On day 2 of the 1st test against the Black caps the Proteas managed to regain most of the lost ground conceded during day 1 with what can only be described as a display of the highest quality swing bowling and aggressive short pitched bowling the Kiwi’s would have experienced in quite a while. The gripping 2nd day finished off with New Zealand having a 5 run lead and one wicket remaining.
Is five the lucky number? As predicted Vernon Philander was the chief wicket taker with 4 wickets so far and has a chance to claim his 5th to achieve a staggering fifth five wicket hall in just his 5th test! Morne Morkel seems to have had the better of the Kiwi main batsmen – Ross Taylor and Brendan McCullum. A hostile session from Morkel after lunch had these two Black Caps ducking and diving for cover.
From a batting perspective the Proteas will be disappointed at losing wickets in clusters – to be fair though, both the dismissals of AB & JK150 was down to superb balls. Graeme Smith, I felt got suckered into playing the shot he did but it was pleasing to see Biff score another 50 – his hands was, as ever, very reliable with some superb catching in the field today. So far the decision to retain Rudolph has paid dividends as he batted very well in difficult conditions to score 50 odd.
At the risk of stating the obvious: The Proteas need to take the remaining wicket early and then take to the batting with some precision. The outcome of this test will depend on how quickly they can score and establish a challenging target, leaving enough time to bowl the Kiwi’s out.
At a guess I would say a target of 350 and 4 sessions (30 overs per session) should be enough to claim the first test. A definite factor will be how much the wicket deteriorates, to allow Smith to bring Tahir into the game with his leg spin He might just be the key to winning this test if the Black caps were to go into a test-saving mode.
As we all know, cricket very rarely goes according to plan – what we do know though, is that it is building up to a good test!
Rugby Laboratory by Paul
Varsity Cup is probably the brightest innovation to the game since the introduction of the seven-a-side game in the late ‘60s.
Brilliant marketing had a lot to with its success, but the quality of the rugby played at least an equal part. It was almost Déjà vu for me when I saw my first game at Coetzenburg, except that “Rom rom rom, Stellenbosch kom”, has now been replaced by “Kaptein span die seile”. As far as atmosphere, enthusiasm and good-looking girls are concerned, nothing has changed.
While traditional intervarsity games over the years have lost a lot of its splendour and attraction, the same cannot be said for “koshuis” rugby, especially at Stellenbosch. This was also the lab where Doc Craven tested many innovations, made adjustments, and then introduced it to more senior levels and eventually to world rugby.
It was very interesting to read recently that his tradition is not only still alive, it is in fact a flourishing field of study. The experiments are carefully documented by scientists, the results analysed and then published for consideration by the powers-that-be in rugby.
One experiment, which I saw for the first time three years ago, involves two referees in the game. This immediately made sense to me when I recalled how a scrum that kept collapsing on the other side of where the ref was, suddenly stayed up when he stood on that side.
From the research it appears that certain refs worked together well after getting to know one another, and the idea was put forward that these “doubles” pairs should officiate together whenever they are appointed. May the rugby gods please prevent us from ever having to face a Bryce Lawrence/Stuart Dickenson combination.
The other interesting development concerns the ref’s instructions at the scrum. “Engage” consists of 2 syllables, and the side who reacts to the “gage” part inevitably finds themselves “en” die moeilikheid. The suggestion is that the word “set” should replace engage.
What a pity it took so long to work that one out. I really believe, like I said a year ago, that a simple 1-2-3-4 will work equally well. What benefit does the “touch” instruction have?
Another thought: lay down specific regulations about the material that a prop’s jersey must be made of. The All Blacks came up with the innovation currently in vogue, but it does not work as far as the front rows are concerned.
As hulle dan nie lussies aan die ouens se truie wil laat aanwerk nie, maak dit dan ten minste van ‘n stof waaraan mens ‘n greep kan kry. En om ‘n strafskop toe te ken vir ‘n ou wat sy “greep op seep” verloor en vir ‘n fraksie van ‘n sekonde sy hand, dood natuurlik, op die grond druk om nie te val nie (of die skrum te laat val nie), is plein onnosel.
Manie se Mening
Die ou grote is nogal swartgallig oor die krieket in Kiwiland.
Hy het onlangs sy belangstelling van rugby na krieket verskuif; enersyds omdat rugby nie meer so aanskoulik soos altyd is nie, en andersyds omdat krieket meer drinktyd het vir die ernstige ondersteuner van die spel.
Met dié dat die wedstryde in Nieu-Seeland om middernag begin, trek hy al in vierde rat van snork voor die eerste bal geboul is.
En dan is hy ook glad nie gelukkig met sy vrou nie. Sy het hom Woensdagaand blykbaar twee maal laat val op pad bed toe.
Nag, ou Grote!
Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2012
Best of luck to all our readers taking part in the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay cycle tour .
The weatherman predicts a sunny day…..
Sunny 25 degrees
Wind: E 28km/h
All cyclists must cross the finish line by 17h00 after which time, all support services will be withdrawn. However, to receive an official result and race certificate, you must complete the Cycle Tour within 7 hours, calculated from the time that the group you are in crosses the start line
Route profile:
