Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[pakhitheboss]

Apparently, South Africa opted for batting after winning the toss, and what might have led them to this crisis situation? 97/7 is the scoreboard and they are in the worst situation as of now. I know it is just the first day out of 5 days but still, I am clueless as to why they got into this situation.

The first test match was dominated by the proteas but after analyzing the second match. I wonder did they become overconfident or if were they trying to experiment. I am clueless and I do not have an answer.

Still, a few more days to go, I hope they work on their problem and do what is required to be the top-ranking team in test cricket. If you guys have an answer to this issue then do quote me.

[onecall123]

The bowling line-up of England this morning has been electrifying. England had a great chance to level the game after a great session. It is impossible for SA to win every test match with good bowling unless it has good test batsmen. Bowlers need support from batters. Having batted first in overcast conditions, South Africa lost the match in the first innings itself. A loss of 8 wickets leaves SA with a score of 115. Let's wait and see.

[eaLiTy]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.

Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners. 

South Africa is full of surprises with the team selection and then winning the toss and electing to bat first, they already lost 8 wickets and they just scored 130 runs on the board. I expected them to bowl first considering the pitch helping the seamers in the initial sessions but instead wanted to bat first and now England is on the driving seat and if they could score runs in the first innings, they can wrap the match within 4 days  .

[jostorres]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.

Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners. 

South Africa is full of surprises with the team selection and then winning the toss and electing to bat first, they already lost 8 wickets and they just scored 130 runs on the board. I expected them to bowl first considering the pitch helping the seamers in the initial sessions but instead wanted to bat first and now England is on the driving seat and if they could score runs in the first innings, they can wrap the match within 4 days  .

Elgar's decision is wrong after winning toss decide to bat, or they fail to read pitch right now many things around social media about this start of second test where England is completely in dominating position with their bowling skills and now having test of their batting skills is also coming but at the end Rabada done good job and have a small partnership with Nortje which bring them to 150+.

But here we have to praise English bowling as well because they have done amazing job with the help of their veteran bowlers those never allow any Proteas batsmen to stay at crease and give them any headache with first both sessions are completely belongs to England right now Rabada and Ngidi both are doing good job and England is feeling some tense with this resistance as they want to do this all quickly.

[Vaskiy]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.

Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners. 

South Africa is full of surprises with the team selection and then winning the toss and electing to bat first, they already lost 8 wickets and they just scored 130 runs on the board. I expected them to bowl first considering the pitch helping the seamers in the initial sessions but instead wanted to bat first and now England is on the driving seat and if they could score runs in the first innings, they can wrap the match within 4 days  .

Same as what happened with England in the previous match is gonna happen with South Africa this match. From the very beginning pacers are in attacking form and have taken wickets. By the time batsmen should've made some plans to withstand and develop partnership. South Africa have ended the first innings at 151 runs. Right now England is trail by 61 runs after 22 overs losing 3 wickets.

[S A KHAIR]

Same as what happened with England in the previous match is gonna happen with South Africa this match. From the very beginning pacers are in attacking form and have taken wickets. By the time batsmen should've made some plans to withstand and develop partnership. South Africa have ended the first innings at 151 runs. Right now England is trail by 61 runs after 22 overs losing 3 wickets.

England trailed by just 40 runs at the end of the first day. The English collected 111 runs by losing 3 wickets. England's batsmen will be able to collect more than 250. The England team suffered a humiliating defeat in the first match. In this match, the English will take revenge for the previous defeat. I won't be surprised if England wins by an innings.

[tbterryboy]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.

Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners. 

South Africa is full of surprises with the team selection and then winning the toss and electing to bat first, they already lost 8 wickets and they just scored 130 runs on the board. I expected them to bowl first considering the pitch helping the seamers in the initial sessions but instead wanted to bat first and now England is on the driving seat and if they could score runs in the first innings, they can wrap the match within 4 days  .

I was not expecting batting like this from them in this test match but as I read some debate is going on about after win toss playing first then I understand something happen to them most chances Elgar miss read this all and done big mistake which can now give them shocking defeat because their all batting lineup completely down and it's thanks to Rabada they were able to reach at this figure of 153 in reply England's start were also not good, and they lost three quick wickets as they were on 43 but rightly good play by Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow give them good chance for fights back at the end of first day 111/3 with now trailing by just 40 runs and this partnership can give them good chance for having big lead which could be good for them as they need big win from this match after losing by an inning at Lords.

[romero121]

Same as what happened with England in the previous match is gonna happen with South Africa this match. From the very beginning pacers are in attacking form and have taken wickets. By the time batsmen should've made some plans to withstand and develop partnership. South Africa have ended the first innings at 151 runs. Right now England is trail by 61 runs after 22 overs losing 3 wickets.

England trailed by just 40 runs at the end of the first day. The English collected 111 runs by losing 3 wickets. England's batsmen will be able to collect more than 250. The England team suffered a humiliating defeat in the first match. In this match, the English will take revenge for the previous defeat. I won't be surprised if England wins by an innings.

This is going to be a win for England, but we don't can't be conclusive as an innings win. In the previous match England wasn't able to perform well in both the innings, but here South Africa might correct it's mistake understanding the pitch conditions and play accordingly in the second innings. For sure England will reach a score above 250 which gives them a good lead.

[Sithara007]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.

Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners.

Simon Harmer was one of the most promising spinners in South Africa, before he quit international cricket to join county cricket as a Kolpak player. Back then he was irritated by the race-based selection policy of South Africa. After almost a decade of negotiations with CSA, Hamer finally agreed to represent South Africa, if he is given enough chances. For the selectors, the promise given to Harmer needs to be carried out and Jansen became the scapegoat despite performing exceptionally (both with the ball and with the bat) in the first test.

[pakhitheboss]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.

Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners. 

I do not think that this match will last more than 3 days, just like the first one. The English pitch and the conditions are suited for bowlers. The English are also not good with spinners and therefore they might have added another spinner. I hope England is able to get those 40 runs and put on a decent lead today. I also feel it will only happen if Jonny Barstowe remains on the pitch for the whole day today.

[laurenB7742]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.
Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners. 

I do not think that this match will last more than 3 days, just like the first one. The English pitch and the conditions are suited for bowlers. The English are also not good with spinners and therefore they might have added another spinner. I hope England is able to get those 40 runs and put on a decent lead today. I also feel it will only happen if Jonny Barstowe remains on the pitch for the whole day today.

I think England will be able to take a lead of at least 120. Jonny Bairstow is batting brilliantly. He is unbeaten on 38 runs. If Bairstow manages to stay at the crease, I wouldn't be surprised if England takes a lead of over 200. England doesn't seem to have any trouble winning. England will definitely want to win by an innings margin. Because they suffered a humiliating defeat in the first match.

[JSRAW]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.

Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners.

Simon Harmer was one of the most promising spinners in South Africa, before he quit international cricket to join county cricket as a Kolpak player. Back then he was irritated by the race-based selection policy of South Africa. After almost a decade of negotiations with CSA, Hamer finally agreed to represent South Africa, if he is given enough chances. For the selectors, the promise given to Harmer needs to be carried out and Jansen became the scapegoat despite performing exceptionally (both with the ball and with the bat) in the first test.

Just checked on him more closely after reading your comment and it seems he does have a nice reputation in domestic but let's see what he does here.

Also, I won't rule out @pakhitheboss comment that this match could finish in 3 days unless the pitch starts to break. After all, that's what SA management thought, hence 2 spinners. Let's hope it doesn't backfire.

[onecall123]

Poms are off to a good start in 2nd test.
Kinda surprising team selection from the Proteas. They left out Marco Jansen, in the last match he contributed with the bat and ball both. Instead, they selected another spinner in the playing XI. They must be thinking of some turn on 4th-5th day. Otherwise, there is no other explanation for having 2 spinners. 

I do not think that this match will last more than 3 days, just like the first one. The English pitch and the conditions are suited for bowlers. The English are also not good with spinners and therefore they might have added another spinner. I hope England is able to get those 40 runs and put on a decent lead today. I also feel it will only happen if Jonny Barstowe remains on the pitch for the whole day today.

I think England will be able to take a lead of at least 120. Jonny Bairstow is batting brilliantly. He is unbeaten on 38 runs. If Bairstow manages to stay at the crease, I wouldn't be surprised if England takes a lead of over 200. England doesn't seem to have any trouble winning. England will definitely want to win by an innings margin. Because they suffered a humiliating defeat in the first match.

Bairstow's unbeaten 38 should be converted into much more. England would need to lead by 150-200 runs on this surface considering SA's batters clearly struggle with the bat. It's hard to imagine being at the top of the test championship while struggling so much with the bat. What a great job the bowlers have been doing to make up for it. Additionally, that shows how strong they are at home. In the last three years, they have had the lowest batting average in away tests.

[Sithara007]

Just checked on him more closely after reading your comment and it seems he does have a nice reputation in domestic but let's see what he does here.

Also, I won't rule out @pakhitheboss comment that this match could finish in 3 days unless the pitch starts to break. After all, that's what SA management thought, hence 2 spinners. Let's hope it doesn't backfire.

Harmer would have been one of the greats in test cricket, but he quit international cricket quite early to go Kolpak. Now it is too late for him to carve out a name for himself in international cricket. But the good thing here is that now CSA is trying to reach a deal with players like Harmer, which would allow them to play for both the sides (national team, as well as the county). Had they approved this a few years back, then a lot of promising players would have remained in international cricket. I am talking about Jacques Rudolph, Hardus Viljoen and Kyle Abbott.

[posi]

Bairstow's unbeaten 38 should be converted into much more. England would need to lead by 150-200 runs on this surface considering SA's batters clearly struggle with the bat. It's hard to imagine being at the top of the test championship while struggling so much with the bat. What a great job the bowlers have been doing to make up for it. Additionally, that shows how strong they are at home. In the last three years, they have had the lowest batting average in away tests.

I agree with you. If England wants to stay in the safe zone, they need to take a lead of at least 150+. South African batsmen are quite experienced. Maybe they faced a batting disaster in the first innings. But they will definitely try to play better in the second innings. So if England wants to win this match for sure then at least 300 runs must be collected by England. But it will not be easy for England to collect 300 runs on such a pitch.

[Sithara007]

I agree with you. If England wants to stay in the safe zone, they need to take a lead of at least 150+. South African batsmen are quite experienced. Maybe they faced a batting disaster in the first innings. But they will definitely try to play better in the second innings. So if England wants to win this match for sure then at least 300 runs must be collected by England. But it will not be easy for England to collect 300 runs on such a pitch.

At this point, England is trailing by 40 runs and are at 111/3. Jonny Bairstow has made some quick runs, while Zak Crawley has stood like a rock at the other end. I guess now the South Africans are really feeling the absence of Marco Jansen, who was replaced with Simon Harmer for this match. The pitch maybe supportive of the spinners, but we are yet to see any evidence for the same. Jack Leach got the sole wicket (and that too of a tailender) in the first innings and then for South Africa Keshav Maharaj and Harmer are yet to pick any wickets.

[Tony116]

I agree with you. If England wants to stay in the safe zone, they need to take a lead of at least 150+. South African batsmen are quite experienced. Maybe they faced a batting disaster in the first innings. But they will definitely try to play better in the second innings. So if England wants to win this match for sure then at least 300 runs must be collected by England. But it will not be easy for England to collect 300 runs on such a pitch.

At this point, England is trailing by 40 runs and are at 111/3. Jonny Bairstow has made some quick runs, while Zak Crawley has stood like a rock at the other end. I guess now the South Africans are really feeling the absence of Marco Jansen, who was replaced with Simon Harmer for this match. The pitch maybe supportive of the spinners, but we are yet to see any evidence for the same. Jack Leach got the sole wicket (and that too of a tailender) in the first innings and then for South Africa Keshav Maharaj and Harmer are yet to pick any wickets.

England's batsmen are batting very responsibly at the beginning of the second day. At the moment their collection is 127 runs. They are only 24 runs behind. If the pair of South African bowlers Bairstow and Jak Crawley are not able to break quickly, it will not be difficult for England to take a lead of more than 150. South Africa will need to pick up several wickets in the first session if they want to keep the match under their control.
I don't think the pitch is spin-friendly. The spin bowlers are also not able to bowl very well. I would say South Africa should continue with the pacing attack. Kagiso Rabada is bowling very well.

[Mahdirakib]

I do not think that this match will last more than 3 days, just like the first one. The English pitch and the conditions are suited for bowlers. The English are also not good with spinners and therefore they might have added another spinner. I hope England is able to get those 40 runs and put on a decent lead today. I also feel it will only happen if Jonny Barstowe remains on the pitch for the whole day today.

Maybe we are going to see the repeate of the first test match. But South Africa is going to be the losing team in this time. England will have the opportunity to win the match by an innings if they can take a good lead on day two. England lost their first three wickets in just 43 runs. But they made a strong partnership on the 4th wicket which helped them to recover from the bad condition. Jonny Bairstow just got out by scoring 49 runs. Expecting to see good batting performance from Ben Stokes.

[Sithara007]

Maybe we are going to see the repeate of the first test match. But South Africa is going to be the losing team in this time. England will have the opportunity to win the match by an innings if they can take a good lead on day two. England lost their first three wickets in just 43 runs. But they made a strong partnership on the 4th wicket which helped them to recover from the bad condition. Jonny Bairstow just got out by scoring 49 runs. Expecting to see good batting performance from Ben Stokes.

Two quick wickets have fallen, both of them taken by Anrich Nortje. Both the set batsmen (Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow) are gone now. Right now Ben Stokes is at the crease and fortunately for England he is in relatively good form. Just 10 minutes ago, it looked as if England is racing towards a 300 plus total. But now they are in deep trouble and Stokes need to rescue them. But there is a good chance that he will run out of partners. If one more wicket falls, then the tail will start for England with Ollie Robinson.

[romero121]

Maybe we are going to see the repeate of the first test match. But South Africa is going to be the losing team in this time. England will have the opportunity to win the match by an innings if they can take a good lead on day two. England lost their first three wickets in just 43 runs. But they made a strong partnership on the 4th wicket which helped them to recover from the bad condition. Jonny Bairstow just got out by scoring 49 runs. Expecting to see good batting performance from Ben Stokes.

Two quick wickets have fallen, both of them taken by Anrich Nortje. Both the set batsmen (Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow) are gone now. Right now Ben Stokes is at the crease and fortunately for England he is in relatively good form. Just 10 minutes ago, it looked as if England is racing towards a 300 plus total. But now they are in deep trouble and Stokes need to rescue them. But there is a good chance that he will run out of partners. If one more wicket falls, then the tail will start for England with Ollie Robinson.

By Lunch England have managed to score 212 runs losing 5 wickets in 56 overs. Stokes and Foakes are in good position developing partnership. Both in the crease will easily help the team reach 300+ runs. Right now England lead by 61 runs. England will try to make a lead of atleast 150 - 200 runs to have a comfortable win.