Saffies really are funny

[Evidence

I thought most people would be happy to bat anywhere if it meant playing test cricket.

Rumours suggest KP's much the same, doesn't want to bat at 3 even though we probably need him there, would rather be at 5 but will just about accept number 4...

At least the Saffie admin did the right thing and told him to farcough, you will bat where told and for acting like Hodge we will take the captaincy away

Has he got an English grandmother?

Just quietly, I reckon Prince has a point . . . he has been treated pretty poorly by the selectors . . .

You're just sucking up to your mate Nigel

get ******, woodie

hmmm . . . . that could catch on . . .

I wish

G.Wood wrote:At least the Saffie admin did the right thing and told him to farcough, you will bat where told and for acting like Hodge we will take the captaincy away

Ordinarily I'll agree with you but as captain doesn't he get to choose the batting order? Maybe he does not get to pick the squad but once the 11 is picked shouldn't he tell everyone where to bat?

tac wrote:Just quietly, I reckon Prince has a point . . . he has been treated pretty poorly by the selectors . . .

I agree. Returning to the side for a last test with just that game to prove one's self and having to play sacrificial lamb at the same time is just not on. Not everyone can be pitchforked into opening from middle or lower order the way Sehwag, Laxman, Shastri and Jayasurya were. A player can't be forced to open if he is not comfortable with the role and Dravid, India's best technical batsman proved this. Not everyone can be like Laxman, prepared to accept difficult roles no one else wants, treated like a yoyo and still keen to prove himself at any position he is pushed into.

India had players of the caliber of Azhar and Ganguly batting at number 5 and yet neither could have been successful as forced openers. Don't see anyone like Clarke or Kallis opening in tests in emergency either. Opening is a special job, a stressful job and people can't be forced into it.

Actually what will really be funny is after all his hesitation at accepting the role, if Prince gets in a 100..........

Now that would be really funny!

Say can anyone tell me why Prince was out of the test side against the Aussies this season? Was it injury? Or was he dropped?

Injury ...got hit on the thumb before the Test in Perth ...and was replaced by JP Duminy ...

Quality thread, and, yes, Saffies are funny.

The SA camp is in disarray with Prince openly 'fighting' with AB and Harris during their domestic tussle. He thinks that AB should be forced to open.

http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25202718-2722,00.html?from=public_rss

Without wasting my time reading this I assume it has to be true because it's in a newspaper.

Of course Taipan. They were talking about it on the radio this morning though.

Interesting to consider that there are points for and against Prince's stand.

You can understand why he was a trifle miffed at not regaining his place again when his injury had healed but it would have been hard to omit Duminy. McKenzie was the logical one to go but Prince has already made it clear that he doesn't want to open.

He now thinks that AB should but the latter has carved a more valuable niche for himself and the team down the order so would it be wise to disrupt this? AB wants to bat in Kallis's spot long-term. You could also argue that AB did his bit as opener when the team had a shortfall there but he was inconsistent and better serves the team where he is.

Additionally as a rule when players get injured they must fight their way back. Certainly Lee and Clark will have to prove that they're better than the incumbents to win back their places in the team during the Ashes series. Similarly Watson and Symonds will have to perform if they want to oust North from the #6 role.

Perhaps someone in the SA set-up should emphasise that team comes first. This might even apply to AB and the gloves. If he is the next best wicketkeeper when Boucher retires maybe he should be instructed to fulfil the role.

Red wrote:Of course Taipan. They were talking about it on the radio this morning though.

On the radio as well?

That confirms it then.

taipan wrote:

Red wrote:Of course Taipan. They were talking about it on the radio this morning though.

On the radio as well?

That confirms it then.

Of course.

This from Neil Manthorp would seem to suggest that our press was on the money re. Prince.

Ashwell Prince, therefore, should have kept his place. Which is not to say that the aggressive and confrontational approach he has adopted was in either his, or the team's, best interests. Burning bridges have, unfortunately, been a regular part of Prince's career landscape and they do not engender sympathetic treatment - even when it is merited. So the team will take to the field at Newlands without their captain and with a replacement who is probably least suited to the task. And with a brand new, untested opening partnership - one of whom will not be on speaking terms with the majority of the rest of the team.

I'd be pissed too if i were Prince. The youngsters get to choose whether they want to keep or not, where they want to bat, where they want to field. But because Arthur is looking for a reason to get rid of Prince once and for all, he gets to open the batting.

Sadly he's doomed to failure after saving SA's ass consistently for 3 consecutive seasons.

I'd much rather want Prince coming in at 5/6 to save a test match than the one hit wonder De villiers or the 'slow left arm nothings' of Harris.

Naeem wrote:I'd be pissed too if i were Prince. The youngsters get to choose whether they want to keep or not, where they want to bat, where they want to field. But because Arthur is looking for a reason to get rid of Prince once and for all, he gets to open the batting.

Sadly he's doomed to failure after saving SA's ass consistently for 3 consecutive seasons.

I'd much rather want Prince coming in at 5/6 to save a test match than the one hit wonder De villiers or the 'slow left arm nothings' of Harris.

Sorry Naeem, but for once you are speaking BS.

Why would they open with Prince?

The excuse for dropping AB down the order was that he was being groomed to be the next great wicket-keeper in SA. He has declined that offer.

He is a more natural opener than Prince and i dont think it sends a good message to the rest of the team and to the general public that he gets to choose what he does and Prince doesnt.

AB should stop thinking about his average and start thinking about the team!

Actually I was talking more about your "youngsters comment" It might interest you to know that AB has played more tests than Prince, and lets face it AB is hardly a one hit wonder.

Harris over the last 12 months has performed as well as any spinner in the world with the exceptions of Mendis and MM.

Who said AB was being groomed as the next great SA wicket keeper. In fact with the exception of Gilly, who was really a freak in this regard, I dare you to name a great wicketkeeper batsman.