Results for tag: south africa
Posted by:
mvaughan
on Aug 24, 2012 at 07:56:09 AM
The start of the series is going to be massive. Eight of England's XI will have played in the Test team so a win in the first ODI will help them clear the negative thoughts. But a South Africa victory and it could prove to be a long series for the England players.
The Betfair market can't split the two teams at the moment, both trading at just over evens, but this is probably more of a reflection on England's good recent ODI record (whitewashes over Pakistan in February, the West Indies in June and Australia in July) than the state of play going into the series.
The Aussies were coming off the back of no cricket when England rolled them over - South Africa are a completely different proposition; they've played plenty of cricket and are brimming with confidence. They certainly represent...
Posted by:
mvaughan
on Jul 19, 2012 at 08:13:11 AM
First and foremost let's hope that this Series isn't spoilt by the weather. These are two really good teams up against each other and it would be a massive disappointment if we don't have enough play to establish who is the better of the two right now. Light showers are expected on Thursday and Friday but it's meant to be a lot better over the weekend.
The pitch at the Oval is normally a good one and the news is that it will be a dry track that will offer plenty for the spinners late on in the match. That means that whereas it would normally be an idea to bowl first if you win the toss, both captains will be thinking that chasing any sort of score to win the game will be hard work. So win the toss and bat is probably the wise choice. Graeme Swann and Imran Tahir will be major players...
Posted by:
mvaughan
on Jul 16, 2012 at 11:42:10 AM
Kevin Pietersen is in the news again. His double-hundred for Surrey against Lancashire was KP at his brutal best but his best knock for his new(ish) county has coincided with talk of a return to limited-overs international cricket, less than two months since he decided to quit and just focus on Test cricket and playing T20 all over the world for various franchises. It's a remarkable 'volte-face' if rumours of a willingness to return are to be believed.
Kevin knows what he needs to do if he wants to be involved in the T20 World Cup. He needs to come out of retirement and make himself available to play international cricket in both ODIs and T20s. There's no doubt England are a better side with him in the team but the ball is in his court now. Either way, I'm sure his priority at the moment...