South Africa [309/9d] beat Zimbabwe [68 & 121] by an inns and 120 runs in the one-off four-day Test

[MenInG]

South Africa [309/9d] beat Zimbabwe [68 & 121] by an inns and 120 runs in the one-off four-day Test

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (c), Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Vernon Philander, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel

Zimbabwe XI: Justice Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor (wk), Peter Moor, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer (c), Kyle Jarvis, Christopher Mpofu, Blessing Muzarabani

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.

 

[Markhor]

Well this could get ugly for Zimbabwe. This is a very strong South Africa team with AB and Steyn returning.

Maybe the pink ball will be a leveller and help the Zimbabwe seamers - but I worry for their batsmen under lights against this SA pace attack.

Should be a cracking atmosphere for a rare "African Derby", hoping Zimbabwe make a good contest of it.

 

[MenInG]

South Africa have won the toss and elected to bat first against Zimbabwe in the historic Only ( 4 Day D/N) Test being played in Port Elizabeth.

 

[pakistani pride]

What 4 day test match?
So who decides that a TEST MATCH will be 4 days?

Cricket really is good making a joke.

 

[Aman]

4 day D/N?

Are Tests doing that poorly in SA? [MENTION=97523]Buffet[/MENTION]

 

[Markhor]

Dale Steyn is OUT - he has a viral infection too.

 

[Aman]

What 4 day test match?
So who decides that a TEST MATCH will be 4 days?

Cricket really is good making a joke.

3 hours, 6 hours and 5 days lol.

Too many forms of the sport, it's time to cut one out and focus on the other two to grow the game.

 

[Aman]

Damn, I was really looking forward to seeing Steyn.

 

[pakistani pride]

3 hours, 6 hours and 5 days lol.

Too many forms of the sport, it's time to cut one out and focus on the other two to grow the game.

I agree.

This is becoming a circus with all the formats.

 

[Aman]

I agree.

This is becoming a circus with all the formats.

Yep, it's obvious Tests are going to add nothing. They lose money and the interest is not there more most teams.

Let Aus, England and India play and let the others focus on playing LOIs.

I think the sport could thrive this way and you could have an annual ODI/T20 league.

As is, the sport is a mess and really just dull.

 

[Markhor]

Ryan Burl starts - promising young batsman who scored a battling fifty in the warm-up game.

Blessing Muzarabani is raw with only five FC matches under his belt. He was identified by Tatenda Taibu's Rising Star programme - not the quickest but he's 2 metres tall so should extract bounce from a usually slow Port Elizabeth pitch.

Port Elizabeth's reputation for being one of the more spin friendly venues in SA will be a slight comfort to Zimbabwe where pitches are mostly slow, low turners. Their biggest bowling threat is Graeme Cremer's legspin too.

 

[Markhor]

Grassy pitch and some early swing for Zimbabawe's seamers.

 

[Markhor]

Man, Muzarabani is a beanpole. Needs to fill out but a good over. 137kph his quickest ball.

 

[big_gamer007]

Why play full strength team against Zimbabwe?

 

[Aman]

Why play full strength team against Zimbabwe?

Warm up phainty before the Indian series

 

[Smbhayi]

Why play full strength team against Zimbabwe?

warm up for India series.

 

[Smbhayi]

Guess SA won't try innings win, they'll mostly look at to maximum match practice.

 

[Markhor]

Short and wide rubbish from Mpofu there.

 

[Markhor]

Mpofu is the weak link in thos attack. Should be replaced by Chatara.

 

[Markhor]

Familiar tale for Zimbabwe - there'll be some probing overs with the new ball but they lack the quality to sustain that pressure.

Start to bowl a few looseners, batsmen open up, heads go down...

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Everything about this match feels wrong. D/N and 4 day, on boxing day.

 

[JattMaula]

Is this 15 players per side match?

Does it count as first class cricket?

 

[Markhor]

Is this 15 players per side match?

Does it count as first class cricket?

Its an official Test match.

 

[Markhor]

Soft wicket - SAF two down now.

 

[Sean143]

South Africa 96/2(30overs) Aiden Markram 44(94) KM Jarvis 9-22-1

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Have folks been in hibernation or something? This test has been planned for a while and the ICC granted it test status back in October. A minimum of 98 overs will be bowled each day, and the follow-on set at a lead of 150 runs.

Personally I don't think it should have been given official test status. Sure let's experiment with different playing conditions but to just grant it test status straight away??

 

[leatherface58]

AB back to bully minnows and beef up his average.

 

[big_gamer007]

warm up for India series.

Warm up phainty before the Indian series

Ahh ok fair enough didn’t think of that..

 

[Ab Fan]

Such an average cricketer ABD.. Cant even bully Zimbabwe.

Only a matter of time before Bhuvi and Shami destroy this overrated cricketer.

 

[Ab Fan]

Markaram has good start to his career.

One can say that SA have got a good batting lineup:

Markaram
Elgar
Amla
AB
Faf
Bavuma
Qdk
Philander
Rabada
Maharaj
Steyn

This should be their team against India first up.

 

[King Kong]

Markaram has good start to his career.

One can say that SA have got a good batting lineup:

Markaram
Elgar
Amla
AB
Faf
Bavuma
Qdk
Philander
Rabada
Maharaj
Steyn

This should be their team against India first up.

You can't have more than 5 white players in the playing XI. One of Faf/AB has to make way. If Faf wasn't injured, AB wouldn't be playing this match.

 

[UN talkz]

Jarvis bowling well. Looks good

 

[Ab Fan]

You can't have more than 5 white players in the playing XI. One of Faf/AB has to make way. <B>If Faf wasn't injured, AB wouldn't be playing this match.</B>

Naah! We will come to this on 5th.

 

[UN talkz]

You can't have more than 5 white players in the playing XI. One of Faf/AB has to make way. If Faf wasn't injured, AB wouldn't be playing this match.

No. You need to have atleast 4 non-white players i.e seven whites can play. That is what i have seen all these years.

 

[Markhor]

Temba Bavuma failing to convert a start again [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION]

Zimbabwe have already taken more 1st innings wickets than Bangladesh managed in both Tests vs South Africa recently.

 

[Markhor]

Quinton de Kock doesn't look convincing when lateral movement is on offer. Scratchy start - inside edge luckily goes for four.

 

[shaz619]

Pretty decent start from the Zimbabweans to be fair, nice little African derby this

 

[Markhor]

SAF 7 down now, de Kock gone. Innings could be over by stumps.

 

[Markhor]

Rabada run out after going for a second run - 8 down now.

 

[Markhor]

And that's the end of the innings - SAF declare on 309-9. Good decision as it allows them a few overs at Zimbabwe under lights.

 

[Saffer_XIII]

AB forced to keep and captain. Lol. He might just quit again.

 

[big_gamer007]

Such an average cricketer ABD.. Cant even bully Zimbabwe.

Only a matter of time before Bhuvi and Shami destroy this overrated cricketer.

Bhai Tu nazar laga ke series shuru hone Se pehle hi..

 

[big_gamer007]

You can't have more than 5 white players in the playing XI. One of Faf/AB has to make way. If Faf wasn't injured, AB wouldn't be playing this match.

No. You need to have atleast 4 non-white players i.e seven whites can play. That is what i have seen all these years.

I asked this question once before on PP and someone told me it is calculated on a yearly basis.. So for weak series like WI South Africa will play more coloured players and against Australia or India they will play their best team which probably has more white players..

Ultimately after a year the number of white/black player ratio has to be matched as per government condition..

Not sure if the above is true or not but that is what I was told..

 

[Markhor]

Bit risky not sending out a night watchman.

 

[Markhor]

Zimbabwe badly struggling under lights. Ryan Burl holding the fort.

They need to scrape to at least 200 somehow but even that's looking a long way off.

 

[MenInG]

THE twilight and night time batting conditions proved to be too much for the batsmen on both sides as 13 wickets fell – 9 of them in the final session – on the opening day of the one-off Sunfoil Test match between the Standard Bank Proteas and Zimbabwe at St. George’s Park on Wednesday.

The Proteas scored 96/2 in the first session and 155 in the second before a collapse set in that saw them finish on 309/9 before stand-in captain AB de Villiers made the obvious tactical decision to declare and by the close the visitors were on the ropes at 30/4 from 16 overs with Morne Morkel having taken 3/20 in 7 overs and Vernon Philander 1/5 in six.

Generally the Proteas will be happy with their first day of the Test match season although they would have preferred some of the starts by their batsmen being turned into something more substantial. But there was the extenuating factor of a well-grassed pitch and a slow surface that made life difficult throughout the day.

The one major setback was the apparent hamstring injury suffered by Quinton de Kock that hampered his running between the wickets and caused him not to take the field with De Villiers standing in behind the stumps.

The exception to the Proteas batting effort was Aiden Markram whose international career goes from strength to strength. In making his second Test match century (125 off 204 balls, 14 fours and 2 sixes) he took his Test match aggregate to 380 from only four innings, giving him an average in excess of 90.

There will obviously be tougher times ahead but he has done enough to suggest he will be comfortably up for the challenge. And his opening partnership with Dean Elgar (stands of 196, 243 and today’s 72 in their three first innings together) suggests that they will play a crucial role in the series against India and Australia.

One of the standout features of Markram’s game is his strength off the back foot and it is this aspect of his game that is going to be important when the really quick men from Australia arrive in town.

De Villiers marked his return to Test cricket with a rapid-fire half-century (53 off 65 balls, 5 fours and a six) to give the innings some early impetus and it was good to see the positive way that Markram and Temba Bavuma continued to lift the scoring rate after the stand-in captain’s departure. After Markram and De Villiers had add 96 for the third wicket in 22 overs Markram and Bavuma added a further 78 for the fourth in 19 overs.

Markram’s dismissal in the over leading into the dinner break was the start of the collapse that was to follow with the two sides between them losing 10 wickets for 88 runs.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Temba Bavuma failing to convert a start again [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION]

Zimbabwe have already taken more 1st innings wickets than Bangladesh managed in both Tests vs South Africa recently.

Zimbabwe already have 1 more captain and 1 more coach than Bangladesh had in South Africa recently.

 

[giri26]

Little disappointed with Brendon Taylor. He was Zimbabwe's best batsman before he left the team in 2015 but after he has returned, he has been pretty ordinary. Zimbabwe needs him to be consistent and score some runs. On the contrary Kyle Jarvis has done well since his return.

 

[Ab Fan]

de Villiers should not keep anymore. It was pretty obvious the way he got fainted after taking up gloves in a test match against England.

Also, he isn't that good with gloves anyways.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Good to see Kyle Jarvis back with Zimbabwe team. Comfortably their best pace bowler.

 

[Saffer_XIII]

de Villiers should not keep anymore. It was pretty obvious the way he got fainted after taking up gloves in a test match against England.

Also, he isn't that good with gloves anyways.

He quit tests because of the workload. Then on his 1st test back they make him do everything. I mean he didn't participate in the warm up because of a stiff back. They could make anyone else keep.

 

[Markhor]

Huge gap between bat and pad left by Burl and gets bowled, Zimbabwe tottering at 36-5.

 

[Markhor]

Awful innings from Sikander Raza. Got spooked by the short ball then plays away from his body with no footwork.

Morkel gets 5. 36-6.

 

[Sean143]

Zim 36-6(20.4 overs)
Morne Morkel 9-21-5
V Philander 8.4-13-1

 

[Sean143]

Zim 63-8(29 overs)
Morne Morkel 11-21-5
V Philander 11-21-1

 

[Sean143]

Zim 68-10(30.1 overs)
Morne Morkel 11-21-5
Kagiso Rabada 6.1-12-2
This is Zimbabwe's fifth lowest total in Test Cricket

 

[Sean143]

South Africa have decided to enforce the follow-on

 

[Gabbar Singh]

What a joke these mismatches make of 'test' cricket. According to the dictionary of cricket the name Test stems from the long, gruelling match being both mentally and physically testing. Yep it's been very testing for the South Africans.

 

[MenInG]

Zimbabwe in a grim battle for survival on Day 2 of the 4-Day Test against South Africa; After being dismissed for 68 in reply to South Africa's 309/9d, Zimbabwe have been asked to follow-on and are on 54/1,still trailing by 187 runs #SAvZim #Cricket

 

[MenInG]

South African bowlers now toying with the Zimbabwe line-up as they reduce them to 81/5 (after follow-on); Will the 4-Day Test end in 2 days? Maharaj & Phehlukwayo with 2 wickets each, Masakadza trying to put on some brave resistance for the visitors #SAvZim #Cricket

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Looks like this will be over in 2 days.

 

[Markhor]

What a joke these mismatches make of 'test' cricket. According to the dictionary of cricket the name Test stems from the long, gruelling match being both mentally and physically testing. Yep it's been very testing for the South Africans.

Zimbabwe have never played a D/N first class game until this tour. Their grounds are not floodlit so their preparation was totally inadequate yet the game was sanctioned as a day nighter anyway. Most teams have played with the pink ball in domestic cricket prior to their first D/N Test.

One of the good things about the new FTP is it ensures Zimbabwe play the majority of their tests against similarly ranked teams. It'll be far better for their development than humiliations like this.

 

[sam_ahm]

Extremely shameful for Zimbabwe.

 

[BaankeJi]

Looking ominous for India.

 

[Abdullah719]

 

[bujhee kom]

What an utter waste of time this was.

 

[dauntless]

Be wary India!
Go proteas destroy them
#no mercy!

 

[Abdullah719]

Standard Bank Proteas stand-in captain, AB de Villiers, has given the four-day pink ball experience the thumbs-up despite the one-sided innings and 120-run victory against Zimbabwe at St George’s Park on Tuesday. De Villiers says the novel idea brings in a fast-paced dynamic compared to the traditional five-day approach, and teams can learn to adapt to the varying conditions that affect the match throughout the day.

“I think it was quite nice,” he said of the experience. “ I found the batsmen were a little bit more positive. There were talks of declaring earlier than normal, I spoke to Gibbo (Gibson) last night and we started talking about declarations a lot earlier than normal. It encourages a lot more positive cricket, I enjoy that. I still enjoy five-day cricket but there is definitely an excitement to day-night Test cricket for four-days. It is positive, there is a lot happening, we all enjoyed it as well as the spectators.

“It’s like any other format,” he said. “ You have to adapt, find ways, game plans, structures and strategies to get through certain times of the Test match. It looks like the last hour is tough to bat and that is an area that guys have to be aware of. We took some learning from that, it is an area where you need to tighten up as a batsman but on the other side the bowler has an opportunity to expose the batting line-up. It’s a mindset and awareness of knowing what times are a little bit better to bat on and which aren’t. There is room for day-night Test cricket, we love playing it.”

De Villiers says the squad will take some experience from the match despite it lasting less than two days, with both the batsmen and bowlers building up on match intensity workloads ahead of the three-match series against India starting next week.

“ We still take a lot out of it,” he said of the match. “ I think our batters toiled really hard on a wicket that seamed around the entire innings. It sped up in the evening and we started losing wickets, so the guys will take learning from that. From a bowling point of view, it was nice to get them (Zimbabwe) to follow-on so the guys got a few overs under the belt, we bowled 70-odd overs consecutively which was good. Some of the guys got good results on wickets that you can’t buy in the nets. All in all it was a good outing for us, we will go out there and work hard before the India series but I was happy with the two days.”

The squad will have a practice session at St George’s Park on Wednesday before travelling to Cape Town later in the week. The squad for the first Sunfoil Test match against India starting at PPC Newlands on January 5th will be named on Thursday.

 

[mmkextreme_1]

Damn, what a sorry record to be a part of for team Pakistan :/