World Cup Day 21 New Zealand v South Africa @ Edgbaston

Who will win?


  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .
Would have to be one of the matches of the tournament so far, a number of swings in momentum and going right down to the final over.

Any of their other bowlers would have made it a lot tougher but Faf had bowled them out.

Not many other close matches, there is a gap between the good sides and the not so good ones. The pitch helped. Been saying it for years- get a match where 260 is a winning score...you can score runs (Williamson, etc) and you can get wickets. I find 350 matches boring as bat rubbish, after about the 10th six it gets boring.

Their attack is terrible. It's why I'm amazed they didn't play Duminy to strengthen their batting. He's handy as an off spinner.
 

The Passenger

The passenger, I am...
Veteran 10k Posts 30k Posts Sensible Type WCE Wings Guernsey
Mar 25, 2003
35,681
28,332
Not many other close matches, there is a gap between the good sides and the not so good ones. The pitch helped. Been saying it for years- get a match where 260 is a winning score...you can score runs (Williamson, etc) and you can get wickets. I find 350 matches boring as bat rubbish, after about the 10th six it gets boring.
Yep another example of a lower scoring game being better to watch in the 50-over format than a run feast.

It's interesting how much the expectation has changed, because 240 a piece shouldn't be considered a low scoring match.

I reckon the sweet spot in ODI cricket was about 15 to 20 years ago when teams averaged just under 5 runs per over. It's now up over 5.5, and in 2019 is an all time high of 5.8.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...am=7;team=8;team=9;template=results;type=team
 
Yep another example of a lower scoring game being better to watch in the 50-over format than a run feast.

It's interesting how much the expectation has changed, because 240 a piece shouldn't be considered a low scoring match.

I reckon the sweet spot in ODI cricket was about 15 to 20 years ago when teams averaged just under 5 runs per over. It's now up over 5.5, and in 2019 is an all time high of 5.8.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...am=7;team=8;team=9;template=results;type=team

The pitch should have a bit in it for everyone. ODI's in the last 12-18 months have been net sessions for bowlers with pitches offering nothing. I struggle to get excited seeing 400 scores, it's not a contest. Good sides shouldn't easily concede 400, if they do it's a road. Bring bowlers back. I agree, somewhere in the 260-280 being an outstanding score is perfect.
 
It will be better if they have the guts to drop Colin Munro.

Nicholls for Munro and Blundell for Latham. Latham will probably get another couple of chances, but if he keeps failing you wouldn't want Blundell making his ODI debut in a cutthroat Semi Final.
 
Jan 6, 2004
12,204
10,867
jfgjgfj
You have to feel sorry for the South Africans ... not.

I felt sorry for people like pollock and klusener, this current SA team are a pretty unlikable group and are lead by an arrogant knob.

Im sure the Bangladesh team are enjoying they are still very much alive while the bloke who said this has crashed out early.



We're only firing at 50-60 per cent and it shows than even Bangladesh can beat that.
 
Sep 21, 2002
52,639
46,330
Adelaide
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Norwood
I felt sorry for people like pollock and klusener, this current SA team are a pretty unlikable group and are lead by an arrogant knob.

I was just thinking this last night. I used to love watching the Saffies play because they were so hard at it, and you needed to play well to beat them. However, I rather enjoy watching them lose these days because they appear to be a humourless bunch, led by someone I have little respect for.

It's a pity they never had world cups around 1970 (forgetting all the racial problems that would have prevented it from happening). The South African team going around at that time would have crushed everyone. Sure, they didn't have a world class spinner, but their team was packed with world class all-rounders like Barlow, Procter, etc, and topped up by the phenomenal batting of Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards and wicket-keeper batsman Denis Lindsay.

I wish I'd seen more of them play.
 
Sep 21, 2002
52,639
46,330
Adelaide
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Norwood
South Africa having to score 22 off 1 is still one of my favourite World Cup moments.

That was amazing. I remember sitting there wanting to know what was going on, and then up comes "South Africa needs 22 runs off 1 ball". It seemed so ridiculous that it took me a good minute or so to comprehend it. It was sports stupidity at its' finest.
 
I was just thinking this last night. I used to love watching the Saffies play because they were so hard at it, and you needed to play well to beat them. However, I rather enjoy watching them lose these days because they appear to be a humourless bunch, led by someone I have little respect for.

It's a pity they never had world cups around 1970 (forgetting all the racial problems that would have prevented it from happening). The South African team going around at that time would have crushed everyone. Sure, they didn't have a world class spinner, but their team was packed with world class all-rounders like Barlow, Procter, etc, and topped up by the phenomenal batting of Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards and wicket-keeper batsman Denis Lindsay.

I wish I'd seen more of them play.
You can add Clive Rice to that lot too. That South African side of the 70s would have been something, my old man's eyes still glaze over when he talks about Pollock. Colin Bland is the other Saffer that he still raves about.
 
Sep 21, 2002
52,639
46,330
Adelaide
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Norwood
You can add Clive Rice to that lot too. That South African side of the 70s would have been something, my old man's eyes still glaze over when he talks about Pollock. Colin Bland is the other Saffer that he still raves about.

Yes, poor old Clive Rice. He was named in the 1971-72 South African team to tour Australia and would have made his Test debut that summer. When South Africa regained Test status 20 years later, he had only just lost his spot on the team. Missed out at both ends, but what a sensation he was in World Series Cricket. You can talk about your great fielders but Colin Bland could hit one stump with regular monotony. He spent hours perfecting his craft by placing a stump in the mouth of a hockey goal and throwing at it, hour upon hour. Could bat and bowl as well.
 
Yes, poor old Clive Rice. He was named in the 1971-72 South African team to tour Australia and would have made his Test debut that summer. When South Africa regained Test status 20 years later, he had only just lost his spot on the team. Missed out at both ends, but what a sensation he was in World Series Cricket. You can talk about your great fielders but Colin Bland could hit one stump with regular monotony. He spent hours perfecting his craft by placing a stump in the mouth of a hockey goal and throwing at it, hour upon hour. Could bat and bowl as well.
Was a notable drinker too which dad reckons didn't do him any favours although Pollock was also pretty handy on the lash.
 
Sep 21, 2002
52,639
46,330
Adelaide
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Norwood
Was a notable drinker too which dad reckons didn't do him any favours although Pollock was also pretty handy on the lash.

Pollock was the Doug Walters of South African cricket. Never saw the need for practice or physical exertion. Pollock hit 4s so he didn't have to run too many singles. Mind you, both were incredibly gifted players who could get away with it.
 
Pollock was the Doug Walters of South African cricket. Never saw the need for practice or physical exertion. Pollock hit 4s so he didn't have to run too many singles. Mind you, both were incredibly gifted players who could get away with it.
Simon Hughes said he didn't know how any man could drink as much cane and coke as Pollock did and still bat like he did.
 
Sep 21, 2002
52,639
46,330
Adelaide
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Norwood
Simon Hughes said he didn't know how any man could drink as much cane and coke as Pollock did and still bat like he did.

I remember Pollock coming here for the David Hookes Testimonial. He must have been well into his 40s, but some of the shots he played had you wondering how good he must have been in his 20s.
 

Santana

Norm Smith Medallist
Feb 28, 2008
9,767
7,668
........
A silly comment when they still won a game from 4 down for 80 against a good bowling attack on an ODI pitch which offered more for the bowlers than most.

On top of that Guptill and Taylor got out to unlucky dismissals that don't happen very often, NZ probably would have won comfortably if that didn't happen.

That being said they should look at replacing Latham who is a liability in the middle order and possibly Munro as well who is hit and miss as an opener.
They have too many passengers in the batting. Their bowling can only restrict that better teams so much when they face them. Anything over 300 even against England will be too much for them. Maybe 250 against India would push their batting too.
 
Back