin.
233 was India's reply to Australia's 328/7. Though India managed to pick early wickets in that match but could not stop Steve Smith from scoring a hundred that helped Australia score a huge total.
If we take a look at Australia's batsmen playing in Australia's grounds you can observe their fluency of strokes.
It comes from sheer reading of the pitch conditions in Australia, which are quite similar in places like Hobart and Melbourne. If you hit the deck hard at these grounds you are in position of extracting that little element of surprise which can get you a wicket.
Bowling in Indian conditions and on Indian wickets is a different proposition, here our conditions early in the morning are different than in the afternoon and also the pitch plays differently during the day. Spin friendly tracks don't offer much bargain.
But in Australia the bowlers can extract something out of the placid tracks if you hit the deck hard and maintain line and length.Melbourne is such an example, the ball after hitting the deck plays differently than in the subcontinental conditions.
Indian batsmen expect the ball come to them fast but the bounce is different to that of the Indian pitches, that offsets the technique of many an Indian batsmen except a few like Kohli and Vijay who adjusted well against the likes of Mitchell Johnson.
Many Indian batsmen performed very well in Australian conditions worth mentioning Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.
Laxman had that ability to play it on the rise, negate the bounce of the ball with wristy strokes, that very few can play. When wrists come into play it becomes a headache for the bowler to set the field for the batsmen.
Indian batting and bowling should be according to the conditions in Australia when playing in Australia.
India need the bowlers who can hit the deck hard while maintaining the line and length. Ashok Dinda comes to my mind, his bowling actions is quiet distinct and he could derive bargain out of pacy wickets like the ones in Australian conditions, I think.
Umesh Yadav and Aaron they both are qutie similar, bowling fast, they are not going to bother the Australian batsmen much who would like the ball to come on to the bat. Especiall with players like Smith who would want to smack the ball out of the ground, the bowlers could do little to stop the stroke play from such batsmen.
Instead the team needs bowlers who can bend the back hit the deck hard like James Pattinson is doing in against the West Indies. Mitchell Johnson was clever enough to use the conditions to his liking, he even used to hit the deck hard, even though he bowled to a sling shot action.
In Australia if the bowlers are just going to run in and bowl fast, it is probably the batters gonna hit each delivery as powerfully as possible for maximum runs.
eValleyz.Blog
The last match it played down under was the semi-final of the World Cup 2016, which India lost to Australia by a huge margin.
233 was India's reply to Australia's 328/7. Though India managed to pick early wickets in that match but could not stop Steve Smith from scoring a hundred that helped Australia score a huge total.
If we take a look at Australia's batsmen playing in Australia's grounds you can observe their fluency of strokes.
It comes from sheer reading of the pitch conditions in Australia, which are quite similar in places like Hobart and Melbourne. If you hit the deck hard at these grounds you are in position of extracting that little element of surprise which can get you a wicket.
Bowling in Indian conditions and on Indian wickets is a different proposition, here our conditions early in the morning are different than in the afternoon and also the pitch plays differently during the day. Spin friendly tracks don't offer much bargain.
But in Australia the bowlers can extract something out of the placid tracks if you hit the deck hard and maintain line and length.Melbourne is such an example, the ball after hitting the deck plays differently than in the subcontinental conditions.
Indian batsmen expect the ball come to them fast but the bounce is different to that of the Indian pitches, that offsets the technique of many an Indian batsmen except a few like Kohli and Vijay who adjusted well against the likes of Mitchell Johnson.
Many Indian batsmen performed very well in Australian conditions worth mentioning Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.
Laxman had that ability to play it on the rise, negate the bounce of the ball with wristy strokes, that very few can play. When wrists come into play it becomes a headache for the bowler to set the field for the batsmen.
Indian batting and bowling should be according to the conditions in Australia when playing in Australia.
India need the bowlers who can hit the deck hard while maintaining the line and length. Ashok Dinda comes to my mind, his bowling actions is quiet distinct and he could derive bargain out of pacy wickets like the ones in Australian conditions, I think.
Umesh Yadav and Aaron they both are qutie similar, bowling fast, they are not going to bother the Australian batsmen much who would like the ball to come on to the bat. Especiall with players like Smith who would want to smack the ball out of the ground, the bowlers could do little to stop the stroke play from such batsmen.
Instead the team needs bowlers who can bend the back hit the deck hard like James Pattinson is doing in against the West Indies. Mitchell Johnson was clever enough to use the conditions to his liking, he even used to hit the deck hard, even though he bowled to a sling shot action.
In Australia if the bowlers are just going to run in and bowl fast, it is probably the batters gonna hit each delivery as powerfully as possible for maximum runs.
eValleyz.Blog
Saturday, December 26, 2015
West Indies bowling strategy similar to that of Hobart Test.
Australia dominates the Boxing Day Test and at stumps - Day 1: Australia were 345/3 (90.0 ov, Usman Khawaja 144, Joe Burns 128, Jerome Taylor 2/83) .
It was good attendance at the MCG on the boxing day with 53 thousand people watching the match.
Earlier West Indies having won the Toss elected to field first sending in inform Australia to bat. The batsmen made most out of a placid track after David Warner was out early for 23
At the close of play captain Steve Smith* 32(49) and Adam Voges 10(24) were at the crease.
Jason Holder gave only 33 runs from 17 overs with economy of just under 2 runs per over. Jerome Taylor two wickets for West Indies.
It was hard toil for West Indies pace bowlers, after having won the Toss elected to field first.
Many people criticized that decision, but I think West Indies didn't wanted to expose it's inexperienced batting line up to a new ball on the first day.
If there was a batting collapse then it would be difficult for West Indies to come back in the match and could demoralize the team batting prospects.
It happened at Hobart with only exception of Darren Bravo who made a hundred in that Test to bring some confidence back in to the team.
Australia is set for a big total at the MCG, what West Indies could do is to use as many spinners to halt the Australian scoring rate.
The team need to take a fresh look at it's bowling strategy, Hobart and MCG look very similar, where the West Indies team bowlers in particular couldn't extract much bargain.
Valleyz.Blog
It was good attendance at the MCG on the boxing day with 53 thousand people watching the match.
Earlier West Indies having won the Toss elected to field first sending in inform Australia to bat. The batsmen made most out of a placid track after David Warner was out early for 23
At the close of play captain Steve Smith* 32(49) and Adam Voges 10(24) were at the crease.
Jason Holder gave only 33 runs from 17 overs with economy of just under 2 runs per over. Jerome Taylor two wickets for West Indies.
It was hard toil for West Indies pace bowlers, after having won the Toss elected to field first.
Many people criticized that decision, but I think West Indies didn't wanted to expose it's inexperienced batting line up to a new ball on the first day.
If there was a batting collapse then it would be difficult for West Indies to come back in the match and could demoralize the team batting prospects.
It happened at Hobart with only exception of Darren Bravo who made a hundred in that Test to bring some confidence back in to the team.
Australia is set for a big total at the MCG, what West Indies could do is to use as many spinners to halt the Australian scoring rate.
The team need to take a fresh look at it's bowling strategy, Hobart and MCG look very similar, where the West Indies team bowlers in particular couldn't extract much bargain.
Valleyz.Blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)