Tag: West Indies

Cricket: SA too strong, too classy; win two nil

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South Africa retained their number one test cricket ranking with an emphatic eight wicket win over the West Indies in the final test at Newlands.  The win helped them seal the three match test series, by two games to nil, and in truth it should have been three if rain hadn’t intervened.  South Africa were, in fairness, superior in every aspect of the game, as evidenced with their eight wicket win here in Cape Town.

AB de Villiers as he so often is, was the catalyst of the win;  he crafted his way to an exceptional first innings score of 148 in South Africa’s 421 that gave them the requisite lead to allow the bowlers to overrun the West Indies in a difficult 2nd innings.

As much as de Villiers’ hundred was the winning of the match, the West Indies second innings was the losing of it.  They managed just 215, with batsman carrying on the trend of making starts without converting them into big hundreds.  They had eight batsman across the match scoring between 43 and 74 without any going on to the match winning knock that was desperately needed.

That’s easier said than done against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and now simon Harmer. The debutant who was featured in our preview earlier in the week, enjoyed a superb start to his test career, taking seven wickets in the match.  Steyn also took seven as the two combined for the bulk of the Windies wickets to a fall in a classic fearsome space / pressure building spin option combo.

South Africa’s fourth innings chase was guided by Dean Elgar, who made 60*, with a useful contribution, his second of the match, from Hashim Amla (63 and 38*).  Despite some minor weather interruptions, South Africa still had plenty of time to seal the win and with it the series.  They’ll be impressed with Harmers first up return in addition to the continued form of du Plessis, Amla, Steyn and de Velliers.  They appear to be building nicely towards the World Cup, but the real test of that fact will in the T20’s starting on the 9th January.

West Indies will gladly welcome some of their stars like Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.  They’ll boost the side’s experience and confidence and hopefully make them more competitive in the shorter formats.

South Africa 421 (de Villiers 148, du Plessis 68, Amla 63) and 124 for 2 (Elgar 60*) beat West Indies 329 (Blackwood 56, Johnson 54, Ramdin 53, Steyn 4-78) and 215 (Samuels 74, Chanderpaul 50, Harmer 4-82) by eight wickets

Cricket: Newlands hosts New Year battle

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Rain may have ruined the second test between these two, however, it hasn’t ruined the series for the West Indians though who survived a series loss thanks to the frequent rain.  Now at just 1-0 down they could do the unthinkable and sneak a series draw against one of the best around.  The green pitch at Newlands should aid the South African team’s cause and a win to them is the most foreseeable result, for bookmakers and cricket experts.

The Last Time These Two Met

It rained centuries.  And it just rained.  So much so that a result wasn’t possible in Port Elizabeth.  The game worked well for the career statistics of the four centurions (Elgar, du Plessis, Brathwaite, and Samuels), but it wouldn’t have made too many punters pleased.

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Alviro Petersen, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Stiaan van Zyl, 7 Temba Bavuma, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir/Simon Harmer

Simon Harmer is an uncapped 25 year off-spinner who will be pushing the inconsistent Imran Tahir for a place in the side.  Other than his potential inclusion, the team should be unchanged giving van Zyl and Bavuma another chance to shine.

West Indies (likely): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Leon Johnson, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Denesh Ramdin (capt & wk), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 Shannon Gabriel, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Kenroy Peters 

Numbers 3 and 7 are the big concerns as Johnson, Blackwood and Holder have all struggled for runs.  If the West Indies are tempted to make changes they’ll make them in this positions.

The Key Players

Hashim Amla – The South African captain finally gets a chance to lead his side at the intensely patriotic Newlands crowd.  The last time Newlands saw the South African test side was Graeme Smith’s last in charge so they now get to welcome a new captain – one who failed in the second test and will be looking to make up for it here.

Jason Holder – Another newly appointed captain is Jason Holder.  After only 23 ODI games, Holder was appointed ODI captain in a surprising move by the WICB.  At just 23-years-old it’s a big test for the young all-rounder, but some wickets in runs in this match would make everyone a little bit more comfortable with the promotion.

The Odds*

South Africa – $1.22

Draw – $5

West Indies – $15.00

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Ladbrokes Australia.

The Prediction

No matter how appetising the draw money is looking, South Africa will win.  Steyn, Morkel and Philander are just too good for the out of for West Indies batting lineup.  There has been, and there could be again, some money to be made on tipping the first wicket partnership of the West Indies team outperforming their South African counterparts so look out for that.

Cricket: Fifth day washout saves West Indies blushes

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The West Indies stayed alive in their test series against South Africa courtesy of a rain-filled second test.  Only the first innings for both sides were possible in a game that was completely dominated by the hosts yet again.

After amassing 417/8 dec. the home side had reduced the West Indies to just 275/9 before shortened each of the day’s play.  Dale Steyn provided fireworks of the batting kind (and not the bowling kind as we assumed) to take the South African total beyond reach after the West indies had bravely fought back after Dean Elgar (121) and Faf du Plessis (103) hundreds.  Steyn smashed 58 from 28 balls and did the bulk of his scoring in boundaries (6 x 4’s, 5 x 6’s = 54 runs in boundaries), ensuring South Africa’s stranglehold on the series remained.

Once more, the West Indies showed some fight.  Centuries to Kriagg Brathwaite (106) and Marlon Samuels (101) set the tone, but weren’t large enough to get the West Indies close to their opponents total.  Mind you it was a pair of efforts that were much better than their peers who could not register meaningful totals, as Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir got amongst the wickets.

The series continues in Cape Town on January 2.  Tom Waterhouse is giving the West Indies about as much chance of winning as they tortoise in a hare race.  They have the West indies at $13, with South Africa favourites at $1.22 and a draw looking appetising at $5.50.  If Cape Town gets more rain and the West Indies batsman more time in the middle the draw could be a sensible option.  We;ll preview gam three in more detail in a coupe of days time.

Hopefully the West Indies use that time to practice.

West Indies 275 for 9 (Brathwaite 106, Samuels 101, Morkel 4-69) drew with South Africa417 for 8 dec (Elgar 121, du Plessis 103, Steyn 58)

Cricket: Steyn and co to wreck Boxing Day havoc

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South Africa’s concern over their revamped batting line-up was misguided.  In their first outing without Smith and Kallis (and Duminy to an extent) the side amassed a whopping 552/5 to ease the worry about the post veteran era.  The truth is however, that their opponents are significantly weaker and are unlikely to test too many international batting lineups, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the WICB and with their bowling likely to suffer with the injury to Kemar Roach.

Port Elizabeth shapes as a test of depth for the West Indians.  The players are the best available save for injuries and now they just need to prove it.  While the tour will provide a heap of experience for youngsters like Blackwood and Johnson, for the sake of the cricket it still needs to be an even contest and for that reason it needs runs from the pair; along with more telling contributions from Chanderpaul, Smith and Ramdin.

The Last Time These Two Met

The first test went exactly to plan for the favourites.  Their batsman got some valuable crease time and added centuries to their career stats columns.  What’s more their new number six (and possible opening solution if Alviro Petersen continues to fail) got in on the act too.  Stiaan van Zyl scoring 101* to match hundreds from AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla.  That meant South Africa only needed to bat once as the West Indies struggled to just 201 and 131 with none of their batsmen passing 40.

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Alviro Petersen, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Stiaan van Zyl, 7 Temba Bavuma, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

South Africa have lost wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock for the series to an ankle injury which will see AB de Villiers take back the gloves to assist the balance of the team.  The final batting spot should go to Temba Bavuma in a historic selection.  Kyle Abbott is also out; Imran Tahir replaces him.

West Indies (likely): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Leon Johnson, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Jermaine Blackwood, 7 Denesh Ramdin (capt, wk), 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 Shannon Gabriel, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Shannon Gabriel for Kemar Roach is expected to be the only change.

The Key Players

Dale Steyn – Steyn had no wickets in the first innings at Centurion but destroyed the West Indies in the second dig snaring 6 in just over 8 overs.  It was his 25th five wicket haul and further outlined his potency in his home conditions.  He is so effective on bouncing wickets and Port Elizabeth should be be no different. I hope for the West Indies sake they have tightened their back foot defence in preparation for some Steyn chin music.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul – It’s rare when Chanderpaul doesn’t score runs.  For someone that has scored over 11,000 test match runs at an average above 52 there are not many rough patches.  However, he may be going through one at the moment.  It may only be three innings but the 40 year old has struggled in South Africa thus far.  He followed up his warm up game duck with 21 and 4 in the first test, getting caught behind the wicket on both occasions.  The tourists will be desperate for Shiv to bounce back from the double failure and rediscover the form he had in the Bangladesh series.

The Odds*

South Africa – $1.22

Draw – $5.00

West Indies – $15.00

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Ladbrokes Australia.

The Prediction

The menacing South African pace attack of Steyn, Philander and Morkel will inevitably be too skilful for a West Indies team that is missing two quality batsman to pose any real threat.  The South African batsman could really feast out on the West Indies attack too, so steer clear of any low odd run scoring and lump on a South African win.

Cricket: South Africa start as favourites in WI series

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When you scratch names like Kallis and Smith from the team sheet and also throw in injuries to names like Duminy, the South African test cricket side starts to take a very unfamiliar shape.  New names like van Syl, Elgar, Bavuma and Rabada replace the mainstays and carry the burden of a new era of cricket.

The new era begins tonight with a test match series against the enigmatic West Indies team.  Centurion hosts game number one in what many are tipping to be a one-sided contest.  Despite the personnel changes South Africa go into the match and series as heavy favourites.  They still possess enough quality in de Villiers, du Plessis, and Amla to trouble even the best in World and should enjoy the home conditions against a West Indies attack lacking in out and out quicks.

What the tourists lack in quicks they make up for in reliable professional cricketers.  Most of the squad are now comfortable in the international environment, fitting in well around the experience of Samuels, Chanderpaul, and Ramdin. They played nicely in their only warm up game against an invitational XI and will be hoping to reprise similar form as they step up to the test arena.

The Last Time These Two Met

The two teams play for the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy.  The last time they met to contest the trophy was in 2010 when South Africa won the series 2-0 in the West Indies.  South Africa had big wins in Bridgetown and Port of Spain while the match at Basseterre ended in a draw.

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Alviro Petersen, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Stiaan van Zyl, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Kyle Abbott/Robin Peterson

West Indies (likely): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Leon Johnson, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 7 Denesh Ramdin (capt & wk), 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Sulieman Benn/Shannon Gabriel

The Key Players

Alviro Petersen – A catchy tagline describes Petersen’s recent form.  23 innings and 23 months without a century.  It’s a worrying statistic for South African cricket who have lost a host of big names with big cricket experience.  Being heavily scrutinised might suit Petersen though as he often plays some of his best cricket under pressure.

Kraigg Brathwaite – The 22-year old is unlike many West Indian batsman.  He doesn’t bat with any of the traditional flair, instead he accumulates using his immense powers of concentration.  He was in sublime form against Bangladesh in September (212, 4*, 63, 45) and has carried that on with some handy knocks against Sri Lanka A.  Brathwaite is an accomplished back foot player so he should be able to cope with the South African attack on South African pitches.

The Odds*

South Africa – $1.33

Draw – $4.00

West Indies – $12.00

*International Cricket odds courtesy of TopBetta.

The Prediction

South Africa will have too much quality for their opponents in this match and in the series.  The seamers in particular are expected to be a difficult prospect on the quick and bouncy surfaces.