Australia v South Africa, 1st Test, Brisbane, 9-13 November, 2012 (II)

Red wrote:

Henry wrote:Ian Chappell is obsessed with mental advantage, and reckons South Africa should play more aggressively now. The fact is, Adelaide will be a completely different match.

Momentum is so overrated.

Well he's been very big on the fact that SA is mentally fragile and makes mistakes which let the opposition in. I did agree with him about Rudolph who blocked a Lyon full toss and then got out next ball. Australia generally knows when they're on the back foot against SA that there's always a chance of a fightback because they rarely go for the jugular, especially when they're batting. Their drowsy batting cost them the test against us at Joburg last year.

Sydney 1994, Joburg (438) 2006, Perth 2008, Melbourne 2008......Who fought back then? Who didn't go for the jugular then?

It swings both ways, Red. And no doubt, if you had been forumming during those games, you would have been telling us all how you were "proved right" about South Africa's frailties before they fought back, turned things right around, and made you look completely foolish.

Chappell was tedious today in his constant bagging of the Yarps. Sure, a comment was justified, but to harp on it all day was just so, well, Crappullent.

skully wrote:Chappell was tedious today in his constant bagging of the Yarps. Sure, a comment was justified, but to harp on it all day was just so, well, Crappullent.

He has never recovered from 69/70

"I remember people talking in the last Ashes about how in reaching a quick 1-100 at the end of the Brisbane test, Aus had "gained some momentum heading into Adelaide"."

Er, Maggie T to George Negus....? Yagottabekinnin! Anybody who says 1-100 pinches momentum off 1-520 obv thinks a pair of threes beats a full house.

"Chappell was tedious today in his constant bagging of the Yarps. Sure, a comment was justified, but to harp on it all day was just so, well, Crappullent.."

Neither particularly significant nor particularly unusual, therefore not news. Also has the negative run-on effect of giving Our Resident Yarp the excuse to bring up 1970 for the 123,876th time...

EDIT Just call me Nostradamus (or Nostrils for short...)

taipan wrote:So another flat track coming up?

A one match test series?

Fred Nerk wrote:"I remember people talking in the last Ashes about how in reaching a quick 1-100 at the end of the Brisbane test, Aus had "gained some momentum heading into Adelaide"."

Er, Maggie T to George Negus....? Yagottabekinnin! Anybody who says 1-100 pinches momentum off 1-520 obv thinks a pair of threes beats a full house.

"Chappell was tedious today in his constant bagging of the Yarps. Sure, a comment was justified, but to harp on it all day was just so, well, Crappullent.."

Neither particularly significant nor particularly unusual, therefore not news. Also has the negative run-on effect of giving Our Resident Yarp the excuse to bring up 1970 for the 123,876th time...

EDIT Just call me Nostradamus (or Nostrils for short...)

Yes. Like I said- The Aussie media.

Henry wrote:

JGK wrote:

JGK wrote:

Henry wrote:F*ck momentum. Whoever wins the first hour of the next test has the momentum, not the last hour of this one.

Agree. New ball, new wicket, fresh bowlers. Steyn could go through us pretty easily.

FFS, headline on Cricinfo:

"SA survive but Aus build momentum"

I remember people talking in the last Ashes about how in reaching a quick 1-100 at the end of the Brisbane test, Aus had "gained some momentum heading into Adelaide". After 15 minutes in Adelaide Aus were 3-10.

Then there was Perth, where England were pretty soundly beaten. A week later in the Boxing Day test, Aus were all out 98 and England were 0-100 at stumps on day one.

Momentum from match to match is a complete myth. Something that the media uses to fill column space in between tests.

Again, I think you're struggling with the distinction between heading into Adelaide as opposed to in Adelaide. It's an important difference.

skully wrote:Chappell was tedious today

not news

baggygreen wrote:

Henry wrote:

JGK wrote:

JGK wrote:

Henry wrote:F*ck momentum. Whoever wins the first hour of the next test has the momentum, not the last hour of this one.

Agree. New ball, new wicket, fresh bowlers. Steyn could go through us pretty easily.

FFS, headline on Cricinfo:

"SA survive but Aus build momentum"

I remember people talking in the last Ashes about how in reaching a quick 1-100 at the end of the Brisbane test, Aus had "gained some momentum heading into Adelaide". After 15 minutes in Adelaide Aus were 3-10.

Then there was Perth, where England were pretty soundly beaten. A week later in the Boxing Day test, Aus were all out 98 and England were 0-100 at stumps on day one.

Momentum from match to match is a complete myth. Something that the media uses to fill column space in between tests.

Again, I think you're struggling with the distinction between heading into Adelaide as opposed to in Adelaide. It's an important difference.

As I said earlier- Aus can pat themselves on the back NOW because they've fought back well in this match. But ultimately, it's still a draw. It's still 0-0. South Africa will know that they can't bowl much worse than they did here. If they were in any way complacent at Brisbane, they certainly wont be at Adelaide.

In other words. 'momentum' as a concept is nebulous to the point of being meaningless.

I have no problem with that conclusion.

I would go so far as to say that the concept of momentum has considerable inertia.

Henry wrote:

baggygreen wrote:

Henry wrote:

JGK wrote:

JGK wrote:

Henry wrote:F*ck momentum. Whoever wins the first hour of the next test has the momentum, not the last hour of this one.

Agree. New ball, new wicket, fresh bowlers. Steyn could go through us pretty easily.

FFS, headline on Cricinfo:

"SA survive but Aus build momentum"

I remember people talking in the last Ashes about how in reaching a quick 1-100 at the end of the Brisbane test, Aus had "gained some momentum heading into Adelaide". After 15 minutes in Adelaide Aus were 3-10.

Then there was Perth, where England were pretty soundly beaten. A week later in the Boxing Day test, Aus were all out 98 and England were 0-100 at stumps on day one.

Momentum from match to match is a complete myth. Something that the media uses to fill column space in between tests.

Again, I think you're struggling with the distinction between heading into Adelaide as opposed to in Adelaide. It's an important difference.

As I said earlier- Aus can pat themselves on the back NOW because they've fought back well in this match. But ultimately, it's still a draw. It's still 0-0. South Africa will know that they can't bowl much worse than they did here. If they were in any way complacent at Brisbane, they certainly wont be at Adelaide.

Yes, and has anyone ever said it wasn't a draw? I doubt South Africa can bowl better, I expect that's the case for Australia too who were far from perfect and if there's anyone who's now writing them off (ignoring particular incidents that are under moderation) in the media or elsewhere, then I'll happily stand along side you to laugh and ridicule at them.

I just think you may be getting too worked over the whole 'momentum' thing (which I'd like to point out, I mentioned before any cricinfo report appeared saying the same thing). Momentum has never been the be all and end all but since there's a lot more positives to come out of that match for Australia than South Africa, then they do come out of it looking better.

Whether they do anything with that 'momentum' is another thing. That's the same however in any sport. Look at football for instance where a team can have all the momentum and play for a long period of the game but not score, only for the other team once they press into attack and score the winning goal. Like your 15/3 scenario.

Every time I forget, every time I'm reminded... Aus with their tails up on the pitch equals excruciating ear-rape from the commentary box. Awful. Sincerely an awful experience.

I was lucky, then - didn't hear a word of commentary all day.

Who out their cock in your cochlea for a bit of aural sex today?

Brass Monkey wrote:Every time I forget, every time I'm reminded... Aus with their tails up on the pitch equals excruciating ear-rape from the commentary box. Awful. Sincerely an awful experience.

Been watching the highlights at night because of work during the day and it's Healy who is the worst. He outright barracks.

lardbucket wrote:I was lucky, then - didn't hear a word of commentary all day.

Who out their cock in your cochlea for a bit of aural sex today?

Healy was like one of those 60's Beatles fangirls, I'm sure he passed out at least twice. Taylor was gibbering so much I almost thought he had a touch of the glossolalia going on - the man was f*cking Pentecostal. Chappelli was holding it down, but then it just gave him the chance to harp on about whatever point he was making the entire day. Nicholas... well, you can all have a guess... his feathers were standing bright and tall.

They are an horrendous collection. Throw in Bill and Tawny and it really is like a Pentecostal Quiz show.

We had the "South AFrican" commentators but some idiot invited Nicholas in.

I think we can all agree - at least it's not Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar

Watching the highlights now I can't believe how often the commentators went up for the dismissal once SA reviews had dried up. They appeared to be wrong every time. Pattinson is starting to tread a fine line between aggression and gratuitous intimidation or sledging. Rauf stepped in at one stage.

Aye, James Pattinson is having one of the most meteoric of rises up my 'twatlist' ever. The bloke couldn't be much more of a dick.

He seemed to be targeting Smith. Clarke said it was friendly banter but he's also happy that Smith made " no runs" in this match. Nice little bit of rubbing it in given his own success with the bat.

Pattinson needs to be well and truly pulled into line. Healy needs to be sacked.

Firdose Moonda is probably the best South African (rather than English expat ala Manthorp) cricket Journalist going around-

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-south-africa-2012/content/current/story/591132.html

Sums up South Africa's flaws far, far better and more articulately than Red ever could.

Speaking of commentators:

Boof (!), Slater, Steve Waugh (surprisingly), Diz, Nannes ..... any of those would be all right.

I haven't heard Pidge.

There's still no Richie-in-Waiting though, sadly.


I've got to say, honourable exceptions apart, Aussie commentators have a bit of a tradition of passionate selective vision, extreme wishful thinking and involuntary St Vitus Dance bias. We Poms have to roll in our heavy duffer guns, the Blowers and Nicholarses of this world (Grieg's a cosmopolitan commenshouter), to reach quite that level of serene, authoritative detachment.