must polly do it alone?

[jot1]

What a miserable show we put on today! It was very embarrassing to watch. Polly bowled superbly, and seemed to be the only one to know what a bat was for. Seems if I want to cheer for a South African, I'll have to cheer for Pieterson!

[John]

No Polly won't have to do it on his own. As we saw in the Test matches there are number of other capable players in the side.
Its just one of those periods a side goes through. Hopefully there will be players coming thru'. It wont take that many more to make a decent side.
There are a couple of problems that need solving immeaditly where should Smith bat while he is out of form?
What does Boye do in the team? Is he a part time spinner?
Dont buy the journalistic hype about a crisis. A crisis would of been to beaten 4-0 in the Test series.

[Ernest]

I agree with John jot1, don't lose heart, how can South Africa be that bad, when we have just had one of the better Test series for ages, enjoyable from the first Test right up to the last afternoon on the last day of the last test.

From an Englishman, well done SA, and thanks for a good series, and thanks to the SA members who posted so well.

[Paoli]

AB De Villiers can. Graeme Smith is like Hayden at the moment. An excellent mental batsman struggling. Maybe not being sledged isn't helping. JK can and he is a handy bowler. Andy Hall, and Ntini and Nel.

South Africa will win matches---the series I don't know.

[John]

jot1 the only teams better than us are Australia, England and India.
It looked a few years ago as if Pakistan might produce a world beating side. Wasim, Waqar, Saqualin and a number
of other young players coming thru' ie Razzaq and Mahmood. Things didn't work out and now they are the same level as us. They still have enough decent players to produce a reasonable side in the next couple of years.
We have lost Donald, Kirstien and Cullian with not much coming thru'. So as Smith says we have got to have patience.
In my view it is possible that the Aussies might be in decline in the next couple of years. With the retirement of people like Warne. Also I believe that this England side has peaked. I don't see them going on from strength to strength.
So other sides might begin assert themselves for the top three places in the next period.

[jot1]

I think we will stay on the losing end until we have a team. I believe that at the moment we don't have a team. With all the chopping and changeing the selectors are putting us through. It sometimes seems as if they choose players randomly from various domestic teams and just put them in for a match or two. Take Adam Bacher for instance. There was no reason what so ever to leave AB out and put him in for the first ODI. I feel very sorry for Graeme Smith. How do you try and make a unit out of a team if the members are never the same. It takes time and lots of games and practise together to get a close, motivated, fire-up unit. So he's getting a lot of stick and nobody's taking into account how difficult it must be.

[John]

I wouldn't feel sorry for Smith. The problem is we haven't got the players whatever team you put out. It would proably be improved by a change in selection policy. But proably the improvment wouldn't be as great as you think.
Smith needs to work on his batting with the coaches. And we should feel less sorry for him