posted Jan 7, 2009

you are right..ungboysj...

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posted Jan 7, 2009

ungboyzj, you and bablee are going to have to let go of that match someday. Why not start now? G'wan, you know you want to.

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posted Jan 7, 2009

Lets be honest here, STh Africa whipped Australia. Graham Smiths injury saved Australia from a 3-0 drubbing.
SOme of the umpiring was the worst in history, the lbw against Boucher today has to go down on record as the worst decision ever to be made in test history. As Shane Warne appropriately said, if you put another set of stumps down it would have still missed leg stump. Can anyone think of a worse decision? I would love to hear it.

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posted Jan 7, 2009

'down on record as the worst decision ever to be made in test history'

I love posts that come with built-in exaggeration.

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posted Jan 7, 2009

I think you may find that Colin Cowdrey did something similar to Smith to win a test series in the West Indies in late sixties.
The return series should determine just how much SA have improved as Smith is very much their key batsman. Can they win without him?

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posted Jan 7, 2009

To add my 5 cents, 4 LBW's man is that the only way the umpires could help the Aussies save face from a whitewash, Pathetic the way those Aussies always get away with things and 4 vital wickets as well

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posted Jan 8, 2009

Despite of being the fielder who had a close look on to the grassed catch (kallis) ponting still raised his finger once gain putting his dignity in real stake. I would ratter accept the fact if he orders Johnson to send down few bouncers against smith when he walked in as number ten, as it can be called as do or die tactic to win the match. This act is putting him in a ratter invidious position, doing no justice to his talent as a great player.

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posted Jan 8, 2009

Springbokvel - India did not draw in Australia, they lost 2-1.

Kydeo1 - The Boucher decision aside, when did LBW not become a legitimate way to dismiss a batsman?

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posted Jan 8, 2009

Reading through this thread late, honourable mention for pontingisagod, picked mate:

comment by pontingisagod (U13715792)
posted Yesterday

The first indicator of Haydens demise will be whether he is named in the ODI and 20/20 teams.

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posted Jan 8, 2009

I agree with the article that the series was played in a great spirit. I predicted RSA would win 2-1 (see earlier post) and they fully deserved the series triumph. Dodgy decisions were about even if you watched the entire series and had no effect on any match outcomes. Ponting won all three tosses so we have no excuses at all. The fact that Australia, in a period of significant transition, was in a winning position in all three tests against such a fine side as SA shows that there is still some quality there, especially in the batting (3 out of the top 4 series aggregates were Australian).

Clearly India and RSA are the best all round test sides at the moment. It's great to see them and Australia playing such excellent cricket and this makes the global test scene much more interesting. Perhaps if someone like Tait can find form and spearhead the Aussie bowling, Australia will be in a better position to claim (and defend) the top ranking.

The lack of extreme LBW appeals, the acknowledgement of opposition achievements and the ability to smile at one's good fortune were all features of this classic hard fought series.

Congratulations South Africa! Thanks for showing everyone your courage, self belief and sportsmanship.

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