England set to go to the top - Vaughan

what?

Only took 4 hours.

doubt that the mediocre Poms are close to the top - they are a middle order team - as usual- aspiring to the mediocre...that they could not put Aust away at Perth - doing a passable imitation of the calypso collapso in the process- testifies ... I would not put such vin ordinaire in a salad dressing

It's getting towards the stage where there are 8 equally mediocre teams. The Yarps maybe out in front but they're a long way from being WI 70s/80s or Aus 90s/00s. India unpredictable and reliant on ageing batsmen, SL not the same without the chucker, we've seen how average both England and Australia are, Pakistan well what can you say as you don't even know whether their efforts are genuine.

Even WI and NZ are showing signs of closing the gap. It's a contest for who is the least crap nowadays. Good for competitive cricket though, as no series is a foregone conclusion at the start.

SA is a long way in front beamer...the bannies are no.2 despite being less able when out of the subicon...daylight].....[daylight then England and SL...and then Oz..th4 snoozies would give us a run for our money at the mo and so would the windies on the right day...we drew our last series against the stanlanders

horace wrote:SA is a long way in front beamer...the bannies are no.2 despite being less able when out of the subicon...daylight].....[daylight then England and SL...and then Oz..th4 snoozies would give us a run for our money at the mo and so would the windies on the right day...we drew our last series against the stanlanders

If Parnell develops, SA would be a well-balanced team, though still relying on the ordinary Harris. England lacks a top quality paceman and batsmen who are reliable when the pitch offers decent assistance to the bowlers. Australia has a problematic batting order, spin problems and some up and down pacemen. India has some ageing batsmen, and innocuous bowling outside Zaheer Khan. NZ is simply mediocre. West Indies has some potential with some younger batsmen and Roach coming through, cameos from Gayle, the steel of Chanderpaul but is compromised by injury-prone pacemen.

South Africa's fast bowling depth behind Steyn and Morkel looks a bit bare.

Aye, the Tsetse Bee looked pretty ordinary.

Not bad in Jamodi's but probably lacks a yard for tests. Bit unlucky as well.

Who else is in the wings for them? Parnell? de Wet? Philander?

I've always thought Parnell was a tad overrated. He's still very young though. de Wet was impressive on his test debut for a few overs but seemed to lack stamina. Philander is an honest medium fast bowler. I can't see him troubling top batsmen on flatter pitches. Bowls around 135 max if I remember correctly.

Anyone else out there that we don't know about? I've heard about a young guy called Rabian Engelbrecht who is meant to be promising. That's about it.....

Parnell is just coming back from injury.

De Wet was injured during the test but is somewhat injury prone.

Philander is pure filth.

Nonbody of extreme pace coming through but time will tell.

Philander? Surely there's a bloke who should be getting tips off Warney.