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England [458 & 233] beat South Africa [361 & 119] by 211 runs in the 1st Test at Lord's

Root has played very well. Along with Smith, he's the best test batsman in the world currently.
 
friendly reminder harmer would have broken this partnership a long time ago
 
Clearly not Maharaj's day.

We all have them from time to time.

he's always looked terrible, remember he took a bunch of wickets against an already defeated nz team a while back, thats about it. his test bowling average of 25 is about the most dishonest thing ever. heck nicky boje was a much better bowler than that heap of trash
 
What a muppet this Maharaj is, Root stumped on a no ball. Sums up pathetic chokers day.
 
Very well bowled Maharaj

Your part of the plan to saviour the so called "Fab 4"
 
literally cant get over how terrible maharaj is and how robbed simon harmer must be feeling
 
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literally cant get over how terrible maharaj is and how robbed simon harmer must be feeling

Not that phased by Harmer. Morris would have been a handy player to have today. Is he injured or something? I don't remember reading anything about it.
 
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Moeen Ali, what a player. I would love to see him get promoted to #5 as this series progresses. He is temperamentally good (on most occasions), is a very good player of spin and his weakness against the short ball is exaggerated.
 
Moeen Ali, what a player. I would love to see him get promoted to #5 as this series progresses. He is temperamentally good (on most occasions), is a very good player of spin and his weakness against the short ball is exaggerated.

His weakness against the short ball isn't really exaggerated, I think he'll really struggle during the Ashes. No room for him to be promoted to 5.
 
Not that phased by Harmer. Morris would have been a handy player to have today. Is he injured or something? I don't remember reading anything about it.

he's clearly the best spinner in south africa by a county mile, maharaj looks like a part timer
 
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literally cant get over how terrible maharaj is and how robbed simon harmer must be feeling

Only got himself to blame, if someone as rubbish as Maharaj (as you claim) can be out performing him so much at a domestic level then he should've tried harder.
 
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Only got himself to blame, if someone as rubbish as Maharaj (as you claim) can be out performing him so much at a domestic level then he should've tried harder.

domestic stats arent to be taken that literally, maharaj taking wickets against terrible players of spin in SA doesnt mean that much, harrmer is way more of a wicket taker
 
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Baggy Greens have lost Ashes on English soil 2005,2009,2013,2015, Aussies have terrible record in UK
 
domestic stats arent to be taken that literally, maharaj taking wickets against terrible players of spin in SA doesnt mean that much, harrmer is way more of a wicket taker

So why hasn't been Harmer been doing as well against these terrible players of spin in South Africa?
 
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domestic stats arent to be taken that literally, maharaj taking wickets against terrible players of spin in SA doesnt mean that much, harrmer is way more of a wicket taker

It's actually not like that in SA. Domestic stats are pretty comparable. I was corrected by an Indian on this board recently when I was referring to domestic stats of an Asian player. It might not be true in Asia, but it's pretty accurate here.

There are exceptions of course.
 
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friendly reminder harmer has taken 27/300 in his last two first class matches, meanwhile maharaj would get eaten for breakfast, lunch, and desert if he played county cricket
 
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So why hasn't been Harmer been doing as well against these terrible players of spin in South Africa?

hes done pretty much as well, and if you were to scrutinise first class stats of bowlers that closely you bound to find things that defy reason. for example, aziz cheema might well average less than mo asif in FC for all i know, but theres no doubting who the better bowler is
 
South Africa starting to fall apart a bit now. 250 was looking unlikely for England at one point - but now 500 is possible!! Surely a decent 1st innings lead on the cards for England now.
 
Root has played very well. Along with Smith, he's the best test batsman in the world currently.


Smith averages 68 at home and 59 abroad.

Root averages 63 at home and 45 abroad.

Smith is truly a great test player, while Joe Root is HTBish. Comparing them is an insult to Smith.

Now I'm sure all the Joe Root fans will come out with knives drawn saying " Average of 45 is good yadayadayada". It may be good but is a lot worse than 59.
 
OE ROOT celebrated his debut performance as England’s Test match captain with his 12th career century on the opening day of the first Test match against the Standard Bank Proteas at Lord’s in London on Thursday.

It was also his second century against South Africa and the higher of his two, beating the 110 he made at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium last year.

England finished the day on 357/5 with Root unbeaten on 184 (227 balls, 26 fours and a six). His performance spearheaded an England fightback after the Proteas had picked up four wickets in the morning session after losing the toss in good batting conditions, thanks in the main to Vernon Philander who picked up three of the wickets.

The England fightback was led by a partnership of 114 between Root and Ben Stokes for the fifth wicket and another century stand between Root and Moeen Ali for the sixth.

A lot of South Africa’s problems were of their own making as they missed two chances in the field by the time Root had made 16 and also later dismissed Stokes and Root with deliveries that were disallowed as no balls.

The opening session was well-nigh perfect for the Proteas apart from two expensive lives given to Root. He was on 5 with the total on 31/2 when Rabada surprised him with a short ball that the England captain top-edged to fine leg. Aiden Markram, briefly on the field as a substitute for Philander, came too far infield and the ball dropped over his head for a one bounce boundary.

Rabada, on 16, was unlucky again when Duminy couldn’t get his hands to a chance Root offered in the gulley.

In spite of these chances created Rabada bowled too many deliveries wide of the stumps as he struggled to come to terms with the Lord’s slope from the Nursery Ground end but, apart from three no balls from Philander and Morkel, in the first three overs it was largely a well-disciplined bowling performance from the three seamers supported by three tight overs from Maharaj immediately before lunch.

Philander led the attack superbly, taking 2/17 in a five-over opening spell that accounted for both the opening batsmen, and then got rid of Bairstow in a three-over burst before lunch to have a combined analysis of 3/26 in 8 overs.

Root apart, the England batsmen displayed very tentative footwork against Philander and he was able to cash in.

Morkel chimed in with the fairly predictable wicket of Balance who continues to bat from deep in his crease, making himself a prime candidate for a leg before wicket decision and that turned out to be the case.

It left England on 82/4 at lunch in 25 overs which gave the first session comfortably to the Proteas after Elgar had lost his first toss at captain.

The Proteas gave Heino Kuhn his maiden Test cap and persisted with their normal strategy of playing seven specialist batsmen.

England counter-attacked effectively in the second session as Root and Stokes added exactly 100 in the session from the 27 overs bowled without a wicket going down. By the tea break they had shared a stand of 106 in 29.3 overs and had largely undone the damage that had been inflicted in the first session.

Stokes, apart from hitting Maharaj for a six, batted with commendable restraint and it was reflected in the way the two batsmen dove-tailed with Root hitting his 28th half-century off 89 balls with 7 fours and Stokes reaching the same mark off 94 balls, also with 7 fours in addition to his one six.

The Proteas lost a wonderful opportunity to break the stand when Morkel bowled Stokes on 44 with a delivery that was a big no ball and was adjudicated without going to the third umpire.

The Proteas did not bowl as well as they had done in the morning session. Their lines were a pit too straight and both batsmen cashed in with most of the boundaries coming through the leg-side.

England finished the session on 182/4 with Root just 21 runs away from his 12th Test match century.

Rabada finally broke the partnership in the third over of the final session when the temptation of a short ball proved too much for Stokes (56 off 108 balls, 8 fours and a six) after a partnership of 114.

The day’s play had reached a critical stage as England posted their 200 followed by Root’s century (150 balls, 15 fours). It was his 12th Test century overall and his second against South Africa.

Any thought that the Proteas had of making a major breakthrough and restricting England to a total in the region of 300 was quickly snuffed out by Root and Moeen who posted a century partnership for the sixth wicket off only 108 balls.

Their ugly no ball problem raised its head again when Root was given his third life this time by Maharaj who overstepped the mark after Quinton de Kock had stumped him on 149.

Moeen went on to reach his 50 off 81 balls with four fours just before the second new ball became available.
 
literally cannot fathom for a single second what kind of god would impose upon on us a bowler as terrible as 'maharaj'
 
184 at 80+ SR is unreal. Root is a really good player.
:root

Meanwhile Rabada seems to have been poor. I always though he was overrated. Loads of potential, sure, but not the best bowler in the world by any stretch of the imagination.
 
Root seems to love English summer the most. Never misses out.

Vs India in 2014
Vs Aus in 2015
Vs Pak in 2016
and now Vs SA in 2017
 
England beat India 3-1 at home 2014, They beat Aussies 3-2 in 2015 at home Ashes, They beat Sri lanka 2-0 last year and they are going to beat South Africa n West indies this summer. But they could not beat Pakistan, it was 2-2 draw. Shows how good was Pakistan last year in England.
 
Criminal how both Morkel and then the spinner Maharaj both overstepped on a wicket.

Markram also misjudged a catch on the boundary when Root was in early and the gully fielder also dropped Root.

SA spurned big opportunities today. Credit to England for fighting back from a sticky position.
 
Standard Bank Proteas bowler, Vernon Philander, says there are ‘no excuses’ for the ill-disciplined bowling performance on day one of the first Test match against England at Lord’s on Thursday. The attack had the perfect start restricting the hosts to 82/4 at lunch, but lost their way with the poor execution of the basics - which included nine no-balls- and the costly wicket of Joe Root, who is unbeaten on 184.

Philander was the standout performer on the day finishing with 3/46 in 16 overs, the highlight of a disappointing day dominated by a phenomenal Root batting masterclass.

“It was a disappointing end for us having had them 82/4,” he said at stumps. “In saying that, I don’t think it was our best display in the field today to be honest.

“There is no excuse for that,” he said of the no-balls. “A couple of guys overstepped on a few occasions and it cost us a couple of wickets which were expensive for us. There is no excuse and it was a poor day in the field for all of us.”

The bowlers have a second new ball and fresh legs to look ahead to on day two on Friday, which could be a defining day in the match if England’s batsmen continue to keep the scoreboard ticking. Philander says the attack will need to regroup and show some character if they are to restrict England to a manageable first innings total.

“We need to get five wickets as quickly as possible,” he said of the plan for tomorrow. “We have to come back tomorrow and show some good character with the ball. Hopefully we can restrict them to 450 and go and bat well.”

England will resume on 357/5 with Root (184) and Moeen Ali (61) at the crease. Play is scheduled to start at 11h00 local time.
 
184 at 80+ SR is unreal. Root is a really good player.
:root

Meanwhile Rabada seems to have been poor. I always though he was overrated. Loads of potential, sure, but not the best bowler in the world by any stretch of the imagination.

Maybe it's the extra height,
 
Babar hit a 4 of Rabada and I got exited but then when Root ablits him I just think What's going on

I thought maybe we had another steyn,But Rabada isn't a great bowler

Abbot,Steyn,Philander, Maharaj are all good enough
 
Root seems to love English summer the most. Never misses out.

Vs India in 2014
Vs Aus in 2015
Vs Pak in 2016
and now Vs SA in 2017

9 tons in Eng and 3 tons away tells the story. He really like home conditions. He gets start in away matches as well, but doesn't go big.
 
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Brilliant innings from Root , wonder where those who said he would struggle with captaincy have gone.

England well ahead, get too 500 and they'll be confident of winning this game. Don't have much confidence in this South African batting line up.
 
There are 5 bowlers, who have never bowled a No Ball in their career ..... Imran is one of them ..... I think.
 
Misses out for a double hundred.. But still an amazing inning from Root.
 
2 early wickets for South Africa. This is good. Keep the game moving along. England's bowlers will enjoy this surface.
 
9 tons in Eng and 3 tons away tells the story. He really like home conditions. He gets start in away matches as well, but doesn't go big.

Ashes this year will be a good chance for him to get some more away hundreds just like Kane and Kohli who have fully maximized the Australian pitches in their last tours.
 
What a delivery to get rid of Moeen Ali. Rabada's class coming to the fore. South Africa need a masterclass from Amla to stay in this test.
 
What a delivery to get rid of Moeen Ali. Rabada's class coming to the fore. South Africa need a masterclass from Amla to stay in this test.

Rabada is not entirely in rhythm his head tends to fall away from his arm upon release; but has been a bit better today and I see him taking more wickets as he becomes accustomed to the conditions and surface in this country.
 
Loving this Test cricket pitch. Has enough batting in it to achieve 500 as a team if you excel yourselves - also if you hit your straps it has enough bowling in it to shoot out a team for 180.
 
Lower order runs worth their weight in gold here from Chris Broad Jr. A deeply annoying and revoltingly ugly 30-odd to push the score towards 450. Love it.
 
Lower order runs worth their weight in gold here from Chris Broad Jr. A deeply annoying and revoltingly ugly 30-odd to push the score towards 450. Love it.

Gem of a knock from Broad. Smashed Morkel for 2 big sixes. I think teams are obssessed with the short ball with Broad and tend to overdo it.
 
And Anderson at it. Demoralising for South Africa after their early success in the day.
 
South Africa should aim a draw here, that will be a moral victory. By the end of today if Proteas are around 200/3 then it will be a good day for them. 200/4 would be an average day. They need to score minimum 360, to ensure that draw is on the cards. Poms had lot of chances wickets on no balls, dropped catches and non review of lbw on broad. Pakistan showed last year that England is not as good as they claim to be at home.
 
South Africa should aim a draw here, that will be a moral victory. By the end of today if Proteas are around 200/3 then it will be a good day for them. 200/4 would be an average day. They need to score minimum 360, to ensure that draw is on the cards. Poms had lot of chances wickets on no balls, dropped catches and non review of lbw on broad. Pakistan showed last year that England is not as good as they claim to be at home.

Not sure how getting out on a no ball is luck really? The bowlers breaking the rules and getting an unfair advantage.
 
Wow Saffers are truly down in the dumps these days. They are almost as bad as India.
 
Race base quota indeed hurting SAF cricket, but they are not helping themselves either. What could be reason of playing this 33 years old Kuhn guy, after replacing 34 years old Cook? They had a fantastic opene (former U19 captain) Markram?

Also, there is Colin Ackerman, Pieter Malan. Even that guy Rossoue could have been given a Test spot to keep him out of Kolpak.
 
Race base quota indeed hurting SAF cricket, but they are not helping themselves either. What could be reason of playing this 33 years old Kuhn guy, after replacing 34 years old Cook? They had a fantastic opene (former U19 captain) Markram?

Also, there is Colin Ackerman, Pieter Malan. Even that guy Rossoue could have been given a Test spot to keep him out of Kolpak.

Both Kuhn and Markam had 3 FC games in English conditions prior to this series, Kuhn came out of them averaging 133 compared to Markrams 42.

Rossouw is currently on the edge of being dropped from Hampshire's FC team (probably should've been already) so I'm not sure he'd have been a much better option here.
 
Both Kuhn and Markam had 3 FC games in English conditions prior to this series, Kuhn came out of them averaging 133 compared to Markrams 42.

Rossouw is currently on the edge of being dropped from Hampshire's FC team (probably should've been already) so I'm not sure he'd have been a much better option here.

One is 34, another is 22, so there is a bit in it beyond numbers. Also, Kuhn comes as replacement of Cook, another 34 years old - which indicates temporary form for a veteran.

Rossoue might be out of form now, but he is good enough to play for SAF, when AB & Faf are not available.
 
Trying to hit Dawson out the attack.

What's the reason to select Dawson, when Moeen is there? His FC batting average is 33, but 150 wickets in 125 FC matches doesn't make any sense to play him over Adil.
 
What's the reason to select Dawson, when Moeen is there? His FC batting average is 33, but 150 wickets in 125 FC matches doesn't make any sense to play him over Adil.

Think they've gone with him in the view of having someone with a bit more control. Rashid has a tendency to put down at least 1 half tracker per over and will in general leak runs even when the batsmen aren't deliberately trying to go after him.
 
The greater beard triumphs over the lesser beard
 
Pcjnfdl.gif


:moali

Showing once again why Brummies are the best in the world [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION]
 
In Stokes and Moin, England have the best all rounded pair of all rounders in test cricket (maybe even limited overs cricket)...
 
Bad guy, Moeen. Takes out the wrong guy. :sanga

England firmly in control now. Duminy is garbage while the other three Saffer bats are inexperienced. Captain Elgar with all to do here.
 
Moeen Ali, the best all-rounder in the world. English discipline with that Pakistani X-Factor.
 
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