The Cricket Society IV

Wow. If you're Cook, you're delighted to hear that sort of news indicating the sort of mood in the SA camp but as a neutral, it's sad to see. They're going through a phase of transition in the longer format, replacing Kallis/Smith and De Villiers IMO, probably will bow out of Test cricket soon to focus, rightly, on the shorter format in which he excels. Amla as captain reminds me of Mohammed Yousuf's disastrous spells as captain - brilliant batsman, but nowhere near the individual to place the responsibility of captain. But guess I'm pre-judging Amla early, could turn it round.

In other news, Mohammed Hafeez and ODI captain for Pakistan, Azhar Ali, have refused to partake in a training camp due to the involvement of Mohammed Amir. Hafeez' probably sour Amir got him out in the BPL recently but he's acting all high and mighty when he'd be no loss to the team if he didn't come back and he's influencing Azhar Ali who is close with.

I wouldn't even mind if Hafeez stops playing because of Amir, I think he's taken his place for granted far too long. Has no consistency at all and now that he can't bowl... bye bye. Azhar on the other hand is needed, one of only a few experienced players left and can sort of fill the shoes of Misbah/Younis when they retire, he needs to stop following Hafeez blindly and think for himself.

On the other hand, Amir deserves a second chance. He was caught and has pleaded guilty from day 1. Yes, it'll be hard to regain the trust from some of the other players but tbh, the team needs him, more so now that Irfan hardly plays Test cricket. Plus, why is Sadaf not being groomed to Internation cricket.

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Boxing Day Tests > Boxing Day football.

SA were woeful. It seemed like, as soon as they lost the first Test, their minds were already on the plane home. Steyn has practically admitted as much, and the defeats for them got more and more heavy as the series went on.

They were definitely below par. I don't think India were 'amazing' by any means, our bowling was always going to be strong, but our batting was just about good enough. It was sad to see SA play in that way. Never expected it from a team like them. They did have injuries to Steyn and Philander which were massive blows, too.

You guys heard of the new IPL franchises and player purchases

Losing those two bowlers you mention makes them just so, so toothless in attack. That's a big shame, really, because they have such a great bowling acumen.

I'm gutted that Philander and Jimmy Anderson are both missing the Boxing Day Test, to be honest. When you see matches like this (I've waited years for us to face SA again!) you want the best players out there, impressing you and showing their ability, and making it as much of a spectacle as possible.

Especially with the way Test cricket has gone recently. The NZ/SL and Australia/Windies series just aren't competitive.

I would say Morkel has been in good form this year and looked really good at times in India, but the other bowlers are too inexperienced even if they have a strong future.

I agree, you wish both teams were at the strongest for a series like this.

What are your predictions for the series? Do you think England have a chance to beat SA at home?

I'll say it now, Tahir/Root/AB will be the players of the series.

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It'll likely be Root, to be honest.

I find it amazing that Kingsmead holds this reputation as a daunting place to go for visiting nations, but in reality SA's record is very poor there. They've only won three times in the last decade there.

An opportunity for England to get an early lead, if that's the case.

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Absolutely. Both teams will be aiming to win, but with Steyn's form against England not being the best, I feel the visitors can really approach the Test looking for a victory. The pitch will be a seamer's paradise.