Tsotsobe can be dagerous

I have seen Lonwabo Tsotsobe can make name for himself is he gets a run in the next test. The main thing that makes him dangerous is the fact that he can induce strokes from batsmen because of his bowling angle. He is especially dangerous when he pitch up a fraction with the ball aimed a bit wider of the off stump and reduces is speed a fraction. We have already seen Dravid and Tendulkar chasing these balls and paying the penalty.

To make this more effective he should bowl ideally at 135 KM/h and then bowl the wider one at 130 KM/h. The carrot ball will dismiss a lot of good batsmen if he applies this tactics. In the first Test against India a lot of Balls went wide of third slip that indicates that his speed was a fraction slow for the conditions.

By picking up small hints like balls that are going just wide of the third slip can also help him in determining the optimum speed for the pitch that he is bowling on. The rule should be if the ball goes wide of third slip you should bowl about 3 to 5 KM/h faster so that the nicks can go to hand in the slips area.

South Africa VS England 2009 ODI Newlands

South Africa has won the toss at Newlands and elected to bat in their cricket match agianst England. Newlands which has been known for pear shape match results where the team batting first has a huge advantage over the team batting second. The reasons for these phenomena can be attributed to the lack of movement from the ball during the day comparing it to the night. It has been known that the ball is doing something from the deck and through the air. England will be doing well getting close to the huge total that South-Africa has managed to score. The score for the South African innings was 354 for the loss of 6 wickets. Special mention needs to be made in the way AB de Villiers has batted like a rock dispatching the ball all over the park 121. He was well supported by his fellow batsmen. England that has got match winners in their team but it is going to be tough.

Kallis Out ODI's against England

Jacques Kallis has been replaced by Hasim Amla for the rest of the ODI’s against England. Kallis that has not responded on treatment for a bruised rib have been diagnosed with a cracked rib after a second scan yesterday. This have been a cruel blow to the South African team just before the start of the Odi. This will be a good opportunity for Amla to prove that he can play a integral part in the South African line-up. Meanwhile South Africa has gotten of to a decent start to there innings. The current score is 43 for the loss of 2 wickets after 9 overs. South Africa will have to consolidate their innings as there was a loss of two wickets in short succession.

Proteas vs England ODI Centurion 22 November 2009

So it is Cricket at last since the rain has set in over Gauteng over the past week. It is the first time that the weather is looking good and that we are sure there is going to be some good cricket played. England has won the toss and elected to bowl due to some moisture around. I think that this is the prudent decision that might prove to be the correct one for them. I think Smith would have done the same if he won the toss. The only good thing positive for the Proteas is that it is not overcast , but you can be assured that there is going to be some lateral movement.
Then there is the omission of Jacques Kallis which has been removed from the line-up due to a suspected cracked rib. This will also put him in doubt for the rest of the one day internationals and even for the first test against England.
Anderson will be opening the bowling and the Proteas will have to be at their best if they stand a chance of getting off to a good start.

Proteas vs England 20/20 Centurion

So there is again some weather around in the Johannesburg, Pretoria area. The Duckworth / Lewis method of determining the eventual winner might be again come into play. South Africa has probably been the team most affected in this manner, but it is probably because they only have one game plan, and that is to chase a target rather than to set one. It has cost them two advances in world cup matches one against England in Australia and one against West Indies in South Africa. I sure don’t hope that DL will be used today to determine the winner of today’s match. The previous game has shown signs of being a cliff-hanger up to the point that the rain has intervened. If this first encounter has anything to go by the tour will be something else and the intricate matchups something to behold and to enjoy.

England on top in ICC match against South Africa

England has outplayed South Africa in their ICC champions match. It seems like South Africa will also fail to proceed to the next round of the competition. I would like to see only day matches played at Centurion as it has been shown that the team batting first in the

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack in the 21st over going for a four in his first over. The performance of Swann will be pivotal in the outcome of the match. To my thinking the partnership between Smith and de Villiers will be the make or break to their chances in the ICC champion’s trophy competition.

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack in the 21st over going for a four in his first over. The performance of Swann will be pivotal in the outcome of the match. To my thinking the partnership between Smith and de Villiers will be the make or break to their chances in the ICC champion’s trophy competition.

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack in the 21st over going for a four in his first over. The performance of Swann will be pivotal in the outcome of the match. To my thinking the partnership between Smith and de Villiers will be the make or break to their chances in the ICC champions trophy competition.

South Africa VS England in ICC 2009 Second innings

South Africa has made a good enough start to the run chase on Centurion in their match against England in the ICC champions trophy match to be in front 89 for the loss of two after 17 over’s of the scoring rate compared to rate of England at the same stage. The two batsmen out for South Africa are Herschel Gibbs and Jacques Kallis, both of whom were caught in a soft manner. At the crease at the moment are AB De Villiers and Graeme Smith

Eoin Morgan has played a gem of a innings.

Eoin Morgan has played a gem of a innings at the tailend of the South Africa, England game in the ICC trophy competition. The final score was England 323 for the lost of 8 wickets. Now we will have to wait and see if this is a bridge to far for the South African team to come back and score the runs to proceed to the next round of the competition or is this is wickets for them

England VS Sri Lanka Update

England has set South Africa firmly on the back foot in the ICC champions match with Shah eventually out for 98 well played runs. The only thing that is sure is that this is going to be one hell of a game if South Africa gets close to the target set. There was a incident that I saw where the backup runner has backed up about 5 meters. This brings to mind that mancad should be ruled legal dismissing a player as the benefit of backup is not fair to my mind.

Collingwood and Shah are playing the spinners quite comfortable

Collingwood and Shah are playing the spinners quite comfortable with no real spin as the other day against New Zealand. The lack of spin will bode well to the South African team trying to negate the spinning ball in their run chase. England has reached 100 for the loss of two wickets in the 22 over. I am certain that there is a big chance of a run out ending the partnership as the calling by both Collingwood and Shah is not the best

South Africa VS England in ICC 2009 Update

So Joe Denly forced his hand once to often trying to clear the fence. Denly took on Jacques Kallis with a forcing shot down to square leg. The catch was held neatly in the deep by JP Duminy. Meanwhile Kallis left the field with a suspected side strain and we will have to wait and see if he will play any further part in the match bowling.

So England has won the toss and elected to bat.

So England has won the toss and elected to bat as expected and in the first few over’s proved to be a good decision with 17 on the board after only 3 over’s being bowled. They were out of the blocks in similar fashion as Sri Lanka in their day night match against South Africa. This is going to be a thriller of a match with South Africa having a good record at this venue. Gibbs is has been recalled for this game and we will have to see what influence he will have on the game

South Africa VS England in ICC 2009

It is wonderful weather in Pretoria today with a mouth watering game in prospect at Centurion. South Africa will be taking on England in a deciding match in the ICC trophy match. My suspicions will be that the captain winning the toss will use be batting first to take some advantage of the conditions and to set a total rather than chasing. We will have to see how this pans out and the result of this decision on the outcome of the match

What is the scenario if England beats Sri Lanka in the Champions trophy?

The scenario will be that England , Sri Lanka and South Africa will have a victory each that will put England in poll position in the group because they only played one match in the competition. This will place extra pressure performing in Sunday’s match between England and South Africa as the winner will probably go to the next round. But the odds on three teams ending up with the same amount of points will be the favourite and it might boil down to run rate difference.
Follow Standardbank Blog

Ajantha Mendis has flummoxed South African

Ajantha Mendis has flummoxed South African left handed batsmen. Only bowling two deliveries to South African left handed batsmen and clean bowling both in his first spell of five over’s. Also tying down the scoring rate during his spell and putting Sri Lanka in a position as firm favourites to beat South Africa and sending them to third on the table of one day international rankings.
South Africa only had Graeme Smith until he received the first ball from Mednis and totally misjudged it playing down the wrong line. It will be interesting to see haw Mendis perform in the competition with the tracks giving assistance to spin.
The new rankings will be at number one Australia by a narrow margin then in second position India. Both these teams are in action in the other section of the competition.

ICC Champions Trophy South Africa VS Sri Lanka

It was quite clear that South Africa has been caught cold in there first match in the ICC champions trophy with both bowling and fielding has been shown up as mentioned in a earlier post. It is clear that it is not as easy after a long layoff as what the Proteas had to start firing from the outset.
In the South African opening bowlers was treated with distain and send to the boundaries on a regular basis. It has to be set that the pitch did not provide any assistance to the bowlers but that the lines and lengths of attack were not executed well.
Dilshan Telekeratne has blasted a quick fire 106 and was involved with a great partnership with Sangakara of 158 runs. If it was not for the tumbling of 5 wickets in the last 4 over’s the chasing score will have been much more than the 320 that was set as target by Sri Lanka. The death bowling have been much more improved but it was after the horse has bolted.
It will be interesting to see how good the South African batting will be under lights.
South Africa will have to produce a Centurion on Centurion to have a good chance to come near the score of Sri Lanka

ICC Champions trophy

Expectation is mounting as the warm-up matches for the Champions trophy is being played and some of the countries start to arrive in South Africa. The only teams still to arrive is Australia and England that is still in there closing match in England and Australia trying to white wash England it he current one day series.
The last match in England will start on the 20th September and will be flying out to South Africa soon after the completion of this match. It is indeed going to be a spectacle of a mini worldcup format with all the major strengths in Cricket being represented in South Africa. The first match will be between the hots South Africa and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka that have performed consistently during the past view years will probably be the favours to win, with South Africa that only had a warmup match that thy played against West Indies.
Although South Africa won the match convincingly it will be a difficult task to beat Sri Lanka. Time It normally takes some time in the centre in a competitive match to gain momentum and form. With the South African team that took some deserved time out of competing before a tough season it might be a bridge to far to expect of them to start firing from the get go.