A series of batting problems

[butchering lee]

Kallis and Prince have done all, and more, that's been asked of them and Smith earns (at least from this "fan") a very short extension on the looming drop (but he does win matches) - but not one nother SA batsman has earned his salary for months now. Three batsmen in a team can keep you at the top but imo they can't take you there (especially when only one is an attacking player and he is more form than class)!

I guess it's slowly dawned on me that I am actually a bit of an SA fan 'cos I find myself dedicating time to being annoyed by the awful state of their batting:

de villiers has been nothing short of pathetic - he's earned a bench spot and he's not getting it!!!?
i have little or no time for dippenaar as a test player - i don't think he's up to it!!
gibbs has started testing the patience to the limits and i don't think this SA line-up has patience to spare!
amla hasn't done anything to justify his persisitent call-ups either that i can see (despite the odd decent inns.)
hall is constatly referred to as an allrounder (pollock's replacement this test?) -- NO he's not!

so, what to do?

rudolph has shown fight (and ability) - i think it's a shame he's out in the cold.
bosman has to be worth a try (even opening with the 'maverick' smith is a risk worth taking imo).

i don't know what else is available (m morkel must be a better rotating allrounder option for polly than hall)? i liked mckenzie but i get little support from the people i occasionally talk to about cricket! anyone else??

[ll0OoO0ll]

Originally Posted by butchering lee

so, what to do?

Create better pitches may be???

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by ll0OoO0ll

Create better pitches may be???

SA has just served up the most facinating Test series in years... on pitches that allowed good bowlers (like Asif and Kaneria) to show just how special they were... whilst exposing poor bowlers (like Sami) and bowlers lacking form (like Rana)... and which allowed good batsmen (like Yousuf, Inzi and Kallis) to thrive... as the limitations of the terminaly second rate (or inexperienced, or ill-prepared) were exposed.

Test cricket at its best... and incidentally... cricket on the sort of pitch that would have been considered "normal" before the wickets were uncovered.

What's needed is a proliferation of excellent Test wickets like this last one: that would soon sort the men (and class acts) from the boys (and bullies)... to say nothing of the inflated averages of recent years, and the devaluation of a Test 50 (which was rightly harder to come by in this Test series than many double-centuries have been on lesser wickets).

Of course... it would help if SA and Pakistan would just get more domestic cricket played on similar pitches: that way the players might not look so clueless when they are actually needed