Australia v South Africa, 1st Test, Brisbane, 17-21 December, 2022

Sounds like Purple is still not right. So Boland or Neser?

Boland would be ripe to play. Let's hope the Saffers are remotely competitive, otherwise it's another step towards test cricket's possible demise.

They have about three too many top-class quicks to be anything except competitive. It will take a good effort, with much more needed from our lesser-lights, for Australia to win the series at all.

Agree, Nerkles. We have really struggled to top the SAffers in home series over the past decade or so. This series will be no different.

Red wrote:Boland would be ripe to play. Let's hope the Saffers are remotely competitive, otherwise it's another step towards test cricket's possible demise.

You seem to have this backwards. Our batsmen (and Warner) are likely to struggle against the Sith pace attack.

Yarps’ batting is terrible though, we saw that over here this summer. I don’t expect a high-scoring series, but Australia at least have a couple of world-class players to resist the pace onslaught.

I expect Ooze, Marnus and Smudge to score a few. Head will be caught in the slips flashing on a number of occasions. Not sure what Snot and Mariah will do. Warner is likely to be challenged into retirement.

Their bowling is quite a bit better. Our batting MAY be slightly better. I’m expecting to be disappointed.

The SBM Mensa is already into Green after one bad game following another in which he barely played....the unfortunate coincidental parallels to Mishmash continue

lardbucket wrote:Their bowling is quite a bit better. Our batting MAY be slightly better. I’m expecting to be disappointed.

Hard to argue.

Fred Nerk wrote:The SBM Mensa is already into Green after one bad game following another in which he barely played....the unfortunate coincidental parallels to Mishmash continue

SBM? I’ve forgotten.

I get the gist though. Does anybody actually read the Herald / Sun etc these days??

a) Social Bloody Media
b) The occasional AFL numpty (of the Collingwood persuasion mostly)

Call me a Wuzzie biased person. I don’t care. Cam Green is the best all rounder prospect we have had since Miller. Green is the antithesis of Marsh.

Agree, h.

I hope I look back 15 years from now at Cam Green's stellar Test career.

So do I and he has both skill sets in abundance, but being sixth to bat and fifth to bowl against opposition that only realistically required about 2.5 of each seemed to start MM's problems the last time this sorry shower were here....and which clown put his mug on the cover of the ABC Cricket Book, and didn't that go well for the fabled Twatto frinst?

Marsh and Watson continue to be brought up in discussion of Australian all rounders. Rarely mentioned is a bloke who in only a few years at a Test level made his runs at 46 and took his wickets at 31; better than either Watson or Marsh. At FC level he took nearly 200 wickets at the same average, so he was no slouch with the ball.

Cowper?

yep - hard to argue against his stats / credentials

Brisvegas weather is predicted to be very stable for the Test. Fine but partly cloudy and 26C for all 5 days.

The bowling of both sides is comparable, but in Marnus and Smith, we have a major edge over their batting.

Red, you have history when it comes to seriously under-estimating South African bowlers. Steyn?

Even if SA have the slight edge bowling-wise, their batting is barely better than WI’s. Only Elgar averages north of 35.

3 back to back tests is going to put a lot of pressure on the quicks.

JGK wrote:3 back to back tests is going to put a lot of pressure on the quicks.

that's fine, we'll rest Starc from Melbourne, and just maybe they'll make a spinners pitch in Sydney for a change.

but also, tell them to harden up

I've said it before but the likes of Freddy Trueman and Dennis Lillee wouldn't piss on the graves of some of these modern quicks.

What's up with Purple? Two summers straight, he's pulled up sore after the first Test of the summer then missed the rest.

I'm with Nath. Drink a glass of cement and harden the fark up.