Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:30 pm  

Sexual Deviant wrote:

People in the know have been saying that for years. It's mainly due to the advent of more intense test cricket in the last 15-20 years that thankfully the majority of cricket fans realise the game would be a much poorer place without it. The Modi's and the Stanfords can have their moments, but good quality 5 day cricket keeps the fans intrigued and wanting more.

An example? Well, several. Pietersen's 158 at the Oval? Iron Mike Atherton's 185* at Jo'Burg? Dev Malcolm's 9-57 at the Oval? We'll talk about moments like that for years to come, whereas any ODI 100 or 5-for will be soon forgotten about. Remember that.

That was an unbelievable climax. I was only listening on the radio but the tension was almost unbearable. Fantastic performance to bat for five hours with only two wickets lost including a nightwatchman. Typical rearguard action by Collingwood and even better atypical one from Bell, who at long last proved he can dig his team out of a hole as well as merely capitalising on the good work of others. England might not be the best team in Test cricket yet, but they look very much a team now, a rock solid unit who all pull in the same direction, give everything for each other and can bat all the way down to 11 when it matters most. Only one defeat in eight consecutive Tests against the Aussies & SA now. Let's hope they can finish the job in style at Jo'burg in the final Test. These sort of Test matches knock ODIs & T20 into a cocked hat.

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:58 pm  

Amazing result.

Listening at work, so intense.

Bell, well, there's a monkey thrown off a back if ever I saw one. Maybe it's exactly what his test career needed. He's always had talent, now maybe just maybe [one swallow] he's starting to apply that talent, judge the situation better, that's been his problem, judging what the situation requires, maybe now he's showing signs of 'getting it' notj ust having one way of playing, if he had the situational analysis of Colly, with Bells talent, worldy.

Finish this tour off, win in Bangladesh, that'd be three series wins in a row, with an English summer to come, I know it's getting carried away a bit, but that'd be fantastic momentum to take into an Australia tour.

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:59 pm  

Sexual Deviant wrote:

People in the know have been saying that for years. It's mainly due to the advent of more intense test cricket in the last 15-20 years that thankfully the majority of cricket fans realise the game would be a much poorer place without it. The Modi's and the Stanfords can have their moments, but good quality 5 day cricket keeps the fans intrigued and wanting more.

An example? Well, several. Pietersen's 158 at the Oval? Iron Mike Atherton's 185* at Jo'Burg? Dev Malcolm's 9-57 at the Oval? We'll talk about moments like that for years to come, whereas any ODI 100 or 5-for will be soon forgotten about. Remember that.

Exactly.....Just give ANYBODY a dvd of the 2005 Ashes series and try telling me there is a better sporting spectacle in the last 25 years than that??

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Thu Jan 07, 2010 10:12 pm  

The Angry Pirate wrote:

Exactly.....Just give ANYBODY a dvd of the 2005 Ashes series and try telling me there is a better sporting spectacle in the last 25 years than that??

I actually saw that 3 dvd box set in a pound shop in Wigan a few weeks back. I was tempted to buy it again even though i bought it back in 05 just because it was such an unbelievable bargain

That series will never be beaten for drama and what it meant to the nation but this series isn't a million miles off in game quality alone. They have just been so full of drama and so close. The 2 teams look so well matched it's fantastic for the game.

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Fri Jan 08, 2010 2:25 am  

A tremendous effort and a fantastic result under incredible circumstances.

How Bell can be deemed 'a numpty' is beyond me He faced 35 overs of todays play on his own!!! A terrific innings of steel and determination, probably his most worthwhile and significant innings of his England career

Colly was also fantastic again. He thrives on situations like that, he has done it time and time again. A run every 4 balls and only 4 boundaries in 188 deliveries is just what was required and although he only scored 40, it has to go down as one of his best innings too.

Who would've thought (no matter how it has come about) that England would be 1 up with one to play??? Certainly not me.

The only negative about the whole thing is I was not there to see it

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:01 pm  

MrPhilb wrote:

He is a numpty if we lose, he's supposed to be one of Englands elite batsmen, if he doesn't have the mental toughness to see the game through he shouldn't be in the side.

Fair play he did well but he should have seen the last 3 overs through instead of giving his wicket away with a nothing shot

If Bell's a "numpty", what does that make KP's contribution to England's performances in this series?

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:59 pm  

Andy Gilder wrote:

If Bell's a "numpty", what does that make KP's contribution to England's performances in this series?

KP has been a disgrace since he lost the captaincy hasn't he. He just looks totally uninterested and looks to have lost his passion for the game.

It would take alot for his place in the team to be questioned but he's heading in the right direction(although still a good way off imo).

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:08 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

KP has been a disgrace since he lost the captaincy hasn't he. He just looks totally uninterested and looks to have lost his passion for the game.

It would take alot for his place in the team to be questioned but he's heading in the right direction(although still a good way off imo).

Bell, Cook and Colly scoring runs must have put him under some pressure.

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:27 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

KP has been a disgrace since he lost the captaincy hasn't he. He just looks totally uninterested and looks to have lost his passion for the game.

It would take alot for his place in the team to be questioned but he's heading in the right direction(although still a good way off imo).

Disgrace is a bit strong to be honest.

I'm certainly not a huge fan of the whole Pietersen persona, but since losing the captaincy, an important factor in his dip in form is almost certainly his injury, resulting operation and now lack of vital match practice, which is more down to the ridiculous tour schedules that are common in modern cricket.

In the good old days, before central contracts and back to back Test matches, KP would have had valuable recuperation time, playing in low-key county games and warm up tour matches....Now its all big match after big match, whether it be 20/20, One-Day internationals, or the current Test series.

KP could do a lot worse than withdrawing from the forthcoming IPL's and spending some time with his county in the spring, in an attempt to get himself back into the groove.

Re: Super Cricket- England in SA : Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:31 pm  

flipper wrote:

Bell, Cook and Colly scoring runs must have put him under some pressure.

He was on easy street with those 3 struggling before this series and that has thankfully now changed. He will have to get runs at some point to keep his place but like i said before he has time to do that yet.

On the batting unit as a whole we need to see them all try and find more consistancy. We have too many players who just seem to give their wicket away after doing the hard graft of getting their innings going.

If the batters had done their jobs in the first innings of the last test and not give 5 of their 6 top order wickets away as gifts we could well have had this series wrapped up now.