Cricket 2016
Posted by: Mike-B on 16 January 2016
Anyone watching/listening to SA v Eng
Worth a look ............ it'll all be over in the next 10 mins
They think its all over ....... It is now & its only day 3
- yes 83 in 31 overs. 
Yes. I've been following the series. Excellent series win by England, if somewhat unexpected. Can't say SA have played like the top-ranked Test side in the world but England's performance has been strong. Nice to see Root score the winning run in the 3rd Test which secured the series though Board's six wickets in SA's second innings was probably the decisive performance of the match.
Yes, the 3 unnecessary wickets when chasing the low target were a bit silly but no-one will remember - just the seven wicket victory and + Root's century + Broad's wickets.
Looks like James Taylor is going to be stuck with being at short leg for some time to come.......
This England side are nothing if not exciting. They have a few players who can do great things and turn a match, and when Broad really gets the fires going he is a very impressive. Stokes, Root, Bairstow, Ali and maybe Taylor all talented and playing with admirable freedom. We remain very unpredictable though, and at least two of the batsmen look either out of their depth or out of position. I surely don't fancy Hales as an opener. Is Anderson about to retire too?
Listening to the last few days commentary it struck me that with Steen and Philander it might well have been us blown away not SA.
All good stuff but what a shame not even terrestrial TV highlights here.
Bruce
Back to normal ......
Well 342 isn't bad in view of the earlier collapse. Moeen Ali did well with the bat for his 61. SA still in the driving seat, though.
England have done well in this series and some players are showing some delightful talent but before the team can be considered the 'real deal', I think they need to show some grit and ruthlessness. The great Aussie teams of the past never let up. Even with a series won they would want to grid the opposition into dust in any remaining tests. England still lack that.
SA curiously tentative in their second innings. I was expecting some fireworks, with SA goes for some fast runs ready to declare tomorrow with a lead good enough to attack England. But their run rate has been very slow and England look to be the team going for a win. All three results are still very possible.
Weather to intervene?
Some delay from the weather but from England's point of view a disappointing fourth day. Where's that stubborn application? Only a SA victory or a draw now seems possible. If we have a full day's play tomorrow I strongly suspect an early SA victory.
Oh dear, oh dear. I know i feared an "early" victory for SA today, but not that early. Such a collapse and heavy defeat rather takes the gloss off of the series win. England still have a way to go.
Oh my gawd !!!! I had not even looked to see how they were getting on this morning. Thats knocked it off in just over the hour !!!
Young Rabada has to be the find of the decade if he can keep that kind of performance up, 13 wickets in a match is some trophy.
Well done SA but these collapses are just too much of a feature of England. We have great potential in this side but several batsmen short of really being a class team. Really disappointed not to finish the series well-we did this against Australia after winning the Ashes too. Winning needs to be a habit.
Hales out I'm afraid, technically lacking as opener. I thought Taylor was going to do well but he has failed too.
I have not seen him but all the pundits are saying Ra bada looks the real deal
As usual, England flatter to deceive. A side that is leaderless and unled, with a number of occasionally-coming-to-the-party players. I am really glad that Sky have the rights to the cricket so that I cannot be tempted to watch it live on television. At least on TMS the cricket plays second fiddle to the commentary.
The first test between New Zealand and Australia starts tomorrow. The Aussies batted poorly to lose the recent one-day series, whereas NZ has been in good form. With several players returning from injury, and with home town advantage it's shaping up to be a great series. Go the Black Caps!
Sounded like good stuff, more interesting then these runs where 400 runs are 'easy'. England still consistently inconsistent. Time for Morgan to play a decent knock I think.
Bruce