1st Test at Perth.
SA all out for 242 in first innings, and OZ were 130-0 overnight after day 1.
OZ eventually bowled out for 244 (after being 158-0 at one stage)
Day 3.... SA are currently 321-3 - a lead of 319 with 7 wickets left.
However, Steyn has gone off injured and is out of this Test.
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Comments
The batting looks very, very flakey - Warner and Smith are quality, but get rid of those two and the rest is all very average, and more importantly there is a distinct lack of 'mongrel' about them.
Same goes for the bowling, it is all a bit pedestrian and poor old Mitchel Starc is carrying way too much of the workload. As I am sure a lot of you cricket nuts will know, they have a couple of excellent fast bowling prospects in the ranks in the form of Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, but these have both developed a touch of the 'Cory Gibbs' and can never seem to stay fit for more than one game.
Very interesting series out here for the next Ashes, England should be assembling their top six now and stick with them, which means no Ballance, Hales or Vince whom would all get monstered out here with the extra pace and bounce.
Also our lack of spin would not be such an issue, as Moen Ali is probably as good a spinner as Nathan Lyon anyhow.
Overall Test average - 67.40
Against West Indies - 542.00
Against New Zealand - 99.00
Against England - 28.71
Against Sri Lanka - 19.66
Against SA - 14.00
And we thought Mark Wood was bad !
Which is probably just as well, as fully fit, an attack of Starc, Pattinson, Cummins and Hazelwood would be very, very tasty - a 90mph left armer, two 90mph right armers who both swing the ball and Hazelwood whom is a real steady eddie McGrath type bowler.
Fast bowler welfare is a massive thing over here now for Cricket Australia, as along with those mentioned above, there are other guys like Nathan Coulter Nile, Mitchell Marsh and Peter Siddle whom just cannot stay fit before suffering season ending injuries.
Knowing England's luck the whole lot of them will be fit and ready to go for next October, and we will get another flogging!
If we had James Taylor in the middle order I would have no worries about the test side (other than on the sub continent)
Not sure that he has the nastiness and the general grumpiness to be a successful fast bowler, he just seems to happy to go through the motions and plop it down in the mid eighties, whilst not being particularly accurate.
That is why I like Wood so much, gives us something different and has real pace.
Anderson, Broad and Woakes are all fine bowlers, but lack the express pace that perhaps only Ben Stokes can provide.
Wood is a real worry, as whilst he isn't a guy that is going to have a Broad or Anderson career of ten years and 3-400 test wickets, if he is used wisely he could be a Simon Jones type shock bowler, who can give us something different in the middle overs.
However I heard him interviewed and it sounds like he has real problems with his ankles, which for a quick bowler is a horrendous place to have problems, given the amount of pressure going through there.
2) Steve Smith injures Philander by running into him
3) Three balls later, Ferguson is brilliantly run out...by Philander's substitute
4) In the studio, Ricky Ponting wisely avoids reacting to this in Gary Pratt fashion
3.5) Upon Ferguson getting out, his brother storms out of the stadium, on camera
Smith top scored 48 not out
5 wickets for Philander , 3 for Abbott
SA 102 for 4
Amla 36 not out
3 wickets for Starc
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Mjc20xi78_A
Some unbelievable catches by SA especially Duminy's at slip and the last one taken by De Koch.
However, the rot was started by a absolute shocker from Warner. Someone should tell him that Test matches are meant to last 5 days and not 20 overs a side.