Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[mersal]

Jadeja is important for sure because he is better fielder and can be considered as best in the world right now and also he can bowl along with his handy knocks and Sundar should be the second option if they want to go with the 2 spinners because he is looking more like a regular batsman with the way he is batting and his first class batting also impressive. As you mentioned Ashwin is having difficulties on batting apart from subcontinent conditions so he is likely to be dropped but wait we have IPL in the middle so selectors will pick depending on the IPl performances as well even it is not supposed to be like that.

I am more concerned about the openers because new batsman failed to make any impressive performances in AUS and in India too so Shikar Dhawan has nay chances to be back into an opener?

Jadeja will be the first choice for me. But for me, the second choice would be Axar Patel instead of Washington Sundar. Washington is a good batsman, but in terms of bowling Axar is far ahead of him. But at the same time, I am not sure whether Axar or Washington is the better bowler in SENA conditions. Ashwin can bat, but his poor record in SENA goes against him. Kuldeep is not that bad in SENA, but his batting record is not that great.

Spin bowlers are not going to be effective on such conditions that is why it is better to have better batsmen who can bowl. Ishant Sharma is important due to his experience and he is a wicket-taking bowler.

[JSRAW]

From Indian perspective its looks pretty cool, they are virtually invincible in home conditions. Last time they lost the series back in 2012 against England. After 2012 they lost only 2 tests (Aus and Eng)


https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1369134155024404483

[bryant.coleman]

Spin bowlers are not going to be effective on such conditions that is why it is better to have better batsmen who can bowl. Ishant Sharma is important due to his experience and he is a wicket-taking bowler.

Jadeja is basically a batsman who can bowl, at least in the test format. His left-arm spin is more useful in the limited overs format, but in test his batting is more useful. Also, the advantage with Jadeja is that his bowling record in SENA is not that bad. And I agree with you on Ishant. He is perhaps the most underrated bowler in the Indian squad right now. I would pick him over Shardul at any point of the day. And for Siraj/Saini.. if Shami is available then these two doesn't have much of a chance to get included in the playing XI.

[vella85]

From Indian perspective its looks pretty cool, they are virtually invincible in home conditions. Last time they lost the series back in 2012 against England. After 2012 they lost only 2 tests (Aus and Eng)


https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1369134155024404483

India are very strong at home, its like how Australia was in the 90's where they never lost a test series at home and even didn't lose many test matches. What I find interesting about this chart is that all three teams seem to struggle against South Africa but then again SA was a strong team until recently. Its going to be an interesting test match final as I think New Zealand and India are about evenly matched and no home ground advantage makes it even more interesting to see which team will benefit from the conditions.

[Sithara007]

India are very strong at home, its like how Australia was in the 90's where they never lost a test series at home and even didn't lose many test matches. What I find interesting about this chart is that all three teams seem to struggle against South Africa but then again SA was a strong team until recently. Its going to be an interesting test match final as I think New Zealand and India are about evenly matched and no home ground advantage makes it even more interesting to see which team will benefit from the conditions.

South Africa is still a very strong team, having an excellent sports culture. They are producing young talents not just for themselves, but for teams all around the world (Devon Conway/Glenn Philipps of New Zealand, Marnus Labuschagne of Australia, Dawid Malan of England, Curtis Campher of Ireland.etc). If we remove politics from the South Africa team selection, then easily they can be the world champions. Right now the quota system has made sure that undeserving players such as Temba Bavuma and Andile Phehlukwayo have become regulars in the playing XI.

[JSRAW]

From Indian perspective its looks pretty cool, they are virtually invincible in home conditions. Last time they lost the series back in 2012 against England. After 2012 they lost only 2 tests (Aus and Eng)


https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1369134155024404483

India are very strong at home, its like how Australia was in the 90's where they never lost a test series at home and even didn't lose many test matches. What I find interesting about this chart is that all three teams seem to struggle against South Africa but then again SA was a strong team until recently. Its going to be an interesting test match final as I think New Zealand and India are about evenly matched and no home ground advantage makes it even more interesting to see which team will benefit from the conditions.

Yeah, but i remember Indians were very competitive in last tour of South Africa (England also, result not justifying the fight) and if my memory serves me well then on one occasion SA head coach moaned about pitches and how Indian bowlers tried to injure their players on dangerous surface, India went to win that game.

Don't remember NZ playing any last match there but Australia last tour was overshadowed by Sand paper gate.

[bryant.coleman]

Yeah, but i remember Indians were very competitive in last tour of South Africa (England also, result not justifying the fight) and if my memory serves me well then on one occasion SA head coach moaned about pitches and how Indian bowlers tried to injure their players on dangerous surface, India went to win that game.

Don't remember NZ playing any last match there but Australia last tour was overshadowed by Sand paper gate.

South Africa is a good team, but their consistency is not up to the mark. Every now and then players become unavailable, and that impacts the stability of the team. They have world class players such as du Plessis, de Kock and Steyn. But still they have fallen behind the big 3 teams. Still, with home advantage they can be a challenging opposition even to the big 3 teams.

[JSRAW]

Yeah, but i remember Indians were very competitive in last tour of South Africa (England also, result not justifying the fight) and if my memory serves me well then on one occasion SA head coach moaned about pitches and how Indian bowlers tried to injure their players on dangerous surface, India went to win that game.

Don't remember NZ playing any last match there but Australia last tour was overshadowed by Sand paper gate.

South Africa is a good team, but their consistency is not up to the mark. Every now and then players become unavailable, and that impacts the stability of the team. They have world class players such as du Plessis, de Kock and Steyn. But still they have fallen behind the big 3 teams. Still, with home advantage they can be a challenging opposition even to the big 3 teams.

They are going through some drastic transition period for quite some time and their quota policy is making things worse for their team so i won't hold my breathe on "still a good team" notion. They could make comeback but not anytime soon.

-Indians asked them some tough question on last tour, if it wasn't for Virat's selection drama. India had a really good chance of winning the series by 2-1.
-Srilanka whitewashed Proteas beautifully. If i'm not wrong then first Asian team to win in SA.
- And recently England went to beat them quite easily.

[Vishnu.Reang]

They are going through some drastic transition period for quite some time and their quota policy is making things worse for their team so i won't hold my breathe on "still a good team" notion. They could make comeback but not anytime soon.

-Indians asked them some tough question on last tour, if it wasn't for Virat's selection drama. India had a really good chance of winning the series by 2-1.
-Srilanka whitewashed Proteas beautifully. If i'm not wrong then first Asian team to win in SA.
- And recently England went to beat them quite easily.

Two decades ago, they were among the top teams in international cricket. I still remember that they were the favorites during the 1999 ODI World Cup. Back then they had some of the best all rounders, such as Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener and Hansie Cronje. And then they had the best fielder in Jonty Rhodes. And perhaps the best fast bowler as well, in Allan Donald. They were unable to find replacements to these players, and that is the reason why they went down in the 21st century. 

[7788bitcoin]

~
Jadeja is important for sure because he is better fielder and can be considered as best in the world right now and also he can bowl along with his handy knocks and Sundar should be the second option if they want to go with the 2 spinners because he is looking more like a regular batsman with the way he is batting and his first class batting also impressive. As you mentioned Ashwin is having difficulties on batting apart from subcontinent conditions so he is likely to be dropped but wait we have IPL in the middle so selectors will pick depending on the IPl performances as well even it is not supposed to be like that.

Ashwin is the first spinner for India and he has established his place in the side and if India is placing in a seaming track and if they go with only one spinner Ashwin will be the first choice spinner and he is a main bowler who is currently in form and picked over 400 wickets and he is a difficult bowler to face in any track and Ashwin showed his batting skills in the recent two series, so you cannot say that he is struggling because he was instrumental in drawing a match in Australia recently.

[bryant.coleman]

Ashwin is the first spinner for India and he has established his place in the side and if India is placing in a seaming track and if they go with only one spinner Ashwin will be the first choice spinner and he is a main bowler who is currently in form and picked over 400 wickets and he is a difficult bowler to face in any track and Ashwin showed his batting skills in the recent two series, so you cannot say that he is struggling because he was instrumental in drawing a match in Australia recently.

The only thing that may go against him is is poor record abroad (although he has improved upon it recently) and his lack of venom in surfaces that doesn't support spin bowling. Also, Washington Sundar is a much better batsman, when compared to Ashwin. But then, Ashwin has been in terrific form recently. The choice for spin bowler is going to give a lot of headache for the Indian selectors. I am OK with either Ashwin/Jadeja, Sundar/Jadeja, or Axar/Jadeja.

[eaLiTy]

Two decades ago, they were among the top teams in international cricket. I still remember that they were the favorites during the 1999 ODI World Cup. Back then they had some of the best all rounders, such as Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener and Hansie Cronje. And then they had the best fielder in Jonty Rhodes. And perhaps the best fast bowler as well, in Allan Donald. They were unable to find replacements to these players, and that is the reason why they went down in the 21st century. 

From 1992 when they were allowed to return to cricket they had the best team which was able to compete against the dominating Australia and during the 1999 world cup like every other world cup before that they were the favorites to win the world cup and like every other cup they were unfortunate to loose out and the fielding standards they set in world cricket was exemplary and do not forget Herschelle Gibbs in the squad and he was the best fielder in the team along with Rhodes and the catch Gibbs dropped while throwing the ball in air to celebrate gave Australia the chance to win the match and later the world cup.

It is hard to find a replacement for those legendary players but ABD carried the fielding legacy but they are yet to find a legit all rounder like they used to have and i remember when Pat Symcox used to come out as the second last batsman even he could change the match with his batting and even has a Test century and the only player who does not bat in the team was Allan Donald and the rest of the players were all rounders  .


 

[Sithara007]

From 1992 when they were allowed to return to cricket they had the best team which was able to compete against the dominating Australia and during the 1999 world cup like every other world cup before that they were the favorites to win the world cup and like every other cup they were unfortunate to loose out and the fielding standards they set in world cricket was exemplary and do not forget Herschelle Gibbs in the squad and he was the best fielder in the team along with Rhodes and the catch Gibbs dropped while throwing the ball in air to celebrate gave Australia the chance to win the match and later the world cup.

It is hard to find a replacement for those legendary players but ABD carried the fielding legacy but they are yet to find a legit all rounder like they used to have and i remember when Pat Symcox used to come out as the second last batsman even he could change the match with his batting and even has a Test century and the only player who does not bat in the team was Allan Donald and the rest of the players were all rounders  .

When Nelson Mandela was the president of South Africa, he adopted a reconciliatory stance towards the white population. One he was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki, the racial issues were restarted. Mbeki was a very incompetent president (much like those who succeeded him) and to hide his incompetence he resorted to implementing racial quotas everywhere and confiscating white owned farmland. So there is a difference in the South African team from 1992 to 1999, and the team after 1999. Until 1999, all the players were being selected based on merit. And from 2022, only 4 players will be selected based on merit, and the remaining 7 will be selected based on their skin color.

[pakhitheboss]

From 1992 when they were allowed to return to cricket they had the best team which was able to compete against the dominating Australia and during the 1999 world cup like every other world cup before that they were the favorites to win the world cup and like every other cup they were unfortunate to loose out and the fielding standards they set in world cricket was exemplary and do not forget Herschelle Gibbs in the squad and he was the best fielder in the team along with Rhodes and the catch Gibbs dropped while throwing the ball in air to celebrate gave Australia the chance to win the match and later the world cup.

It is hard to find a replacement for those legendary players but ABD carried the fielding legacy but they are yet to find a legit all rounder like they used to have and i remember when Pat Symcox used to come out as the second last batsman even he could change the match with his batting and even has a Test century and the only player who does not bat in the team was Allan Donald and the rest of the players were all rounders  .

When Nelson Mandela was the president of South Africa, he adopted a reconciliatory stance towards the white population. One he was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki, the racial issues were restarted. Mbeki was a very incompetent president (much like those who succeeded him) and to hide his incompetence he resorted to implementing racial quotas everywhere and confiscating white owned farmland. So there is a difference in the South African team from 1992 to 1999, and the team after 1999. Until 1999, all the players were being selected based on merit. And from 2022, only 4 players will be selected based on merit, and the remaining 7 will be selected based on their skin color.

There are other controversies too surrounding the board and its member. There has been a corruption allegation against the board. Last year in the month of October they were on the verge of getting banned from international cricket. There are three main things that have resulted in the downfall of South African cricket and they are the Racism issues, payment row, and corruption charges.

[Sithara007]

There are other controversies too surrounding the board and its member. There has been a corruption allegation against the board. Last year in the month of October they were on the verge of getting banned from international cricket. There are three main things that have resulted in the downfall of South African cricket and they are the Racism issues, payment row, and corruption charges.

Corruption is an issue with the cricket boards everywhere. If you check the other sports bodies such as FIFA, IHF and FIBA, you can see that they are being managed by former players. But in case of ICC and the regional cricket bodies, most of them are being managed by politicians and businessmen. Apart from corruption, this has also resulted in the death of cricket in smaller nations such as Kenya and West Indies.

BTW, the pig 3 has once again cemented their control of the ICC. Manu Sawhney (CEO of the ICC) has been kicked out and replaced with Geoff Allardice.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

BTW, the pig 3 has once again cemented their control of the ICC. Manu Sawhney (CEO of the ICC) has been kicked out and replaced with Geoff Allardice.

PIG 3 could be behind this.

But some reports are claiming that he was asked to leave after findings of routine investigation by one audit firm. It was reported that all his staff found him authoritarian. Don't know what he did to his staff but he really ticked off majority of his staff.

[bryant.coleman]

Anyone watching the match between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe? Afghanistan declared at 545/4, with Hashmatullah Shahidi becoming the first Afghan to score a double hundred. The captain (Asghar Stanikzai) also made a sizable contribution, by making 164. Remember that during the last match, Afghanistan made totals of 131 and 135, losing to Zimbabwe by 10 wickets (and that too, in two days).

[vella85]

Anyone watching the match between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe? Afghanistan declared at 545/4, with Hashmatullah Shahidi becoming the first Afghan to score a double hundred. The captain (Asghar Stanikzai) also made a sizable contribution, by making 164. Remember that during the last match, Afghanistan made totals of 131 and 135, losing to Zimbabwe by 10 wickets (and that too, in two days).

I have not watched the match as I don't get the coverage here but I did see the highlights and I must say that Afghanistan batted well even though they are playing a poorly ranked team in Zimbabwe but still I thought they batted well to score 500+ with only losing 4 wickets. Afghanistan look to be a much better team from the last time they played Zimbabwe but the pitch does look like a batting pitch so we shall see how well Zimbabwe bat which so far are doing well at 0 for 50.

[Sithara007]

I have not watched the match as I don't get the coverage here but I did see the highlights and I must say that Afghanistan batted well even though they are playing a poorly ranked team in Zimbabwe but still I thought they batted well to score 500+ with only losing 4 wickets. Afghanistan look to be a much better team from the last time they played Zimbabwe but the pitch does look like a batting pitch so we shall see how well Zimbabwe bat which so far are doing well at 0 for 50.

Both the teams have to deal with their own issues. Consistency is a big issue for Afghanistan, as they were bowled out for less than 150 runs in both the innings during the first test. And for Zimbabwe, their key players are unavailable most of the time and that affects their performance. At this point, both the teams (and Ireland) stand no chance against the top tier test playing nations. I had high hopes for Afghanistan, but their performance in the last couple of years have been disappointing.

[Iranus]

I have not watched the match as I don't get the coverage here but I did see the highlights and I must say that Afghanistan batted well even though they are playing a poorly ranked team in Zimbabwe but still I thought they batted well to score 500+ with only losing 4 wickets. Afghanistan look to be a much better team from the last time they played Zimbabwe but the pitch does look like a batting pitch so we shall see how well Zimbabwe bat which so far are doing well at 0 for 50.

Both the teams have to deal with their own issues. Consistency is a big issue for Afghanistan, as they were bowled out for less than 150 runs in both the innings during the first test. And for Zimbabwe, their key players are unavailable most of the time and that affects their performance. At this point, both the teams (and Ireland) stand no chance against the top tier test playing nations. I had high hopes for Afghanistan, but their performance in the last couple of years have been disappointing.

Looks like this match will be a draw. Afghanistan has collected huge runs. It is not possible for Zimbabwe to win this match. So the Zimbabwean players will want to survive at the crease anyway and draw the match. After batting so poorly in the first match, Afghanistan scored 545 runs in this match but lost only 4 wickets which surprised me.