Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[JSRAW]

I am waiting for the England tour of India and it will be interesting as India will be looking to revenge for the loss they had in the last series against England.

Normally I would expect India to whitewash England, since they have the home advantage. But this time England is also in a very good position. Their batsmen, such as Joe Root are in excellent form and they have the most experienced pace bowling duo in the world currently (Stuart Broad - James Anderson). Even their spinners have performed really well during the series against Sri Lanka. This time, there will be no whitewash and according to me it is going to be a close contest between the two teams.

Last time England won the series in India, they had attacking spin bowler like Graeme Swann and their spinners out bowled the Indian spinners but this time English spin department doesn't look that threatening despite their recent success against SL.

Whitewash is not on the card either. They are playing 2 games at completely new stadium (Motera stadium, Gujrat) so no one knows how its going to play out.

[UmerIdrees]

Pakistan won first test but still many questions to be answered because they have too many issues in batting every time tail enders cannot help you to fix this all selectors need to do some better selections as some good players avilabel after Quaid-e-Azam trophy now time to bring some players on merit no every time your own players and personal likes working after this win I am feeling its very difficult for South Africa to handle in next match as we are going for another spinners friendly pitch.

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

It is a refreshing win for Pakistan after a long time. I think South Africa team looks quite weak and therefore Pakistan played very well in the first match. I hope they will continue this good form in the next matches. It will be interesting to see how south africa learn from their mistakes and come out with a different strategy in the next match.

[pakhitheboss]

Pakistan won first test but still many questions to be answered because they have too many issues in batting every time tail enders cannot help you to fix this all selectors need to do some better selections as some good players avilabel after Quaid-e-Azam trophy now time to bring some players on merit no every time your own players and personal likes working after this win I am feeling its very difficult for South Africa to handle in next match as we are going for another spinners friendly pitch.

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

It is a refreshing win for Pakistan after a long time. I think South Africa team looks quite weak and therefore Pakistan played very well in the first match. I hope they will continue this good form in the next matches. It will be interesting to see how south africa learn from their mistakes and come out with a different strategy in the next match.

South African cricket is already in crisis which was displayed on the fields in this match. Well! Yes, it is a good win for Pakistan and they deserve it too. Next match would be crucial for Pakistan if the want to win the series. I am not expecting any thing good from the south african team.

[UmerIdrees]

Pakistan won first test but still many questions to be answered because they have too many issues in batting every time tail enders cannot help you to fix this all selectors need to do some better selections as some good players avilabel after Quaid-e-Azam trophy now time to bring some players on merit no every time your own players and personal likes working after this win I am feeling its very difficult for South Africa to handle in next match as we are going for another spinners friendly pitch.

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

It is a refreshing win for Pakistan after a long time. I think South Africa team looks quite weak and therefore Pakistan played very well in the first match. I hope they will continue this good form in the next matches. It will be interesting to see how south africa learn from their mistakes and come out with a different strategy in the next match.

South African cricket is already in crisis which was displayed on the fields in this match. Well! Yes, it is a good win for Pakistan and they deserve it too. Next match would be crucial for Pakistan if the want to win the series. I am not expecting any thing good from the south african team.

Since Pakistan team is unpredictable we never know how will they perform in the next matches. I am looking that Pakistan may win the series as its been long time since pakistan have won any major series at home or aboard.

[ene1980]

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

Pakistan might be making pitches that will help their spinners and if that is the case it will be difficult for South Africa until they have a batsman that could counter spin, in the past they had players who played well against spinners but in the current team we are yet to see any players who perform well against spin.

[onrise]

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

Pakistan might be making pitches that will help their spinners and if that is the case it will be difficult for South Africa until they have a batsman that could counter spin, in the past they had players who played well against spinners but in the current team we are yet to see any players who perform well against spin.

Home advantage will always be with Pakistan and the first test win is always a good way to boost up your spirits. On other hand for SA it’s a big challenge as they have to forget the loss and move on and ensure they do well in all the departments of the game so that they can either draw or win rather than losing the series as a whitewash.

[JSRAW]

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

Pakistan might be making pitches that will help their spinners and if that is the case it will be difficult for South Africa until they have a batsman that could counter spin, in the past they had players who played well against spinners but in the current team we are yet to see any players who perform well against spin.

And there is nothing wrong with this practice. SENA countries does the same thing with pace, swing, bounce. If they can exploit the weakness of sub-continent team then every sub continent team should also exploit their weakness. Test cricket is not only about raw pace but spin also.

If i am a pitch curator then i wouldn't hesitate to create a pitch where likes of Anderson-Rabada-Cummins getting smashed by 19 year old kids when playing in the sub-continent. 

[Indymoney]

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

Pakistan might be making pitches that will help their spinners and if that is the case it will be difficult for South Africa until they have a batsman that could counter spin, in the past they had players who played well against spinners but in the current team we are yet to see any players who perform well against spin.

And there is nothing wrong with this practice. SENA countries does the same thing with pace, swing, bounce. If they can exploit the weakness of sub-continent team then every sub continent team should also exploit their weakness. Test cricket is not only about raw pace but spin also.

If i am a pitch curator then i wouldn't hesitate to create a pitch where likes of Anderson-Rabada-Cummins getting smashed by 19 year old kids when playing in the sub-continent. 

[eaLiTy]

Since Pakistan team is unpredictable we never know how will they perform in the next matches. I am looking that Pakistan may win the series as its been long time since pakistan have won any major series at home or aboard.

This is the biggest hurdle when you are placing a bet on Pakistan as you never know what kind of performance they will showcase, one day they will perform like they could defeat any team in the world but on certain days they perform like minnows. Since they are playing in Pakistan they should have the advantage, they need to find quality fast bowlers which they had in the past but now a days it is disappointing.

[ene1980]

On other hand for SA it’s a big challenge as they have to forget the loss and move on and ensure they do well in all the departments of the game so that they can either draw or win rather than losing the series as a whitewash.

The batting order needs to step up their performance if they want to be competitive, they will be praying to win the toss and elect to bat first knowing it will be hard for them to bat in the fourth innings in spinning wickets.

And there is nothing wrong with this practice. SENA countries does the same thing with pace, swing, bounce. If they can exploit the weakness of sub-continent team then every sub continent team should also exploit their weakness. Test cricket is not only about raw pace but spin also.

Nothing wrong in that but South Africa needed to include some quality spinners as well, they never had world class spinners but they need to find spinners to counter these sub continent wickets. The recent India series win against Australia, Australia is afraid to prepare green turf that could help the fast bowlers completely because India had a potent attack and that is how you counter the threat.

If i am a pitch curator then i wouldn't hesitate to create a pitch where likes of Anderson-Rabada-Cummins getting smashed by 19 year old kids when playing in the sub-continent. 

Anderson bowls well in sub continent wickets as he can reverse the ball. Looking forward how India will be preparing the wickets for the England series.

[Sithara007]

Anderson bowls well in sub continent wickets as he can reverse the ball. Looking forward how India will be preparing the wickets for the England series.

Anderson is a bowler who depends more on swing in the air than the seam movement. That is the reason why he is so deadly on sub-continental tracks. Also he has a lot of variety in his bowling, including a well disguised slower ball. And the last thing about him is that he always maintains a good fitness level. You don't see him getting injured very often in between the tours.

[FIFA worldcup]

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

Pakistan might be making pitches that will help their spinners and if that is the case it will be difficult for South Africa until they have a batsman that could counter spin, in the past they had players who played well against spinners but in the current team we are yet to see any players who perform well against spin.

And there is nothing wrong with this practice. SENA countries does the same thing with pace, swing, bounce. If they can exploit the weakness of sub-continent team then every sub continent team should also exploit their weakness. Test cricket is not only about raw pace but spin also.

If i am a pitch curator then i wouldn't hesitate to create a pitch where likes of Anderson-Rabada-Cummins getting smashed by 19 year old kids when playing in the sub-continent. 

Although every country do this and make pitches which help them but isn't against the sports man spirit ?
If a team is good, they should win on any pitch and should not take these short cuts which make results in their favor.

[JSRAW]

And there is nothing wrong with this practice. SENA countries does the same thing with pace, swing, bounce. If they can exploit the weakness of sub-continent team then every sub continent team should also exploit their weakness. Test cricket is not only about raw pace but spin also.

If i am a pitch curator then i wouldn't hesitate to create a pitch where likes of Anderson-Rabada-Cummins getting smashed by 19 year old kids when playing in the sub-continent. 

Although every country do this and make pitches which help them but isn't against the sports man spirit ?
If a team is good, they should win on any pitch and should not take these short cuts which make results in their favor.

Against spirit of the cricket when subcontinent does this. How dare brown people exploiting the home conditions, exploiting everything is copyright to colonizer only and only they can decide what's good and what's bad.  

[bryant.coleman]

Although every country do this and make pitches which help them but isn't against the sports man spirit ?
If a team is good, they should win on any pitch and should not take these short cuts which make results in their favor.

Well.. they are not doing anything that is against the law. Even teams such as England and Australia make use of the home conditions, when Asian teams are touring. If the ICC is so concerned about that, then it should appoint neutral curators. Previously, there was a proposal to remove the toss and give the visiting team the advantage of selecting to bat or field first. But that proposal was shelved as a result of opposition from the majority of the countries.

[7788bitcoin]

Well.. they are not doing anything that is against the law. Even teams such as England and Australia make use of the home conditions, when Asian teams are touring. If the ICC is so concerned about that, then it should appoint neutral curators. Previously, there was a proposal to remove the toss and give the visiting team the advantage of selecting to bat or field first. But that proposal was shelved as a result of opposition from the majority of the countries.

The ICC is not going to spend money on preparing the wickets and all the responsibility goes to the team hosting the tournament including the preparation of pitches. Not sure there will be a stage when toss will be automatically given to the visiting team as toss is a major part in cricket according to the pitch condition and you cannot mess around that.

[onrise]

The next match will be very competitive. The South African team lost the first match. They will find out their mistakes and correct the mistakes and make the team more stable for the next match. Pakistan will have to be stronger if they want to beat South Africa in the next match.

Pakistan might be making pitches that will help their spinners and if that is the case it will be difficult for South Africa until they have a batsman that could counter spin, in the past they had players who played well against spinners but in the current team we are yet to see any players who perform well against spin.

And there is nothing wrong with this practice. SENA countries does the same thing with pace, swing, bounce. If they can exploit the weakness of sub-continent team then every sub continent team should also exploit their weakness. Test cricket is not only about raw pace but spin also.

If i am a pitch curator then i wouldn't hesitate to create a pitch where likes of Anderson-Rabada-Cummins getting smashed by 19 year old kids when playing in the sub-continent.  

Although every country do this and make pitches which help them but isn't against the sports man spirit ?
If a team is good, they should win on any pitch and should not take these short cuts which make results in their favor.

Wondering then what type of pitch you want it. Like do you just want plain pitch with little help to bowlers and should it be batsman pitch, should it be pace bowlers pitch or should it be spinners track. How do you think it should be and that is the beauty of having different types of pitches in the world and accordingly you select the players too, isn't it.  Like nobody stopped a team to have 3-4 spinners in a team if  playing in a sub-continent or 3-4 pacers if you are playing in OZ, NZ etc.

[bryant.coleman]

The ICC is not going to spend money on preparing the wickets and all the responsibility goes to the team hosting the tournament including the preparation of pitches. Not sure there will be a stage when toss will be automatically given to the visiting team as toss is a major part in cricket according to the pitch condition and you cannot mess around that.

Well... that was just a proposal made by some of the ICC officials a few years back. It triggered serious debate, but in the end there was very little progress. And if I remember correctly, the immediate reason was that some of the Asian countries prepared tracks that suited their style of play, when either Australia or England was visiting (don't exactly remember which team raised the complaint).

[7788bitcoin]

~
Well... that was just a proposal made by some of the ICC officials a few years back. It triggered serious debate, but in the end there was very little progress. And if I remember correctly, the immediate reason was that some of the Asian countries prepared tracks that suited their style of play, when either Australia or England was visiting (don't exactly remember which team raised the complaint).

Glad that those proposals were thrown out just as they are raised because that is a stupid proposal, in Australia and England they are preparing green wicket and recently the pitches are a bit different because their batsman will be under pressure as the opposition have great bowlers.
The match between Pakistan and South Africa will start on 4th and i would like to place a bet on Pakistan but you cannot trust their consistancy.

The interesting series is England tour of India and England dominated Sri Lanka and will be in confidence to continue their performance and it will be interesting and the pressure will be on Kohli as a captain to perform.

[bryant.coleman]

No team can be more inconsistent than Pakistan and that is the reason why I have never made a bet in their favor during the last 10 years. On the other hand, whenever a Pakistan vs India match occurred during the ICC events (such as the ODI world cup), I have always made a bet in favor of the latter (despite Pakistan having very attractive odds). And every single time, I won the bet.

[JSRAW]

The ICC is not going to spend money on preparing the wickets and all the responsibility goes to the team hosting the tournament including the preparation of pitches. Not sure there will be a stage when toss will be automatically given to the visiting team as toss is a major part in cricket according to the pitch condition and you cannot mess around that.

Well... that was just a proposal made by some of the ICC officials a few years back. It triggered serious debate, but in the end there was very little progress. And if I remember correctly, the immediate reason was that some of the Asian countries prepared tracks that suited their style of play, when either Australia or England was visiting (don't exactly remember which team raised the complaint).

Poms started the debate and Aussie joined the Chorus against the India. Like i said earlier only colonizer are allowed to exploit everything. Brown people should just roll over and look up to the master for instructions. 

It still happens all the time, just tune the BBC sports or SKY.