Aussies prey on South African aggression
St Lucia - This was supposed to be the clash of the titans. Many were calling it the real World Cup final. It turned into a massive anticlimax as well short of a defendable total in the second semi-final.
Australia’s batsmen barely blinked as their unbeaten run in World Cup stretched to 28 games as they reached their fourth successive final appearance, replying to South Africa’s lowest ever World Cup total.
After losing Adam Gilchrist seventh ball, then suffering a slight setback when Ricky Ponting was bowled through the gate by a pearler from Andre Nel, Matthew Hayden showed there is more to his resume than top-order biffing.
And he found a perfect ally in Michael Clarke in a third-wicket stand of 60 to get them to within touching distance, Clarke striking another clinical half-century.
It says much for the strength in depth of the batting order that they would still have had confidence even if three further wickets had fallen, with Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson waiting for a big innings as they have all tournament.
Sri Lanka may make breakthroughs in the final on Saturday, but do they have the bowling to run right through this line-up? I doubt it.
In the build-up to the match, South Africa talked about their brand of Brave Cricket, but it looked foolhardy as they tried to be too aggressive against some outstanding bowling after winning the toss.
On five occasions, batsmen were dismissed straight after hitting a boundary, showing a real lack of pragmatism.
Jacques Kallis was yorked while making room to drive Glenn McGrath through the covers again, while both AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs were caught behind trying to drive Shaun Tait shortly after hooking boundaries
Later, Shaun Pollock was caught and bowled by Brad Hogg off a leading edge just after cutting him to the rope in front of square and last man Charl Langeveldt was bowled trying something very strange against Shane Watson.
Given the obvious early swing being gained by Nathan Bracken, South Africa captain Graeme Smith’s decision to go down the wicket to take him on was inspired by adrenaline rather than rationale.
None of that should take anything away from the quality of Australia’s bowling, though.
Ponting preferred McGrath to Tait with the new ball with the clear intention of frustrating his opponents into mistakes.
McGrath retained his composure to deliver a beauty to Kallis, then tempt Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher into edging successive deliveries behind.
Tait provided his usual unpredictability but was too skiddy for De Villiers and found movement off the seam to dismiss both Gibbs and Andrew Hall.
Gibbs and Justin Kemp survived some hairy moments in their sixth-wicket stand of 60 but Tait returned to split them and Kemp was forced to lead the tail.
South Africa may have preferred Makhaya Ntini in their side had they known they would be defending such a low total, but the decision to take Pollock out of the attack after three stout overs at the top of the innings was a strange one.
Pollock is just one of a clutch of South African stars who began their careers together a decade ago and may end them having never reached a World Cup final.
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I am glad South Africa are out as we wont have to read no more dribble about them. its so obvious you dont like the team [who you probably dont even know] no matter what they do it was never going to be good enough with the english reporters as you are always trying to belittle them
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Oh, South Africa....how sad when we were all hoping for a repeat win over Australia. I was back in S Africa for my sons wedding and watched those first matches with the hundreds in sports pubs out Fourways area and I know we thought our chances this World Cup would be good.
Unfortuantely I dont think we had depth in our bowling as our former teams and that was our downfall in many ways.
I still love you my S African cricketers and miss seeing your games here in the States.
Hopefully, new young blood will come through so that we might raise once again and beat the "Aussies".
Safe trip home to the boys and remember we still love you and you will be back again in four years is it?
A young at heart '63' woman cricket lover who now lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Thank you for your website that I could turn to to get the results and your comments on the game.
Sorry that England didnt fair to well either.
Sincerely
Allana
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Good review of 2nd semi final.
I'm a Pakistani cricket follower. Wana share some of my thoughts.
New Pakistani captain first remarks were that he is going to follow agressive cricket. Okay agressive cricket is good, But, there is an important lesson to be learnt from current match. Be agressive, but don't switch off mind during the process :)
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I hate to say this but this has been a horribly non competitve semi finals. Both NZ and SA made a lot of noise before their games and totally fizzled. If your gonna talk the talk then walk the walk fellas. Or You can do what Sri Lanka does. Just shut up and play !
Congrats to both Aus & SL, I hate to say this but SL's chances of winning are slim. But Good luck trying to stop this Ozzie runaway train.
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I think South Africa have a stronger batting line up than Sri Lanka but I believe that the latter have a much better bowling attack so i can see it being a low scoring affair, even with australia's batting might! some may think i'm a moron but i can see both teams 'cancelling' each other out!
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It is shaping up to be a cracker of a final between Sri Lanka and Australia. May the best team win.
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Hat's off to the Aussie brains trust who predicted the uber-aggressive SA batting, and the bowlers who did the job to dismantle it.
Should be a cracking game on Saturday. Our Aussie bowlers will feel confident they can contain the SL batting again. The big question, of course, is how much damage Malinga and Murali can do.
Can't wait.
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I never heard any one call this the 'real world cup final'. Anyone with half a brain could see that the two best teams in this world cup are the Aussies and Sri Lanka. Why?
Because they have the best bowling attacks. By some considerable margin, and anyone who plays cricket knows that the best cricket teams are defined by their bowlers.
Yet another ill-informed blog from the stunning inept ±«Óãtv team.
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To provide more competition few years ago the Australian cricket board introduced the idea of another side from Australia, the Australian A team along side Australia, England and Zimbabwe in the tournament, which was then called as VB series. It was Australia A and Australia who qualified for the final in the end.
I think its time now for the ICC to do the same in the world cup as it looks that only another side from Australia can beat the present Australian team. It will not be the bad decision to take; at least it will provide more badly needed competition in the tournament like the world cup. It looks so strange that last time Australia lost in the world cup was in 1999. Not even in this millennium. There will not be a surprise if Australia A and Australia qualified for the final. The simple reason is the standard in Australia is so high that any first class state side like Victoria or New South Wales etc can beat any national cricket team in the world. It’s now time to take such kind of decision as it would give more competition. Clearly Australia does deserve to have two teams in the world cup. They are so good right now.
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i think there should have not been a super 8 stage and the ICC should have just used 2003 format. This would stop pointless games at end and would have forced Sri Lanka and New Zealand to play their full strength teams against Aus. As for Australia bashing everyone remember that S.A had them on the ropes in preliminary round and only injury and lucky run-out stopped them
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As a Seth Efrican I blame the coaching staff for this display. After watching England's tepid effort against the Aussies [9 runs in first 7 overs!] they obviously decided to do a George Costanza and do the OPPOSITE swinging wildly at every ball. This was a recipe for disaster.
Oh yes I also blame the batsmen. And the bowlers as well. I f we could just improve in these areas we we regain our no. 1 one-day ranking.
GO THE PROTEAS
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I agree with deathbymice. I have also not heard of anyone call it the "real" final. The best two teams in the tournament are undoubtedly Srilanka (who have thrashed NZ twice) and ofcourse Australia. SA on the other hand were comprehensively beaten by Bangladesh. They were also soundly defeated by NZ as well as destroyed by Australia twice. SA do not have the nerves to win a big match (deliver when it matters) as evidenced by their performance in the 92,96,99 and 03 world cups. So i wish people wouldn't make dimwitted statements as the REAL final is on Saturday and its between Australia and Srilanka.
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It is unlikely anyone can challenge Aussies in cricket, in both forms of the game. No coach. no strategy, can win matches, it's the sheer challenge of sporitng the baggy green.
India has wasted millions in copying Aussie style for years, and under John Wright they managed a bit of a success, playing like the Aussies. No other team has even come close to Aussies.
What's the point in South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand all bragging their semi final entry, when they are so distant a second to Australia. This is clearly a problem.
Just like Coco Cola and Pepsi Colas are brand names, so is Auatralia. You cannot match it by imitation.
So, let us not kid oursleves by saying we will copy Aussies in their own game. As Bobby Simpson says, be yourself, play your natural game. That's probably the closest any team will get to beating Australia
RavBalky
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This Australian team has so many detractors. People falling over themselves to call them every name in the book. Yet the team this world cup have been fantastic on and off the field. They have been wonderful ambassadors for the game. They play the game hard but what happens on the field stays on the field. It was laughable last week to see New Zealanders rip into Hayden and call him a big aggressive bully. Sledging in the media is far worse than on the field and Hayden let his bat do the talking whilst thumping another hundred against the over-rated Kiwis. I wish the likes of Gavaska (who has been relentless all world cup), Ranatunga, Botham, Holding, Perore et al, who continually try to detract from this side, could really call it as it is. That this is one of the greatest, if not the greatest cricket team of all time. Oh, and you don't see Ponting taking the non-striker off the ground every time he disagrees with the umpires decision!
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Have you not seen Sri Lanka play? Mahela Jayawardene's class act against New Zealand clearly showed that Sri Lanka will not be over-awed by either the occasion or the opponent, unlike South Africa. Besides, the last time SL and Aus met in a WC final... what about that history?
And as for Sri Lanka's bowling attack - Vaas can easily match McGrath; Malinga is as fast as Tait but way more accurate; and compare Hogg to Muralitharan? Perish the thought! Sure, Australia have Bracken and Watson/Symonds, but if Australia bat second, they'll have to contend with the other Sri Lankan spinners.
Should be fun to watch on Saturday.
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It is unlikely anyone can challenge Aussies in cricket, in both forms of the game. No coach. no strategy, can win matches, it's the sheer challenge of sporitng the baggy green.
India has wasted millions in copying Aussie style for years, and under John Wright they managed a bit of a success, playing like the Aussies. No other team has even come close to Aussies.
What's the point in South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand all bragging their semi final entry, when they are so distant a second to Australia. This is clearly a problem.
Just like Coco Cola and Pepsi Colas are brand names, so is Auatralia. You cannot match it by imitation.
So, let us not kid oursleves by saying we will copy Aussies in their own game. As Bobby Simpson says, be yourself, play your natural game. That's probably the closest any team will get to beating Australia
RavBalky
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shahid shah
Be serious. Australia have been blessed with the fact that they have had several great players (of all time) at the SAME time.
Lets not get carried away, they are fallible as everybody else, if England had held their nerve at 170-2 - who knows what would have happened? The point is that everyone is in awe of them, which makes them even better. (The same people who gave us no chance in 2005)
And when Haden, Pontin, Gilchrist and McGrath are not at the next World Cup, we know what will happen!!
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It is unlikely anyone can challenge Aussies in cricket, in both forms of the game. No coach. no strategy, can win matches, it's the sheer challenge of sporitng the baggy green.
India has wasted millions in copying Aussie style for years, and under John Wright they managed a bit of a success, playing like the Aussies. No other team has even come close to Aussies.
What's the point in South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand all bragging their semi final entry, when they are so distant a second to Australia. This is clearly a problem.
Just like Coco Cola and Pepsi Colas are brand names, so is Auatralia. You cannot match it by imitation.
So, let us not kid oursleves by saying we will copy Aussies in their own game. As Bobby Simpson says, be yourself, play your natural game. That's probably the closest any team will get to beating Australia
RavBalky
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The Aussies are brilliant. that they hammer everyone the way they have is down to the other teams playing into their hands. To reach 300 doesnt mean you have to start out at 6 or 7 an over whether you bat first as SA did or 2nd as per NZ. Lets hope Sri Lanka can play a measure innings the way Jayawardene did on Tuesday.
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Deathbymince, Not sure what you've been up to in the last few days. Perhaps you've been speaking to the same people around the Australia and South Africa teams that I have.
If not, maybe you could permit me to convey what they've been saying without insulting me.
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Ponting played mindgames before setting up this match and singling-out only Kallis.
No doubt, Oz are better team and this what they showed today. For Aussies, SL would have to be very clinical as they were against NZ and shouldn't take anything account but to their strategy.
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Was that SA aggressive tactics against Aussies or silliness? Only other team in this WC made similar approach against Aussies and paid price was Bangladesh in their 1st super 8 match………………..but that was understandable, because the match was reduced to 22 overs………….and in the hindsight 104/6 by BD does not look as bad as SA.
It amazes me how a team that scored 400+ run to win a match against the same opponent could bat first after winning the toss………………………..at least by Aussies being batting first, the game wouldn’t be decided by lunch break……………………Anyway, the two most deserving sides are in the final!
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Banbrotam,
Do you consider it merely good fortune that Australia have so many good players simultaneously? I invite you to think a bit harder about that.
Allow me to paraphrase you slightly: "Be serious. Australia have been blessed with the fact that they have had several great players (of all time) at the SAME time.
And when the Waugh twins, Warne, Taylor and Boon are not at the next World Cup, we know what will happen!!"
Do you see what I mean? It isn't luck - it is the *system*. And with the system in place, there will always be excellent players on the team. The Australians may not always seem unbeatable, but they will always be right up there, and they will always seem to have a lot of excellent players.
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Nice to see you stand up for yourself Martin. There probably are people who thought this was the final, though I am not one of them. SA are massively overrated and cannot even dream of matching SL's variety. SL also have a nice bunch of players who can nurdle their way to the 30s before anyone even realizes it. This is in conjunction with Jayasuria and Mahela make them the complete package as far as batting is concerned. As far as bowling goes: an accurate (metronomic) left armer, a right arm freak who bowls with searing pace, Murali, and a couple of other role players means that they have bowling covered too. I am not really a Sri Lanka supporter, but really I have to give the variety card to them.
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Hello Martin. I managed to get in this match and in spite of the one sided affair it was a pleasure simply being in the same grounds as this Australian team. I had almost turned back when I realized South Africa were 5 wickets down before I got to the shuttle bus !!
In bowling, batting and fielding they operate on another planet. Simple features indicate the level of their game such as the laser throws into the keeper even if it is just a matter of getting the ball back to the bowler. They constantly keep themselves wired for this version of the game.
Driving a 83 mph ball back down the pitch off a perfect length and it comes off the meat of the bat with no apparent doubt as to what the intention was.
Brave Cricket is indeed the criteria for this one day game but you need the mindset, confidence, talent and physical conditioning to make this happen.
Everytime I heard the thunderous crack of the bat resounding around the Beausejour Ground it amazed me to realize that cricket had reached such a level.
Time for the rest of the world to catch up to this new beeed of animal from Down Under.
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I am an Indian cricket fan who switched loyalties to South Africa once the Indian team was out. This was sheer disappointment today. What were the proteas thinking? It's high time these sledging Aussies are taught a lesson. I am sick and tired of the Aussies winning. Isn't there some anti trust law out there we could use to stop their monopoly ???
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Once again, I see that my comments of earlier today are not posted. Anyway, I will try again.
Since I have to reason to doubt Marty that "many" were calling this the real final, I can only conclude that the "many" (I presume experts) have obviously been sitting too long in the hot Caribbean sun and it has affected their brains (another piece of evidence that this WC is too long).
How for the life of me after a near death experience against Sri Lanka and a humiliating loss against Bangladesh, can anyone pick South Africa as a finalist ahead of New Zealand and Sri Lanka?
South Africa are a bunch of whiners. Yes, they had a tough schedule in that there were long periods of doing nothing causng boredom to set in, but other teams had to endure the same and they did not complain. In fact, the home team had it worse playing back to back to back in one stretch and then getting 9 days off.
I liken the South Africa team to a bully and the best way to attack a bully is to hunt him like you hunt a wild animal. They bully will beat up on the little guy and stomp on him when he is down, but if the other guy connects with a counter punch, the bully backs away like a coward.
Okay, that's harsh, but the fact is South Africa is not a team that can come from behind and win. Against Australia, South Africa came out agressive and after they were knocked down a couple of times, their WC campaign crashed before the Australians broke into a sweat. Fact is for South Africa,it's always all or nothing. They never seems to have a plan B. Winners usually do and that's why Australia is playing Sri Lanka in the "REAL" final.
Mohamed (Breado)
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to SportySardar, what sour grapes!!!! The australian team have behaved well on and off field. Whinging about the fact that they play so well will never help any other team improve. The only way to beat them is to work at becoming as good as them. Australia have agood team not by chance. By hard work
I have felt right since the beginning of this world cup that SL was the only team that could give the Aussies a run for their money and i still believe SL can beat our guys. Its all about self belief and lots and lots of training. SL are probably the only team that seem to think they can beat the Aussies so they may well do so. the rest of the teams are fine until they need to put in that little bit more effort and then they just collaspe. And to think these forums were full of the doom and gloom posters who were saying our team was all washed up as soon as warnie left.
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Sorry Martin, I can't really see many people thinking Australia versus South Africa was the real final given that quite a few people were talking of an early South African exit after they lost to Bangladesh. A fair amount of people were tipping England to finish ahead of them had the England boys beaten SA. There's no doubt that the actual final will be featuring the best two teams in the tournament.
Once again you've had South Africa completely outclassed by Australia. The SA approach was typified by Smiths's bizarre early missed swipe leading to his dismissal and continued down that road. However the moment that summed up SA cricket best for me came from an Australian error. It was at the end of the SA innings when Shaun Tait dropped that catch. It was a simple catch, a terrible miss but the SA balcony all pointed and jeered Tait. Yeah, nice one boys. You've all batted pretty poorly, you're about to be dismissed for under 150 by the eventual champions, you've once again looked like a team who say all the right things but collapse in the face of pressure and you're all there jeering an Aussie for making a mistake. Ha! Who looked the bigger fool today, Tait or the SA top order? You don't have the right to laugh and gesture when you've batted that poorly. I hope Tait saw that footage later and gave some gestures back. He dropped a simple catch but he's going to be going home with a World Cup winners medal in his pocket.
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The Aussies are favourites by any rational standard. They are also the sentimental favourites of several of the fans, particularly those who gave Sri Lanka no chance.
For me is not over till it is over, for several reasons.
1. In this entire tournament the Aussies did not face quality spin while chasing decent target. The faced Vettori and the Sri Lankan second line of Jayasuriya & Co., both in easy circumstances.
2. I hate to say it, but even excellent pace was largely unavailable, and when faced with South Africa's quicks, the Oz top order have looked vulnerable. Look at how Ponting went... (If the South Africans had kept their wits about them and got to 100/3 in 25 overs there was a good chance for them to go for 250-275 and set a decent target. Of course with Chatterbox Smith leading, even Kallis was pushed to play a non-Kallis innings. Smith should have stayed there for the first 10 overs, and then had a go. Kallis should have been allowed to play the long innings. In the end I cannot blame Smith: he has no spinner in the side and his bowler are what the Aussies love for desert.)
3. Well how good is the Australian bowling? Very good. Perhaps the best in the tournament, just a nose ahead of Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka already had a look at the Aussie bowling and they managed 220 plus in a low key affair. Now just imagine the Sri Lankans batting first again and pushing that total to 250 in the final. Then bring in Vaas, Malinga and Murali... get the drift? If Hayden goes in the first 10 with a quick 50, Sri Lanka are still in the frame as their spinners will dry up the runs from over 15-35. On a bouncy track, Murali will be a handful... not to forget the other three spinners. I doubt that Sri Lanka will need 10 overs from Maharoof. That would be too expensive, and not give them a chance to get the Aussie wickets.
I say Sri Lanka by about 20 runs if they bat.
I say Australia by abouat 50 runs if they bat.
These teams don't chase as well as they target. That is human after all.
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I think it will be great final - provided that Sri Lanka's batsmen do not choke. I'd love for the Sri Lanka to win, and then hear all the drunken Aussies cry about Murali's action. Lol.
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smashed.... like every other amateur team that has come up against us
it would be a better world cup with Australia and Australia A, Australia B, Australia C....then I think it might be South Africa....
the rest of the world arent in the same league, but everyone in Australia already knew that
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smashed.... like every other amateur team that has come up against us
it would be a better world cup with Australia and Australia A, Australia B, Australia C....then I think it might be South Africa....
the rest of the world arent in the same league, but everyone in Australia already knew that
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banbrotam wrote:
shahid shah
Be serious. Australia have been blessed with the fact that they have had several great players (of all time) at the SAME time.
FOOL .... so do you think that there are no fringe players in the Australian side and that things will be bad when ponting et al retire ?
Have you heard of Cameron White and Phil Jacques ? These guys are on the perifery of the Aus team, currently destroying all local and state bowlers in Australia... the Australian team at No.1 is here for a long long time
And am i the only person prepared to mention that our best bowler BRETT LEE has not been in this tournament..
And havent we missed him...
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The best thing to come from this is we won't have to hear Graeme Smith's whining anymore - he's too busy chocking.
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That was a superb bowling display by Australia
and yet another choking performance from S.A.
It should make for an excellent final but I expect
Sri Lanka will need a big performance from
Jayasariya to give them a chance of winning.
Both teams bowl well but the edge is with Australia
in the batting.
Anyway only the English reporters haven't
recognised these two teams as far and away the
best two teams at the cup.
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SA lost before a ball was bowled. They were out-psyched by the Aussies who forced them to play right into their hands.
There is a difference between fearing your apponents and respecting them. No respect - you pay the price.
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Today i am crying not bcause India has lost and out of this world cup but bcause these blady australians are in the final .i hate them please Sri Lanka teach them a lesson.
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Shame ! I know I was cocky before the game - see my previous blog comments - but Smithy and the boys were just not up to it. The cold Castles will have have to wait. the fridge was stocked but the practice fairway beckons on Saturday, not the tele. C'mon Lanka c'mon, "Slinger" Malinga I'm with you all the way - let me know if you need a golf lesson !
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I think Sri Lanka is gonna screw Aussies on saturday....
both teams have 4 batsman who r performing well in dis world cup even though they have 7 batsman...
Hayden = Jayasuriya
Ponting = Mahela
Clark = Silva
Symonds = Dilshan
Gilcrist n Hussy r not perfoming well in dis world cup n they r not gonna do in the final too but i guess sangakkara n tharanga would do better than them in da final...by da way its time for gilcrist to announce his retiremenet no point of keeping him in da side...
when balling is concern,
McGrath = Vaas
Tait = Malinga
Braken n Hogg = Murali
definetly sri lankans r more power than aussies whn compare the balling attack...
so wat else....lankans gonna screw aussies...
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"Many were calling it the real World Cup final"
don't think so martin !!
maybe some SA fans and minority of Australians but not the majority
lets face it Martin , the best two sides are in the final , lets get rid of our english ego's and just accept that SL are the second best team in the world
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Don, as a cricket analyst and pundit, you are the thinking man's rissole. And learn to spell, ya plonker!
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Can Sri Lanka match Australia?
Just remember that they have "Big" Tom Moody on their side. It's gonna be a great final against the best two sides in the comp. Best batting vs the best bowling (you work out which way it is...)
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Brasso , i assume u r one of the leading cricket pundit in the world !!!
........... but i do feel aussies are light years ahead of others , SL might give them a good fight by they are the NO 1 no question abt it
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As a Saffer, Kudos to the Aussies. The stage was set for the team to bat around Kallis, but Punter played on Kallis as a slow batman in the press and the trick worked perfectly. Good ploy!!
Brave cricket is one thing, stupid cricket is another. We were either going to be amazing or poor and the results speak for themselves (A loss to Bangladesh for one).
Good luck to Aus and the lankans, by far the most consistent teams of this WC. Should hopefully be a cracker.
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Doug, you should have been authoring this blog. Most certainly South Africa were psyched out by the Aussies even before a ball was bowled. The Aussies goaded Smith, Kallis and co. with a lot of verbatim and , as many times before, the South Africans fell for it as they did in 1999, when they and Pakistan were clearly the better sides.
No "Ashes" (Aussie/English) commentator or journalist will talk about this, but is there any doubt that Australia were mighty lucky to get into the finals not only in 1999 but in 1996 as well. In 1999 the South Africans should have beaten them twice but due to sheer luck, Gibbs dropping a (Waugh) sitter and the Klusener/Donald madness in the semis, the Aussies got through to the final where Pakistan imploded.
In 1996 the Windies had them at their mercy in the semis and then Ritchie Richardson's men committed mass suicide. The "Ashes experts" later came out with the story of how media favourite, Shane Warne, mesmerised the Windies when that was far from the truth. He only cashed in. Thankfully Arjuna Ranatunga's men put things in order by giving the Aussies a mighty hiding in the finals. And to this day the Ashes experts talk about that humiliation as a big upset. Yes the no.1 ranked team had beaten but not by a "lucky" team but by a side which had absolutely thrashed every opponent they met in that World Cup by playing far better than anybody else. They won every single match by huge margins - in fact more convincingly than any world champion before or since. Incidentally you will not hear of the dominance of the Sri Lankans in 1996, only "how could Australia have lost".
Here, before the NZ-SL semi final match the ±«Óãtv experts were telling us that the Kiwis should beat the Sri Lankans - this despite that fact that Sri Lanka had crushed them in their earlier encounter. Well, events proved these ignorant 'experts' wrong. And now they say the Australia- South Africa semi-final was the "real final"? And yet, as someone pointed out , earlier after being humiliated by Bangladesh these very same band of experts were bashing the South Africans for being inconsistent. If so how could they have been a contender at all. No, as another post has mentioned the two best teams have made it into the finals although I must say that I'm disappointed with Smith and Kallis especially. They should have waited a few overs before trying to have a go.
Incidentally someone has said that NZ, SA and SL did some bragging after reaching the semis. I think that is not quite true. Maybe the South African and Kiwi players may have done some big talking but not so the Sri Lankan team, although some bloggers have been doing that for a while which does not look all that good.
Australia are the best team in the world and have played the best cricket in this tournament but that does not mean they cannot be beaten in an occasion such as the world cup. How many "best teams" have won the big one in the past. Only the West Indian teams of 1975 & '79, the Sri Lankans in 1996 and Australia of 2003 have won the world cup playing the best cricket of the lot throughout an entire campaign.
This final is not a forgone conclusion.
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unfortunately, this performance by the proteas reinforces the notion that they are a bunch of chokers - i hate to say it but it's been like that since the 1992 cwc. what on earth possessed smith, kallis and prince when they went for their (fatal) shots, at least gibbs and kemp batted sensibly under the circumstances.
hopefully, the sri lankans, provided that malinga, vaas and murali are playing, will give these aussies a REAL game.
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I think its turned out right and that it will be a close final that either side could take. As an Aussie i of course want our guys to win but i dont think i would mind so much if SL beat us. They are a good team and to be beaten by them will be no shame at all. I like that both teams have a loose cannon bowler in tait and slinger malinga. Its funny how the three teams that did all the talking about how they could beat the aussies (england, new zealand and south africa) have not made the final. And to those whingers going on about arrogant Aussies etc, jealousy is a curse and not becoming at all.
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Jayantha Jayman good comments.
You others who choose to slag off the Australian team because they sledge should take a look at some of the stuff floating around on YouTube. Australia play hard on the field, they are ruthless, and they are not grinning idiots. They have also compiled a record of total domination in this tournament that will probably never be beaten. Can Sri Lanka win? Absolutely. Australia deserve to be short priced favourites but any team can be beaten and Sri Lanka deserve their place. But please guys, do us a favour and leave comments about how much you hate Australians out of these forums.
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once again, another SA sport outfit implodes on the big day!
Hats off to the Aussies, great team!
What surprises me is the every team falls for oldests Aussie trick in the book: media frenzy.
The aussie media has been baiting the Saffers all week and not being too bright, Graeme Smith & co take the bait. They talk themselves into a corner and we all cringe when Smith opens his mouth.
SA needs some seriously good sports psychologists!
We can only pray that following 2 decades of sporting victories, Australia will produce a generation of beer-swilling, lays-chomping couch-potatoes!
Maybe then SA can claim a World Cup trophy!
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For me the semis and almost all the Super 8s went absolutely according to form. Yesterday's game was no exception - SA were by some margin the weakest team left & got clobbered by the best. I've no doubt 'many' may have said this was the real final, but I'd guess they were all clutching their tins of Castle at the same braai. Agree re Ntini though - the SA bowling was horribly one-dimensional without him.
Final looks a lot closer, if only because Oz haven't yet faced the full SL bowling attack, which no other team has been able to handle: the top score against it so far is actually England's 233. But I'd still take Oz at least to edge it.
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Will the Australian Cricket Board be sending a 2nd XI to the caribbean to give the 1st XI a decent game once the world cup is over?
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"Many were calling it the real World Cup final"
This commenst must of been from the SA camp as they know that it's as far as they get in the world cup...... so might as well call it the final.....
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So looking at how bad New Zealand and South Africa have been in the semi's were England really that bad? Would we have put up a bit more of a fight?
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I was hoping that coruption had been stopped in cricket but after watchingthe South African batting I'm not so sure. Even the commentators couldn't beleive what they were seeing. I'm not taking anything away from Australia but they weren't that good and I would say that even England could have given them a better game.
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"Captain Ricky Ponting insists Australia have no fear of Sri Lanka in Saturday's World Cup final "
Well no one asked if he was scared. So why say he's not scared? (_._)
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I think Australia are invincible team at the moment and nobody can stop them to take this trophy home.South Africans had a strategy to destroy australian bowling attack but, perhaps,they forgot that they were playing against best bowling attack in the world and they made mistakes,exactly what aussies wanted them to do.I think their decision to bat first,was wrong.
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I heard Dr. Ali Bacher speaking to J. Agnew on TMS at the end of the shambolic but familiar batting performance. Dr. Bacher was saying how disappointed he was because a load of SA businessmen were with him to watch the semi-final! Then he said, as if through an opium-induced haze, 'but, hey. I'm an optimist. The RSA team is mentally tough'!!!!
When England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Windies, Pakistan, India, (etc.) crash out they are lambasted by the press (written, TV and Radio): "spineless", "primadonas", etc. Sometimes these lambastings are deserved, sometimes they're not. When RSA slump and underperform it's seen as a mystery; as tho' the sun has failed to set in the west. It AIN'T a bloody mystery. They are not mentally tough. And this crazy (conspiracy) theory that they are needs to be disposed of.
Mental toughness in the rather privileged and dreamy arena of international cricket (as opposed to the mountains of Afghanistan or the backsteets of Basra) amounts to a little bit more than the pulling of outrageously silly faces at opposing players; it amounts to more than the relentless clapping of hands whilst shouting "come on boys, let's have another one", or saying in a press conference on the eve of a tour "We're gonna mentally scar you".
If you want an example of mental toughness, look in Ponting's eyes when he's called to the crease a little earlier than expected.
I was concerned for the fate of the Windies when Brian Lara, having completed a gentle group stage said he was very confident with were his players were at. Apparently, Graeme Smith belied his team's deep-rooted fear of AUS by saying something equally daft yesterday morning: something to the effect that 'I've haven't seen the boys so confident before'.
I see something else in Ponting's eyes: a mixed emotion. Pride at the standards HIS team has set, but also a little regret or at least bewilderment that no other nation can follow his lead and give the Aussies a decent game.
Cricket has become a circus with mainly mediocre tricks. Until the Aussies come to town. The South Africans would do well to stop deluding themselves. I find it arrogant and objectionable. They're not in the same stable as Sri Lanka let alone the Aussies. At least the English acknowledge their frailties. Mental toughness is about that too.
The Sri Lankans now have an opportunity. I'll be interested to see how they shape up. I wish them well, not because I'm a Pom (although, unless I'm very much mistaken, I am a Pom), rather because a toughly fought contest is the only fitting tribute to this Aussie side. Incidentally, if the Sri Lankans win, the Aussie team will easily live with that. Yet another sign of mental toughness and maturity.
Eitherway, now, I think cricket wins. Had any other teams reached the final I'm not sure whether that'd be true.
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Someone posted earlier that Australia's success is not a matter of luck. It is the result of a well organised, competitive and tough national structure. Of course along the way even successful teams will experience the odd hiccup (and Australia could well be beaten on any one day) however their results remain consistently high.
Instead of whinging about Australia others might better spend their time assessing their own teams efforts and try identifying which aspects of the Australian model might best suit their nation.
Looking for excuses just continues to deny the real failings in your own sides. If you really want to compete look to your own teams first. It is interesting to note that both John Buchanon and Ricky Ponting believe that Australia has room to improve and develop further.
As an Australian I look forward to the final and wish the SL side the best of luck. May the best team on the day win.
Birdie.
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The SA batting was appalling.
What the hell was Smith doing taking a step outside off to fend wide deliveries from Bracken? In fact, he did it twice. The first was a near miss and he didn't learn a thing.
Kallis's shot was insane. He batted like there was two balls remaining in the innings. When he opened up the gate to belt McGrath to the fence, I said to my mate "He's not going to survive the over batting like that.". Two balls later McGrath yorked him.
Prince's shot took the cake. I could have piloted the Titanic between his bat and pad. There was absolutely zero footwork.
The only batsman who was out to a genuinely good ball was Boucher.
It never ceases to amaze me that a team which looks so good on paper simply does not perform.
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South Africa have a couple of top batsman and are sharp in the field but are otherwise overated.
The best two teams are through to the final so cricket lovers everywhere should be pleased about that!
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We sit at home without the talent to do what even the lowest teams in the tournament can do. Critical after the event, and offering amateur opinion. Feeling somehow let down, we do have some guides of what may be possible for people with the talent.
When Sri Lanka lost their talented opener, Jayasuria, captain Jayawardene had plan B. get your head down wear down a good bowling attack with ones and twos then build to run a ball status. Could our coaches persuade these men of great talent to use their cricket brain in a similar fashion, or is the Gung Ho approach so built in to the SA mentality that we shall never learn
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RALPH BROOKER:- in COMMENT 55
"I see something else in Ponting's eyes: a mixed emotion. Pride at the standards HIS team has set, but also a little regret or at least bewilderment that no other nation can follow his lead and give the Aussies a decent game."
What are you, a mind reader? you can deduce some cricketer's emotions from looking at his eyes? Lol!
But the rest of your article was cool.
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This game was terminally boring like nearly all the games in this world cup. Is anybody still watching? Are there any figures for television audiences? If there are, allowance should be made for people who watch a bit and switich off just before they drop off. This world cup could give rise to a new dating system, replacing AD. We could start talking about pre-world cup and post-world cup, except that no-one can remember it starting. The only faint bit of interest left is the possibility of Sri Lanka beating the Aussies. Not likely but at least it would make a change. It would be well received - that is if anyone notices.
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In Cricket, past happenings will not help anyway. The team that plays better cricket with a bit of luck on that day will clinch the match.
So, no predictions please. Let we judge the best team by their performance on the the final.
Hope to have a very high class cricket on Saturday. We watch you guys, AUS. - SL.
Keep up guys.
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In Cricket, past happenings will not help anyway. The team that plays better cricket with a bit of luck on that day will clinch the match.
So, no predictions please. Let we judge the best team by their performance on the the final.
Hope to have a very high class cricket on Saturday. We watch you guys, AUS. - SL.
Keep up guys.
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Given the challenge at hand, SA should have played more sensibly and patiently. They simply gave away the wickets instead of building a respectable total. They may or may not have won the match in the end, but at least should have given a good fight instead.
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mission will be complete on 28th with Sri Lanka's
deserved win
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australia is really performing splendid and
they should be given the real credit for being
champion of the world cup once again.
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Facts below says SL is as good as AU, agree AU is more consistant and playing well but no way you can say AU will win...without giving some chance for SL...
TOP PERFORMERS IN WORLD CUP 2007
AUSTRALIA - SRI LANKA
BATTING:
Most Runs M Hayden 621 D Jayawardene 529
Highest score M Hayden 158 D Jayawardene 115
Most 100s M Hayden 3 S Jayasuriya 2
Most 50s R Ponting 5 D Jayawardene 5
Best Average M Clarke 85.60 D Jayawardene 66.12
Best Strike Rate M Hayden 104.02 S Jayasuriya 99.01
BOWLING:
Most wickets G McGrath 25 M Muralitharan 23
Best figures N Bracken 4-19 M Muralitharan 4-19
Best average G McGrath 13.04 M Muralitharan 13.34
Best strike rate G McGrath 17.7 S Malinga 18.8
Best economy rate N Bracken 3.41 C Vaas 3.33.
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At 10:08 AM on 26 Apr 2007, geneva lynn wrote: mission will be complete on 28th with Sri Lanka's
deserved win
The 28th of what? December 2107?
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A fantastic collection of comments. Cant recall when I last read through so many good ones on the one thread.
Roshan Fernando - yeah, very well said.
Abhishek Verma wrote: "Today i am crying..." - so stop crying and grow up.
Banbrotam - who was it that said: there are no coincidences...
somebozo999 - he, he! excellent.
dash - dont read too much into their comments, most likely they were also playing a psychological battle out there. remember, the likes of Holding werent champs for nothing.
Andy Plowright - agree Andy. That told us a lot about their own 'character', shall we say. And character has a lot to do with success.
Iain - must say that thought crossed my mind when I saw it. But no, if the odds were a lot greater, then I'd rethink.
ralph brooker - words of wisdom
And my tip is: it's anyone's game. But at 2/5 Aus & 7/4 SL, I'm going with SL.
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the fact is Australia has a win at all cost attitude, we don't need to manufacture plans to play cricket. we have an embedded culture into how we play sport, ultra competitive, hard and fast, sometimes it doesn't always work but will more times than not. feel sorry for teams who think they can take on this style at a moments notice. As aussies it is born within thats our attitude, thats our culture. personally i have been unimpressed with this world cup, we lost the no. 1 ranking to a bunch of pretenders and i hopoe for crickets sake the final is a well fought out competitive game regaurdless of who wins. AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE.
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I will put my money on Sri Lanka in the final. I hope they will be able to turn the table against Aussies.
Best of Luck SL !!!!!!!!!!!11
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Hi Guys I think you are being a little harsh on the South Africans for they are a good team but made some bad mistakes in this semi final.If I remember correct Smith said he always liked to chase a score so i dont know what happened this time.Did anyone see the first round game between these two teams I think that was one of the best games of the cup where the south africans matched the Ausies almost all the way.I think a very important move the Srilankans have made is keeping out their front line bowlers in their group 8 match with the ausies and that may be the difference or cause them problems.Who knows unless they play like Champions ...we will see what happens on saturday just hope it will be better than the semis....
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whether you like the Australians or not but one thing is clear they you should have to respect them for their outstanding cirkceting ability. They crushed the south African as they are playing with canada or bermuda. South African could not bear the weight of expectations. Way back in 1999 they lost to Australian by sheer luck but this time they invented new tactics in the form of their over aggression. They created so much hype but the result is same . Now instead of remembering their 1999 semifinals against the same team they want to forget the latest experience. No doubt they are the real CHOKERS.
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Reply to. 70
Dear Murph,
dont get excited like Ponting all of a sudden admitting that they have no fear to SL....why & who asked?it is the inner conscience feeling coming out.
Similarly you & i May not live to see December 2107 CWC if any.. if B'desh can beat India/RSA,
Ireland to Pakistan...more reality is still on the pipeline from SL
Avoid seeing a mentor & enjoy the finals 02 days later fm today 26th...
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Oh yes; it was being called the "real" Final here in SA, before the game. The South African "aggression" completely backfired on them, and left them looking really silly. They deserved it. We laugh at Andre Nel's antics - he is like a petulant child when he tries to play the 'hard man'.
Yes, I am also hoping for a Sri Lankan victory in the final, but I am doubtful. One thing for sure; they will play the game is the right manner, with good spirit, and none of this "Brave Cricket" nonsense!
Respect to Glenn McGrath; he shows us all how the game should be played. He is a gentleman, and I think one of the best, most consistent fast bowlers we have ever witnessed. Thank you (and Brian) for the memories.
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Birdie_numnums (i loved that movie!) is absolutely correct. For example, for a number of years now Australia has been working on fielding both left/right handed. Might sound simple enough but there is more to it. In much the same way that they do so for footy (afl and soccer). Constantly developing.
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Lets keep this in perspective.. SL are well-known to be BIG MATCH players.. and they have a QUALITY team which on its day is more than capable of beating the Aussie team AND THEY KNOW IT!
The million dollar question is WHO WILL PERFORM ON THE DAY!?
There's only one match to go and in my opinion its ANYBODY'S GAME.
As a Srilankan supporter I obviously think WE are goin to win.. so make no mistake.. this is NOT going to be a calk walk for Australia by far!
Dont forget last time WE WON!
BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!
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No chip on the shoulder for Yvonne then .....
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Lets keep this in perspective.. SL are well-known to be BIG MATCH players.. and they have a QUALITY team which on its day is more than capable of beating the Aussie team AND THEY KNOW IT!
The million dollar question is WHO WILL PERFORM ON THE DAY!?
There's only one match to go and in my opinion its ANYBODY'S GAME.
As a Srilankan supporter I obviously think WE are goin to win.. so make no mistake.. this is NOT going to be a calk walk for Australia by far!
Dont forget last time WE WON!
BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!
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Excellent post Ralph - if the Lankans beat us it will be no shame, as they are damn good. And your comments about Pontings' eyes are spot on, he is totally focussed on winning. Reminds me of Mick Doohan in that respect; a winning machine with a calculating mind...also Steve Waugh..and Clive Lloyd..
It's going to be a good final and could go either way; the Sri Lankans will have to bat very well indeed.
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Australia are the true champions, the best way to talk about your strength is on the pitch using the bat and the ball! Poor South Africa talked too much! We have the perfect final! Sri Langa well deserved a place in the final. Let the best team win!
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I just want to say that imm so dissappointed in the game between South Africa and Australia.I really had faith in the Proteas and thought tha they were really going to win this World Cup..Better luck next time boys!!!We are behind you all the way!!
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I just want to say that im so dissappointed in the game between South Africa and Australia.I really had faith in the Proteas and thought that they were really going to win this World Cup..Better luck next time boys!!!We are behind you all the way!!
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Ragu #70
Your skewed facts would have SL as good as Aus, but they are selective m’friend and paint a misguided picture only.
The facts are Aus have 4 bowlers in the ‘WC bowling top 10’, SL only have 2. I’d back Mcgrath over Vaas any day, Murali’s worst stats are against Aus and Malinga is no Brett Lee or Shane Bond. I’d rate Tait better than Malinga despite his accuracy problems.
Aus have 3 batsmen in the ‘WC top 10 batsmen’, SL have 2. The Aussies average above 70 (Hayden 77.62, Ponting 71.71 and Clarke 85.60). SL(Jayawardane 66.12, Jayasuriya 44.88).
If I were a betting man I’d bet on Aus every time. SL on current form, which while it is impressive and deserves some accolades, they would be lucky if they could pip the Aussies more than 1 in every 4-5 times. Sure they have a chance – but its slimmer than you would have people believe. Lets hope the match is close. I’d prefer to be on the edge of my seat.
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There was no doubt in my mind from the first match Australia played in the world cup that they were the eventual champions so much so that i even placed a bet and i'm pretty sure i'm in the money. Yippeeeeeee
Australian cricketers are the best in the world no dout and that stems from a winning mentality that all of Australia posesses, they win in any sport that they particiapte in.
Back to cricket and i'm hoping to see a good match on Saturday, but C'MON AUSTRALIA, the best thing would be to see Matthew Hayden rip Murali and Malinga's bowling apart.
I'll be watching the match in my flat in Darford Kent with Beers and Chicken and wearing my Australian Cricket top and cap with PRIDE.
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What can i write about that match. I hoped that it will be a great match to watch.Ii really wanted to see australia team out of the show but South africa proved that they deserve to be called choker. We saw the previous day how the captain of srilanka, mahela jayabardhone played responsibly. But the next match the senario was completely different. Graem Smith showed how immature he is yet. whole team was seeming to act as an angry school boy. It seems that Australian's pre-match comments did the total magic. South African's were intended to finish the opponent and found themselves in that position. I don't want to see astralians with the trophy again.
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i was surprised to see south africa choose to post a total. with such a long batting line up the obvious thing would've been to chase.
all credit to the aussies. they are ruthless with a capital R. the only chink is that the same batsmen are scoring all the runs (hayden, ponting, & clarke) & the rest are just feeding off scraps.
if sri lanka can find a way of getting rid of these 3 cheaply then the onus is on gilchrist, hussey, & symonds to score the 50+'s that are needed to win games.
the tournament on the whole has been a disappointment with very few games going to the wire. we really do need a memorable final regardless of the winner.
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There seems to be a lot of criticism of the SAF strategy, but IMO they went about it in the right way. Their execution was just not up to standard. They’ve seen OZ establish 300+ at every opportunity and knew that they had to post around that mark to give them a chance. The only way they can do this is to attack McGrath and Bracken early, disrupt their rhythm and get off to a flyer. You cant let such good bowlers dictate during the powerplays. Even with a more subdued start Aus was 150 after 30 with wickets in hand. 320+ was on the cards. Given the weight of runs Australia has posted and the lack of variety in the bowling attack, could they have won any other way? I doubt it..
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I think correspondents here make to much of what is said via media. The purpose is hype. I don't think it has an effect, it shouldn't have an effect, on
players at this level. The real difference is talent
on the frontline. Australia and Sri Lanka have top line quicks and spinners, NZ had Bond & Vettori and
South Africa had Pollock. These teams did well to make the semis given that India and Pakistan
didn't make the Super 8 with more talent at their disposal. That's where (NZ & SA) their competitive nature comes in. Australia is lucky to have both the talent and the determination as does Sri Lanka at
present.
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"Many were calling it the real World Cup final"
Who called it the real cup final? No-one I know. No-one in anny of the articles I have read previously. Lazy, very lazy.
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Bandara (no 57)
Ponting didn't use the word "fear" at all. The person writing the report did.
It's best to read things properly before commenting.
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Maybe now the South African team management and selectors will get booted. There is something wrong with cricket admin in South Africa. Same players, same rubbish cricket. Hopefully a complete change will happen and then maybe South African cricket will once again be great. Remember "boys" playing Zimbabwe, England, Bangladesh, etc and winning doesn't mean you are a great side and it certainly doesn't qualify you to beat Australia. Wake up and smell the bouncer !!
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MichealM on drugs:-
"I’d rate Tait better than Malinga despite his accuracy problems." Any specific reason? Or are you biased? I don't think Shaun Tait measures upto Malinga. He's rather easier to play.
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Without a doubt Australia are the team to beat and favourites, however anyone thinking that the result is as good as given is very naive.
We have two in form teams in the final, the best two teams in the final, both with match winners. Both teams have the mental strength to win in tight situations (in my view the Sri Lankans will handle the tight match situation better) as shown in their two tight super 8 games.
The situation the Australians are under, as with any tournament in any sport, is that having won relatively easily in every match, they have yet to be pushed in any match. How will they react if such a situation arises.
I feel the same outcome as the 1996 final!
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I am not a supportet of SA but wanted somebody to beat Aussies adn believed SA could. Smith throwing his wicket early was fine because you have to take risks against Aussies but I was aghast to see Kallis throwing his wicket in the same manner. I believe that killed any SA chances straighaway. After failing in his gamble Smith should have advised Kallis to stay patient and cosolidate.
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Martin Gough and Oliver Brett got it spot on in ther reports! South Africa's effort against Australia was brainless - aggravated by an obvious lack of big match temperament.
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If I were Sri Lanka and won the toss - make Australia bat and set a total. They're a class batting act who can chase down almost any total. Younger bowlers like Tait & Hogg may break under pressure.... this is the WC final!
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Thanks to Sri Lanka for making the final cos i reckon it would be tougher to play New Zealand in a final. Sri Lanka will still be a tough assignment but i reckon they will just be making up the numbers after we're finished with them.
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MichaelM 87#
Well Facts are from your own country news paper...possible the facts are skewd just like your mind... check the Sydney morning for more info :-)
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This SA side, like many of its earlier sides, are completely flat and one dimensional. Like the pitch that day which got u 430plus scores twice during the day. Before marvelling at the chasing down of 434 score should one question how on earth a top Test playing team could concede this absurd a score. The chase was possible that afternoon because Australia's attack was as flat and unidimensional that day as that of SA's. What that teaches any team? We can post big scores against Australia by aggression, steeping out to good bowlers and bullying tha ball over after over. Take the pitch away, these teams are never quite the same flat pitch bullys. As an Indian I have known batsmen enough who display such false mastery on flat pitches.
I agree completely with Martin in his assessment of SA here. Chokers or not they can never win tournaments with such kind of a team where batters and bowlers are robots from rival firms.They always remind me of every German soccer team, completely robotic and result oriented. Only the Germans have fathomed the art of ultimate success in tournaments somehow. I hate to see German soccer most of the times. And so is with SA cricket. So no tear for their loss inspite of such overfloeing sentimantality in cricket playing world.
I think the innings played by Mahela Jaywardhane is one of the finest seen in all one day cricket. Overa ggression without understanding the pitch and the overall context of the match is stupidity. Rarely it comes off. Even in bowling over aggression takes you to doom as India found out in the last final. Be aggressive when conditions suit you, whether batting or bowling. Or pay the price as India did in 2003 final and our robotic SA now.
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"I am glad South Africa are out as we wont have to read no more dribble about them. its so obvious you dont like the team [who you probably dont even know] no matter what they do it was never going to be good enough with the english reporters as you are always trying to belittle them."
Dribble, this is coming from a South African? Its hardly like your journalists are angels. When ever England tour there in either cricket or rugby it's as if the SA newspapers expect England to roll over and die! Admittedly I do expect the rugby union side to role over and die in the first test next month as they are sending over a second team. However the point remains that your journalists are as bad as ours are.
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MichaelM 87#
Well Facts are from your own country news paper...possible the facts are skewd just like your mind... check the Sydney morning for more info :-)
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Younger bowlers like hogg? Adrian, are you mad? He's 36 years old. Anyway, I definitely backing aus for this one, but I do think sir lanka have the class to win.
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I don’t understand all this blind hatred for SA, the goading that goes on amongst cricket fans these days is really pathetic, it shows that the game really has gone down hill, particularly in the UK.
So-called cricket fans are beginning to resemble thuggish football supporters more and more as the years have gone on! I always thought the level of abuse that has been directed at SA would have been reserved for Aus – England’s traditional rivals, but somehow the SA team have become the hate figures in cricket, god knows what we’ve done wrong to be deserve it.
England fans really can’t talk about how rubbish our cricket is, given the shambolic performance Michael Vaughan and his men put in during . Such hypocrisy! Not to mention the appallingly racist things I’ve seen said about certain SA players and criticism of our quota system. The English really are ing their true colours there and they accuse us South Africans of being racist?! Lol! IMO there's no room for sledging off the field!
From now on I’m sticking to rugby, the fans are far more civilized and there’s none of this “our national pride is on the line†rubbish. Honestly it’s sad how immature cricket has become!
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South Africa's aspirations in cricket will never be achieved. In Australia it's their national sport for the masses just as football is for the English.The national sport in South Africa was and still is football. Unfortunately they have never achieved much in that field either beacause of the years of suppression of the masses under apartheid and the subsequent and present difficulties of the masses due to unemployment levels of around 70%, probably the largest crime rate in the world, a few rich people(who play and are interested in cricket) and huge problems of abject poverty and disease. When you've got no food or fun in your belly you cannot worry about a game of cricket. As a result of all this some of their best cricketers like Kevin Pietersen and many others have left to play for other countries. This flow will increase and in the end the cricket team will follow the same trend as in Zimbabwe. All a great shame but nothing is taking place in the "running" of that country that will change the situation. From an English cricket point of view it bodes well as we may well be receiving an influx of Pietersen clones to bolster our county cricket and ultimately the national side should benefit. So Australia beware in 4 years time and hold on tight to the ashes!
Raymond Rudaizky
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well i am happy, already won a $200 bet from my mates that SL and AUS would play in the final. bring on the other $200 if australia wins! woooooooo
problem is, if the boys from down under fail me, i have to pay back the $200 and shout a round for all my mates..... EACH! slack buggers
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is it just me, or are two of the smallest populated western nations (AUS and NZ) the most dominating sporting nations in the world....
the anzacs truly are the spartans of the British Empire, no doubts what's so ever.
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Let's face it,
the only reason why the sri lankans are as good as they are is because an australian (Tom Moody) is coaching them.
the only reason why st helens win the super league every year is because an australian is coaching them
the only reason why the super league is WORTH watching is because the australians who make up the competition can actually play
the only reason why england won the ashes in 05 is because an australian (Rod Marsh) fixed their cricketing academy and an australian (Troy Cooley) was teaching them how to bowl
need i say anymore....
AUSTRALIA TO WIN
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Roshan Fernando: You whinge about a Sri Lankan success being labelled as 'lucky' then go on to label every Australian success, except for the World Cup where they went through undefeated, as being 'lucky'. You sound more bitter than insightful. If the bookmakers are correct and Australia win easily on Saturday I will look forward to your analysis on how the superior Sri Lankans lost to the lucky Aussies.
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With Aussies in the final we need luck and divine help to win it. May our team have both on Saturday and win the cup. Good Luck guys. Don't let down our country and all those lovely fans from other countries who are right behind you wishing you to win. What ever the out come may be we are proud of you. (Thank you to all the teams for the entertaniment they gave us during the WC. And good luck to the Aussies for a good game of cricket, though we want Sri Lanka to win the cup).
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With Aussies in the final we need luck and divine help to win it. May our team have both on Saturday and win the cup. Good Luck guys. Don't let down our country and all those lovely fans from other countries who are right behind you wishing you to win. What ever the out come may be we are proud of you. (Thank you to all the teams for the entertainment they gave us during the WC. And good luck to the Aussies for a good game of cricket, though we want Sri Lanka to win the cup).
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With Aussies in the final we need luck and divine help to win it. May our team have both on Saturday and win the cup. Good Luck guys. Don't let down our country and all those lovely fans from other countries who are right behind you wishing you to win. What ever the out come may be we are proud of you. (Thank you to all the teams for the entertainment they gave us during the WC. And good luck to the Aussies for a good game of cricket, though we want Sri Lanka to win the cup).
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Interesting all the criticism from fans of 'major teams that didn't make the Super 8 (MTTDMTS8.) It is the
MTTDMTS8s that displayed arrogance
by underestimating other teams, including the so called minnows who beat them.
Meanwhile Australia aren't everybody's cup of
tea, but they have worked hard and achieved
sustained success at the highest level, over a number of years, and deserve credit for it.
Actually, they were even better in the last Ashes series.
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I think the aussies have an advantage going into the finals, as they are equally balanced with a strong batting and bowling line up. SL has a good bowling attack, but i'm not sure about the consistency of their batting. SL seem to play better under pressure than SA and NZ. Anything can happen in cricket; looking forward to an interesting and competitive final...
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The two teams that desrved to be in the finals, made it to the finals. And that is the real final Australia vs Sri Lanka. SA is a good team, good enough to be in last four. The one sided semifinals show the wide gulf between the top two teams and the others.
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Ralph Brooker is right about South Africa not being mentally tough. As a matter of fact, I really believe that South Africa went into the match looking to land a haymaker and when that did not happen, they had no plan B. That is a sure sign of a team that have doubts about it's abilities.
The West Indies teams of the mid-late 70's, 80's and the Australians of the last decade and a half, always go into a match with the belief that they will win. And even if they are struggling during a match, they still believe that they can win. Sri Lanks is now showing some of those same qualities.
Against South Africa at Providence, Guyana, they were down and out, when they decided to give it one last shot. You all know what Malinga did next. Sri Lanka may have lost the match, but they knew then that with the bowlers and batsmen that they have, they always have a fighting chance. They may still lose to Australia, but one thing for sure is that they would not go down with a whimper.
My personal pick is Sri Lanka. I believe that the teams are as evenly matched as any, so this has the makings of a classic for the ages. I look for one of my favourites to be the difference - the MVP will be Sangakkara. You heard it here first.
Mohamed (Breado)
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I think Lankan Lions are hungry to prey Aussies
Kangaroos in the final of the world cup on saturday.!!!
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Back to the drawing board for South Africa just like England and they too need to overhaul all departments of their game from selectors, manager and staff, captain and players.
Why are there are a number of fantastic players back in South Africa that are never ever concidered for selection???
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Gotta laugh at comments about Australia being lucky to make the finals of previous World Cups because opposition players dropped easy chances. That's not bad luck...that's bad cricket you fool. How on earth is it "unlucky"?
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I KNEW IT and I SAID IT waaay back in some of Marty's other blogs.
South Africa's manager blames scheduling for his team not reaching the finals. My, my what a surprise! Well, as I said in earlier comments, West Indies had it tougher, but you never hear them whine or blame the schedule. Excuses, excuses and more excuses.
This team is just full of it. They came into the tournament with the excuses packed and ready. You just can't win with a defeatist attitude. Mentally tough they are not!
Breado
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Don,
Who cares about spelling. Just talk about cricket. You idiot!
Do not try to side track the argument.
Aussies are talking a lot, which means only one thing - they are scared of a definite upset.
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South Africa's performance yesterday reminded me of a deer caught in a car's headlights.
What were they thinking?
I have never seen such a suicidal display of batting.
After Smith committed "batting suicide" I really expected the other batsmen to settle down and build a fairly reasonable score (300-320).
The Australians again talked and sledged their way to another win over a very talented team which does not have any real courage and leadership. Every team needs to have its own gameplan, forget about all of the trash talk coming out of the Australian camp.
However, I still believe that SL will win on Saturday. SL will have to bring their "A" game for sure.
Later!
Jeff
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#117 Akber Kassem:
"I think Lankan Lions are hungry to prey Aussies Kangaroos in the final of the world cup on saturday!!!"
>>> Akber sahab, I'm psychic, and can almost HEAR the ... very hungry [LANKANS] beasts ... "G-R-O-W-L-I-N-G " ferociously in the distance!!!
Hmmm ... Aussie [KANGAS] time to perform the: "Begin The Beguine" of your highest, HIGH HOPS in the opposite direction Aussie dawlings.
"Yeah, Go after them Lanka Slinga Malinga!
S-N-A-R-L-S...G-R-O-W-L-S... R-O-A-R!!!
Best wishes,
Fan Guyana
PS: After the FILL. Some lovely chilled Sheraz will do nicely too! ; o ]] Yes, Maan!
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Are all the people defending SL on this post the same people saying a few weeks back that the Saffers deserved to be No.1 in the world rankings? I think so, and that is such disingenuous. The reason why many thought that SA v Australia was the "real final" was that it was 1 vs 2 in the world, based upon a recent (but not just the last two games') form. SA is a good side. It beat the Lankans. The Fingers' remarkable cameo at the end made it seem much closre than it was for 95 overs. They still had the class to win the cup, and I would have backed them to beat SL again. SL are definitely playing out of their skins. But let's not get carried away folks. Their much-hyped bowling is way way way overrated other than Murali. Vaas isn't performing as well as Bracken, let alone a pimple on McGrath's derriere, contrary to an earlier post. Hoggy has almost as many wickets as Murali... and despite the hype, Tate has more wickets than Malinga. And the batting just isn't in the same division, nor the infielding.
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Bough at 96 - the reason why I'd take Tate over Malinga is he's taken more wickets and therefore is more effective. End of story!
Rage at 102 - no is questioning the accuracy of the facts, just whether those facts are definitive. It is the performance of all 11 players which needs to be compared. Comparing the top run maker and wicket taker is not enough. The facts quoted are too selective to analyse overall performance. And that assuming you just want to predict performance based upon performance at this cup. e.g. Hussey hasn't had much time at the middle so far. Would you be a fool to write him off as not one of the best players in ODI in the world? Absolutley. Ditto Symonds. The lankans have some good players, but the depth just ain't there.
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I do think South Africam Cricket Team's game plan was quite clear.
"Not to Choke.
Smith and Mickey Arthur are Genius. To master mine such a plan. Where does that leave them now. A team always consistent in tournaments but never will have the umph to give the final blow.
Chockers Chockers. May be the inflated Ego of there captain along with couple of other plater (Andre Nel) had lot to do with it.
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What never ceases to amaze me is how we will always be so far behind austrailia in the mental game.
We have learned in the last few years to walk the talk whilst playing everybody apart from the aussies.
We continuely play catch up to them. When we open our eyes expecting a competion we realize that they have taken a dramatic new set that our think tank never dreamt possible.
Talent realy only seems to be half of the modern day arsenal and mental abilities the other. Talent can then be natured to a higher capacity resulting in a great player. Without the mental aspect you ultimately end with a lesser player.
So when the dust settles and the rebuild starts lets look at the mentaly strong first and foremost.
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Will the aussi cricket board send a second eleven to Barbados on saturday to give the first eleven a proper game when the world cup is over?
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banbrotam,
We have heard this nonsense for years. When Mark Waugh was dropped from the oneday squad, Shane Warne Retired from One day, Steve Waugh was let go, Michael Bevan was let go. Everytime it has happened people have said who can replace these people. But infact the Australian team has got better and better. I agree with Jeff Keogh it is the system they have that makes them far superior than the rest of the world.
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I dont think anybdoy thought the SA-Aussies match was the real world cup final.....Come on just think of the SA record. Just beat SriLanka by a wisker Lost to Bangladesh comprehensvely not to mention NZ ....
Now tell us who in the right mind would say SA vs Aussie was the clash of the Titans....
Man ....wonder who concocts such Fantasy stories except for you..
Like stories about the much media hyped minnows England--Ireland is better team than England
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the aussie's are still light years ahead of the rest, and the only team that seems to put up any challenge to them is england, who still got cleaned up at the WC and in the recent ashes. (which was probally closer then the 5-0 whitewash suggested).
they have created an infrastructure that breeds athletes and the aussie mentality that makes them difficult opponents in any sport.
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Tahir I dont think A Nell has an over inflated ego. Smithy for sure and good luck to him. But for me Andre has become one of the characters of the tournament. Even when we SAFFAers were taking a hammering I enjoyed watching the passion from Andre. Cricket needs more characters at the moment
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HI-I FIND THE SA EXCUSE OF THE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE BEING TOO LONG AS LAUGHABLE-IS THAT THE REASON WHY SENIOR BATSMEN WERE INVOLVED IN EXTREMELY POOR SHOT SELECTION IN THE SECONDOVER OF THE GAME?
THIS IS THE SAME SA TEAM THAT HAS POINTEDLY BEING LEAVING OUT EXPERIENCED PLAYERS LIKE LANCE KLUSENER -ALLEGEDLY BECAUSE HIS VIEWS ARE DESTRUCTIVE TO TEAM MORALE-I SUPPORT HIS VIEWS THAT EXPOSE THE INEXPERIENCED GREENHORN APPROACH OF ARTHUR AND SMITH-SA DID NOT TAKE AN ATTACK SPINNER BECAUSE ARTHURS ADVISERS TOLD HIM THAT ALL THE PITCHES WOULD HAVE PACE AND BOUNCE
BEST OF LUCK TO SRILANKA
PETER LATTA-SA SUPPORTER IN BARBADOS
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i'm a proud aussie, but am a bit sick of the sa bashing going on. sa did the right thing, take the risk & play aggressive as if chasing a 300+ total. aus made the 150 runs in just over 30 overs, so were on target for 300+. sa couldn't play it safe, they had to take the risk for any chance to win. the aussies gave them no other option. unfortunatly the risk didn't pay off, and sa lost badly.
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Ragu #102
The facts are pure - its your poor representation of them that seems problematic.
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You gotta be kidding me. South Africa had no chance for the WC from the very beginning.
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Is it still going on..??...cricket has become like soccer , but unlike soccer that still gives a buzz in International level , cricket is left only being interesting at a National level. Even Test series hardly get any following apart from here in Australia. When it takes the World stage it is just boring and clearly the fans think so too , just look at the pathetic turnouts and the lacklustre performances of top countries like Pakistan,India England, NZ & SA. Cricket has had it years ago.......time to look elsewhere for entertainment......
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Shame, SA didn't play their natural game.
We play right into the Aussie's hands when we played aggressively.
The Aussie's out play us with mind games. They beleive in themselves 100% and we let them intimidate us by not playing our natural game.Why!!
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Hey, Breado. Spot on about Mickey Arthur and the whinge about scheduling. I was waiting for it like a number 93 bus. Never fails to turn up.
Someone claimed that we're all against RSA. It depends what you mean by "against". I simply begrudge them their curious reputation as cricket's other hard men. And I think I'm justified.
Someone else said that these posts betray a hooligan element!! Really?
CRICKET MATTERS.
I harp on about the Aussies because they are - without rival - the greatest sports team EVER(international or otherwise). They are greater than even the great Manchester United sides.
It will stand RSA in good stead for the future if they can be collectively humbled in the presence of the AUS.
England's renaissance in Test cricket owes, in part, to Nasser Hussain's awe of Steve Waugh. Nasser managed to convert some of that otherwise destabilising emotion into a constructive force. My worry is that the work has been undone.
People say: OK, but the Aussies are arrogant. Are they? Justin Langer - another intelligent spokesman for the game. Arrogance is not knowing how to lose. Aussies know how to conduct themselves in the face of a better team; whether it's on the day or over the rubber.
Glenn McGrath's not arrogant. The press ask him: 'How will the series go?'; GM invariably says 5:0 to Aus. Why ask him the ruddy question if you've got a scripted, politically correct answer in mind. Anyhow, there's always a twinkle in McGrath's eyes.
I'm a former British soldier. Not that that means anything. But a lot of the virtues I found in the eyes and hearts of my friends and colleagues, I see in the Aussies. I don't see any arrogance there.
That's why I respect them. That's why I like them. And that's why I've had about enough of homesickness, stress worries, drinking, pedaloes, and Ashes 2005. England need to toughen up. Real quick.
I'll conclude by reassuring you that, despite all I've said, I'm glad I'm not an Aussie, for then I wanted be an Englishman. (Arrogrant pommie b.s..rd!!)
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If you look more closely at the make up of the SA team its not difficult to see where all there weakness lie, They have predictable bowlers,(nell is just a clown) and the batsmen can all be figured out if you had to be real about this there are only a small hand full of RSA players who might make it into the australian side 3 of them,gibbs,kalis&devillars polly should retire as he is just to easy now to target he was the best but not now,what they need is some more pratice against some more weaker sides like zimbabwe,kenya and others to get there"so called status back.
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Ralph Brooker
Well said.
The Australian team simply is not arrogant. They are a collection of very different individuals. Some members are arrogant; that's how they maintain their concentration. Some players deserve to be arrogant and are incredible in their humility.
McGrath? Not arrogant. Serious. Loves doing what he does. The guy is one of the nicest people you'll meet...off the field.
Ponting? Yep. I agree. Can be arrogant. That's how he thrives.
Gilchrist? One word: Humble.
Hayden? Serious. Not arrogant.
Hussey? Humility is thy name, Michael Hussey. The guy looks embarrassed by his own achievements.
Clarke? Too young to judge. We'll see.
Hogg? Arrogant? No chance. Salt of the Earth.
Hodge? Legend in his own mind.
Symonds? Just loves his cricket.
Watson? Hard working. Serious.
Stuart Clarke? Humble.
Shaun Tait? Young and exhuberant.
Bracken? Quiet as a mouse.
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Looks to me like you and the Aussies have something in common, Martin -- people having a go at you without understanding you!!
The final should really be a nail-biter (...I hope) and I'll be cheering the Aussies all the way, but I really am concerned by Gilchrist's lack of form this WC... something's not quite right there and I hope we get to watch the fine batting talent he is in action in the final.
Go Aussies!!!
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Well done Australia, you guys deserved to beat SA. It is such a pleasure to watch you all play, as was commented here 'you are like a well oiled machine'. I am South African and don't enjoy the attitude of certain members of our team, as we would call them here 'windgat' and very immature. Go well on Saturday.
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ANDREW (94):-
"Ponting didn't use the word "fear" at all. The person writing the report did.
It's best to read things properly before commenting."
Maybe you should read the article again?
"Captain Ricky Ponting insists Australia have no fear of Sri Lanka in Saturday's World Cup final despite not having faced their three leading bowlers."
What's he insisting? Hmmmm? That's what the article says Pointing is conveying. That is Poiting's message. Otherwise why would they put it? Wait don't tell me....it's a ±«Óãtv conspiracy?
Source:-
Give me a break.
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PAULIE (143):-
"If you look more closely at the make up of the SA team its not difficult to see where all there weakness lie, They have predictable bowlers,(nell is just a clown) and the batsmen can all be figured out if you had to be real about this there are only a small hand full of RSA players who might make it into the australian side 3 of them,gibbs,kalis&devillars polly should retire as he is just to easy now to target he was the best but not now,what they need is some more pratice against some more weaker sides like zimbabwe,kenya and others to get there"so called status back."
Lol, Australia won, no need to keep gloating and/or belittleling the South Africans - they are fine cricketers. Give it a rest.
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DAVID (114 AND 115):-
"With Aussies in the final we need luck and divine help to win it. May our team have both on Saturday and win the cup. Good Luck guys. Don't let down our country and all those lovely fans from other countries who are right behind you wishing you to win. What ever the out come may be we are proud of you. (Thank you to all the teams for the entertainment they gave us during the WC. And good luck to the Aussies for a good game of cricket, though we want Sri Lanka to win the cup)."
Lol, David is probably an Australian masquerading as a Sri Lankan. Just my opinion.
The Australian media too acted as an psychological warfare auxillary to the Australian cricket team by baiting the South African cricketers and stirring them up. Which is wrong, after all, does this Australian cricket side need help from their media to win this WC? Ofcourse not - they are good enough. Australian media shouldn't play these tricks, just brings down their image.
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Hey Bandara (148)
Lol
Most of the Australian media are scrappers who will create a good story where one doesn't exist. They don't give a hoot if you are concerned they just want to sell papers at home.
Take my word for it given an opportunity they will happily crucify any number of our Aussie cricketing heros if they can spin a juicy story out of it.
It's a harsh world mate but what can you do?
Birdie
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Thank you for the posts about the Australian team not being arrogant. Absolutely correct.
Perhaps the two guys that I would have thought could ever be accused of arrogance are not in the World Cup - that is Shane Warne and Brett Lee.
I see this arrogance accusation come up against the Australians frequently and it just is not factual.
Just because you are winning repeatedly does not make you arrogant.
IF the Australians win the world cup, observe the manner in which they behave.
They will be jubilant, but respectful of their opponents.
Fingers crossed I haven't just put the mocker on them. :-)
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It was poor cricket from the South African top order. It was even poorer tactically to try and play agricultural shots to the top bowlers of cricket first up...a bit of patience might have netted a boundary-per-over that Shaun Tait would have given anyway. And to do that again to McGrath after gettinga boundary the first time, was naivety.
It appeared SA were far too nervous to think clearly despite their collective and individual experience in the ODI game.
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Jayawardene's fine innings vs NZ is being mentioned a lot as an indicator of their readiness to take on Aus - it was a fine knock indeed - but the key thing about it was that it was against the NZ bowlers.
The NZ attack is not very menacing when Bond is not on song - and he was nowhere near on song in that game. Their other bowlers are merely competent.
The Australian bowling attack will provide an examination of an entirely different order to that which NZ could muster. Even if SL start to get on top at a given moment, the Aussie bowlers have the mental toughness that has been spoken about earlier not to buckle and implode under the pressure - they will simply keep bowling in the right places and if you chance your arm too much against them like SA tried to do then you will get out.
Only Shane Watson's bowling looked like a potential weak point in their last game and I wouldn't even bet against him stepping up a gear in the final.
The only time the Aussies have buckled even slightly in recent years was in the 2005 Ashes under the sustained pressure of the finest pace quartet seen for many years - Jones/Flintoff/Hoggard/Harmison - the awesome foursome!!!
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SportySardar wrote:
"I am sick and tired of the Aussies winning. Isn't there some anti trust law out there we could use to stop their monopoly ???"
Great post, SportSardar but let's stage a socialist revolution and force the Aussies to redistribute their cricketing wealth.
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ralph brooker
Well said.
This who arrogrance thing and Aust is a crock.
Lets look at a few facts:
Have a look at the way Flintoff celebrates when he gets a wicket-his expressions, arms stuck in the air for mins while he waits for his team mates to all come to him, all the time shaking his head as to suggest 'I am the man'. His appeal style is the most arrogant out there. But is here arrogant? No just sure of his abilities just like the Aussies.
The same with KP. Yes he scored a ton against Australia but the way he celebrated it suggested had scored 300 and just won the game. Yet Hayden is always accused of arrogance and being a bully just because he smashes bowlers-get a life people, as that is his job. I don’t see people giving Chris Gayle a hard time when he is strutting around that park thinking he is the next Viv Richards and then doing very little to back it up.
Sth Africa and their captain. He is always running his mouth off and has not achieved that much when you compare him to ponting and the aussies-yet Aust always gets accused of arrogance because they speak their mind.
Nixon and his not stop chatter and sledging, yet it’s always Aust. News for you everyone-all teams sledge. Both England and NZ have said that SA are far worse at times.
The reason Aust gets accused of arrogance is because they are too good. That is not their fault; it’s the other teams.
One last point concerning a lot of Sri Lankan supporters. You have your culture and the way you approach the game of cricket, Australia have there’s. Stop taking the moral high ground suggesting that you play the game the ‘correct’ way all the time and Australia does not. Australia plays the game hard but fair and takes their losses with grace-witness the 2005 ashes series.
The game is not an amateur sport. Its professional sport and you play to win so long as you do not step over the line.
Just remember your bowler who baulked the English batsmen intentionally to put him off his game when you played England. This sort of behaviour is far worse than any sledging. Buy hey; according to a lot of posters this is well within the rules-unless of course Aust does it then its arrogance.
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There's brave cricket and then there's losing your marbles.
Scoring at 6 an over is fine, you end up with 300, not a bad total, if you get a boundry and pinch a couple of singles job done!
That was something that Smith and Co were able to pull off but they had to take it a step further and try and bully the Aussies.
Dum!
If you have your boundry for the over, there's no need to swipe at the next ball irrespective of the ball you are facing.
They had to be measured especially when facing the quality of McGrath and Bracken.
Even if SA had managed to post a respectable total, which they are capable of doing, very questionable whether they have the strike bowlers to bowl out Aussie. They are missing a wicket taker in the mould of Alan Donald, who you could expect to dislodge even the best batsman in the World.
As a die hard SA supporter here's looking forward to 2011 with further lessons learnt!
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TO (150):- BIRDIE_...
"Take my word for it given an opportunity they will happily crucify any number of our Aussie cricketing heros if they can spin a juicy story out of it."
I see. i didn't know that part. I thought they only targeted foreign players. Well, now I know. Thanks.
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I personally think that what Martin Gough has printed here is true. Why? Because the South Africans DID overdo their aggression. If they had played normally they could have reached 300. They are a good-enough side.
Too much of anything is bad.......anything.
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It is rather obvious that some of us in this forum think with out hearts and not our heads.
Being critical of SA or any team for that matter, does not mean that one is biased against that them. Furthermore, I am beginning to believe that many of our armchair captains and coaches here don't know squat about the mind of a competative athlete.
Show me an athlete without "arrogance" and I will show you a loser. Athletic arrogance, if you will is different that being a snob. Muhammad Ali had it as did Michael Jordan. Viv Richards, Dennis Lillie, MIchael Holding, Wasim Akram...they all had it. It gives them that little extra on the field of play.
In terms of talent and abilities, one can argue that there is little difference between the Australians and South Africans over the past decade. So why is one team so successful and the other isn't? The answer is that it is "between the ears."
KRISHAMURTI (63) queried if RALPH BROOKER (58) is a mind reader because of Ralph's comments about Ponting's eyes. I know that it may be hard for some people to believe, but unless you are looking into really bad bloodshot eyes, you really can get a sense of a person's state of mind.
Remember the theme song of the ROCKY movies..."Eye of the Tiger". That was the whole meaning of the song. Just as you can look into a woman's dreamy eyes and tell that she is smitten and in love or and you can look into a man's eye and know that he is lusting after her, you can look into the eye of the athlete and know that he means business and is ready to do battle.
The Sri Lanka vs South Africa match is a good case study of how the mind games work. In just a matter of 4 overs, Sri Lanka world cup campaign did an about turn. They lost, but the knew then that they ALWAYS have a chance. South Africa also learned a lot from those last 4 overs. Unfortunately, however it was not positive. The knew that they were loking at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and they learned that they are always 1 wicket away from losing.
Anyway enough about South Africa.
Here's to a great final and may the best team (Sri Lanka) win. Hey one can have hope, right? besides, Sangakkara can dish out the runs and the sledge as good as any Aussie.
Breado
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Yes South Africa were aggresive, but if they'd gone the other way the would have been lambasted for slow play. They went out to dominate, 8 times out of 10 it would have come off and they would've got a good score, 300 plus. It just wasn't their day, remember the group game, chasing a big score they were doing well until a freak run out, then the Aussies lucked in, again. Cricket needs Sri Lanka to win tomorrow for the good of the game, the Aussies aren't as good as people say, it's their reputation that teams are afraid of. If I was a coach playing Australia, I'd tell my team that Australia were finished and that they are beatable, to take them on toe to toe, they're just a bunch of girls blouses.
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I knew they would choke and they did.In Superbur i had already predicted Aussies as winners.S.Africa need atleast another 6-7 years to become world champ.Aussies have almost become inviincible in mega events.And one should not surprise if they do hatrick by clinching another title becoming fourth time world champ.Sri Lanka do have chance to upset them but they have to do their level best.SAfrica have a curse hanging on them.
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I have been following Sri Lanka after India were
kicked out of the wold cup. I have been watching
highlights on CricketPlus and they have
done a splendid job so far.
I am hoping that S.L will beat AUS tomorrow
and end their monopoly over the World cup.
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Mohamed (Breado) wrote: "Show me an athlete without "arrogance" and I will show you a loser. [Athletic arrogance, if you will is different that being a snob. Muhammad Ali had it as did Michael Jordan. Viv Richards, Dennis Lillie, MIchael Holding, Wasim Akram...they all had it. It gives them that little extra on the field of play."]
>>> Damn good piece of sports [PHILOSOPHIA] there ... good reading & aptly put ... Breado Bhai.
Which inspired me to illustrate the following:
a) In Muhammad Ali's case: His playful "Arrogance via Confidence" delighted gleeful fans worldwide. Particularly, since he WON everyone of those matches!
b) Now, there's a PRO golfer [no name, please] & has yet, to score a big one!
In a "FAMOUS CUP" tournament, not too long ago. Displayed such cocky & utter disdain towards [other] foreign golfers" was truly revolting. Since, alas! [HIS] team best efforts ended with dismal results. And there you have it
BTW, I do believe, the great SA gentleman golfer "Ernie Els" participated in that tourny as well. Hey Ernie ... thanks indeed, for making the game of golf so pleasing! We luv you!
Best regards,
Fan Guyana
Note: Methinks, "Class is not something you can CREATE, you're BORN with it." Eh
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i hope Srilanka will win the world cup. SL cricketers came through hardship they have the spirit to will this match fingers cross. good luck for srilankan team
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I am very happy that Australia won this final. They deserved it and were not matched by any other team in this tournament. I had no doubt in my mind that they will crush Sri Lanka even with the fact that lanka bowlers throw. Mahela much be ashamed of his defeat but a well deserved victory for Lanka
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