South Africa vs England, 3rd Test, Port Elizabeth

an early wicket or two with the new ball might see the draw crash also.

Still three days to go!

I mean a run on the draw as panic sets in

Jan 17, 2020 -- 2:29PM, Whisperingdeath wrote:

I mean a run on the draw as panic sets in

Absolutely Risk/Reward........take your choice or do nothing

to get 20 wickets in less than 3 days with a short batting break is a big ask but all depends on the state of the pitch and the direction of any wind at this ground

Is Bess good enough? we will see, I have my doubts.

Draw move ready to go down now I think!

I don't think Bess is good enough at the moment he is still young and has plenty to learn but in this game it all depends on the pitch and pressure of the situation. Wickets and panic and he is a great bowler. Dull lifeless pitch with confident batsmen and he will look like a dobber.

Alex Carey trying to get Aus back on track with a mighty blow.....swiftly followed by Smithy matching it.

here they come to Daddy

MASSIVE DRAW DRIVE

I'm only light green here btw

1.67 ive greened for now...........

Well played Pecker!  Great cash out!

cheers wd, bat was unlucky i thought

& 77 pence of green India Aus!

Now that India Aus is settled will tune into BPL final though deffo not betting on it.

93nmph from Woody RAPID!

Rain or no draw I would think from here.

I think we have seen enough to know SA are up against it. I mean Elgar is a limpet but he was troubled by Woods pace and he has been out 30% of the time to an off spinner so he is not looking as rock like as usual! Nortje will hopefully be undone by pace. A lot will depend on what is happening with the pitch and if the wind changes direction.

I think the pitch will deteriorate but over time. Patience is key here and the game can change quickly. SA have some decent batsmen if they can get in and couple who can hang around once in. I don't think it is a QDK type of pitch but he can play straight if he has to.

Good last couple of overs for England backers!

oh and by God am I looking forward to the Joberg game. Wood and Archer! Shame Rabadabadoo will not be playing!

I was really fearful of him and Nortje throwing it down at England. What a slugfest it could have been!

I wasn't watching Freddie Flintoff at his peak but wondering if Wood & Jofra are the 2 quickest bowlers in Eng history! ...both of them have hit 96 mph

Mushy & Frylinck can still bring this bugger home but its tough!

Who was or is the fastest England bowler Cardinal Scott asks - its impssible to compare generations but 2 of the best were -

Frank Tyson was undoubtedly of extreme pace; Tom Graveney said about him "Frank Tyson, at his peak, was possibly the fastest bowler of all time. In 1954–55, England convincingly beat Australia by three Tests to one, mainly thanks to devastating bowling that earned Tyson the nickname 'Typhoon'. Roaring off a long run, he generated tremendous pace that unnerved and unhinged even the greatest batsmen."

My personal preference is Harold Larwood who was fast but extremely accurate and had the perfect action (it was later copied by Ray Lindwall the great Aussie test bowler) ... Larwood frightened the Aussies to death in 1932/33 - they even wrote a music hall song about him in the Bodyline series -
With a prayer and a curse they prepare for the hearse,
Undertakers look on with broad grins.
Oh, they'd be a lot calmer in Ned Kelly's armour
When Larwood the wrecker begins.[151]

I doubt any bowler has ever had such an influence on a test series

oh Geordie,

You are going to get the treatment from Tom whenever he is back!

I have been watching Test Cricket since 1971 and these two are the fastest I have seen. Devon Malcolm was pretty rapid when he was pished off by somebody. Plenty have been pretty quick at times but nothing like these two.

I have heard and read that Typhoon Tyson was possibly one of the quickest of all time.

all about opinions whispering but a great fast bowler is always good to watch whoever he plays for ... extreme pace frightens any batsman no matter who they are or the reputation they might have

I have seen some slo mo footage of the Typhoon launching and that is the word for it on YouTube. Quite an astonishing action.

There is little more exciting in sport than a fast bowler throwing it down like in fact The Whispering Death!

I have been to a Heavyweight Title fight and that is exhilarating. A forward confrontation in Rugby is exciting but violence is part and parcel of both sports. It is easier to mask fear by throwing a punch or your body into someone. Being hit gets the Adrenalin flowing and anger can diffuse fear temporarily but facing an extremely fast bowler leaves your courage nowhere to hide. Further you are exposed and everybody can see. The lad yesterday was like a rabbit in the headlights. His inane grins betrayed the smell of fear.

I would have made a pact with Dr Faustus to be able to bowl fast!

wow I nearly greened out. The graphics weather forecasts were not very encouraging for today let alone tomorrow!The satellite forecast was more reassuring so I cancelled my sell orders.

Missed the start, looking grim for Saffers....I cant see any way out for them.

what a start by bess ..

Relieved to be greened out now. I have a token £1 profit on a result and a decent one on a draw. If SA survive until tea I might have a small draw bet again. Follow on looks likely though and that would mean an almost certain England win without a day lost to rain. Either England have found a good team or SA are really poor. Probably both.

I think England are a better team than SA and have better players but these are small margins. What would have happened if SA won the toss? The team batting first have won the first two Test's and look like winning here

England have 4 first choice players out injured or ill. Has this been a blessing in disguise as it has allowed them to give great experience to Crawley, Bess and Pope?

Poor from Root there. Was in a bad position to catch that. It did go fast though.

It has been a blessing in disguise. Many have wanted to have a look at Crawley and Sibley. They have shown they have what it takes but early days yet as more kwality fast bowlers will analyse their week spots.

Broad is playing for his test future. Not sure about Bess yet although he has done nothing wrong so far.

I thing the big loser from all this is Johnny Bstard. Pope has been the big beneficiary.

I like Johnny but his " thats the way I play " attitude might now come back to haunt him. I think we all wanted him to move up the order and be a proper batsmen but I guess he is best at 7 with the gloves. But now he will have to keep Butler on his toes. Thing is Foakes might be better than both and a better batsman too but he did not get a chance because previous management wanted biffers in the side not Test batsmen!

Nicely done by Bess. Good bounce and I like the aggression! 22 years old! Still so much to learn but five wickets in South Africa in the their first innings, wow!

England still in this..think they're going overboard somewhat with this Bess,figures flatter him imho,things have gone his way..no Murali or Warne in my book

Its eary days for Bess & he needs to reproduce results for a long time - nobody is saying he's a Warne or a Murali (mind he was a chucka) but he could do good job & develop futher as he is only 22. Obviously his skills will be properly tested in the sub continent so the Sri Lanka series will be interesting

going to be one almighty collapse in prices here

wow 1.9 to 1.7 in seconds

1.96 this is going to hurt some

1,74 guessers

1.55

Not sue how much play we will get today but I think Monday is set fair. Tomorrow does not look god but they may still get to play with a bit of luck. England really need to put the cat amongst the pidgeon's here and try and dismiss SA today. I would bowl Wood, then Stokes before Broad. Bowl in tandem with Bess who must crowd the bat and try and induce mistakes from Nortje. I would imagine QDK will play in a positive manner so just set a normal field for him.

need to find a way to deal with Nortje!

I still want a draw but it is getting very short now. On wicket now and the follow on will be likely and surely England can take 10 second innings wickets in 80 overs over 2 more days?

Stokes! Wrong one out perhaps but one closer to 10.

just need another breakthrough of either of these 2 & hopefully the tail won't wag

just laid the draw 1.75

cashed out 10% profit..20p not to be sneezed at,innit!

how many overs left today?

9.3

poor drop

3 or 4 then off

too dark man

v intriguingly poised atm

SA 299-9 dec.(Hanse back as captain)

Must be a draw if they avoid the follow on tomorrow.

Will be a draw. Stokes has lumped on it.

I went back to bed when Eng were 1.45ish, kinda surprised what I woke up to.

a thai is a thai is a thai

Ya Sah!

Through the gate!

I’m loving it like that

It is back to 1.4 Cardinal

Deja vu!

I always said what a great Captain Root is!

I hope I am not dreaming and when I wake up it is raining!

Does not look easy to bat on now

whoa,like whoa..draw is a million now..Eng will need less than 3 sessions in any case

Missed the first 15 minutes and it is all over, probably today unless it rains. At least I have a £1 profit on an England win but gutted at having such a good position on a draw.

draw 4.3???? no rain forecast tomorrow

draw collapsing..looks like they think Noah's on his way to PE

no rain on the radar just said...and no rain tomorrow

anyone watching this u 19 SL v IND..whoa..this young SL bowler Matheesha..unbelievable slinger..makes Malinga look ultra conventional!

real fast bowling always makes a difference !

It is not just England who have Wood.

I have stubbornly stuck with my England back in the face Biblical storms and mounting commonsense cash out pressure

I too now have Wood!

If I were a boxing referee I would stop the contest between Wood and Hamza.

If I were a vet I would put Hamza out of his misery.

If I were a Doctor I would....well lets just say Wood is going to euthanize Hamza for me!

are we going to get a decent session of cricket without rain breaks ... hope so

I can't wait to see what Indian batsmen do to fast bowlers on good wickets. it will be exciting even if brief at times.

England in Aus is going to be awesome too! Wouldn't bother with Broad and Anderson in Aus next time round!

Jan 19, 2020 -- 12:20PM, Whisperingdeath wrote:

It is not just England who have Wood.I have stubbornly stuck with my England back in the face Biblical storms and mounting commonsense cash out pressureI too now have Wood!

tea break will be 1.40 - 2.00 and then a final session to 4 or up to 4.30 - *54 overs max (if england have taken several wkts they could ask for the extra 30 mins until 5pm our time)

Very few things like a four figure green to get the libido moving.

Saffers might capitulate quickly way things are going

Hamza was not going to last long. Malan is the big wicket now. FAF is a fighter but horribly out of form. QDK is QDK. I don't think they will be able to survive if Bess gets spin and bounce as Root can crowd them.

Wonderful stuff all from some stoic batting. Boring boring Denly! Test Cricket is back for England and "that is the way I play" is gawn!

it proves that test match cricket is about batting long ... doesn't matter so much if you don't get that many runs early but preserve your wkt - the more mileage you put into the bowlers legs the more opportunity the offensive players (stokes / pope etc) can take advantage later in an innings as bowlers tire
A simple methodology but it does work

It's not even that. It is about protecting your best batsmen from the new ball against fresh bowlers on a helpful pitch.

Being 30-3 or 40-4 stopped being a funny joke, or prediction it became the norm. Then we had people playing bottom hand across the line shots trying to save a game, getting out and saying " that is the way I play". Well guess what...that is not how to play Test Cricket. Adios gay Caballero's

There is plenty of room for the David Warners and Gordon Greenidges

Gordon Greenidge, what a wonderful aggressive batter. Could defend when needed, but one of the hardest hitters, particularly cutting, in the game.

oh yes, but he had a wonderful defense too. I remember him " Padding up " to Bob Willis!

I also remember him hitting Bob Willis for 56 of the 63 runs conceded in his eight overs!

Mikey just mentioned Gordon Greenidge got dropped after his first tour of Australia!

They just mentioned the wind has changed to a Southeasterly! That should help the seamers!

SA have been shocking this test

Being blown away at home by Rooting

I really think England can push on for the win now..

No Juce on an England thread is a rarity, no Tom either.

Must have too much disposable income

Root looked more dangerous than Bess. His round arm from around the wicket means he gets an arm ball going.

Hard to see a way back for Moeen on this form.

Pope, job for life at short leg?!

the best weather/radar sites for South Africa would be appreciated.....?

this new spinner find..Joe'Shane' Root was highly impressive..if he can muster some runs batting might well be worth keeping in the side

side seems to be more efficient and cohesive w/o a certain,overrated,petulant persona who was overlooked by his home nation who perhaps just knew what they were about

Non ruthless England having Root on for 10 overs to nab a five-fer......contemptible stat padding so this last wicket stand is what they deserve.

yes that was poor from Root but shouldn't take away from a great England performance against a mediocre SA side. We are slowly getting things together and perhaps understanding what Test Cricket is about. To me that seems a little strange. These blokes are professionals and they still can't work out that a new ball need to be pitched up?

Add Bayliss into the mix and having two T20 batsmen in the top 3. The series win over India last summer papered over the cracks and imho England were very lucky with the weather last year.

It appears we have better personnel atm. They have all demonstrated that they deserve a prolonged chance in this team. I do not believe for one minute that everything is rosy in the garden but we are in a much better place right mow.

What a disgrace this saffa team is becoming. I have resigned myself to thinking it will either be a very poor outfit(with quota) or just a poor outfit(thanks to all the exports to engerland)

and fk u abd.

a bit harsh on abd but needed to get that out.

Just looked at the stats of the top 3 england batters and you can see since the new coach has arrived they've at least given it a try to bat overs instead of runs. Stokes and Pope clearly feasted on tired bowlers to some extent. If they can keep doing that lots of their weaknesses in the bowling dept won't show up.

Imagine being SA right now having been absolutely trounced by Rootings

"proud" was probably 1.01 in the interview after?