De Villiers dominates
27 Nov 2009
AB de Villiers produced a superb innings that led to a comprehensive 112-run win for South Africa over England at Newlands.
De Villiers didn’t hit a six, but he produced virtually every shot in the book on his way to a memorable knock of 121 off only 85 balls, his first century against England in ODIs. The platform was set by Graeme Smith (54) and Hashim Amla (86), while Alviro Petersen and Mark Boucher delivered nice cameos in the final overs.
Chasing a massive target, England were never in it as Wayne Parnell returned from injury to take five wickets. Crucially, Morne Morkel made an impressive return to international cricket, while Paul Collingwood continued his good form and Kevin Pietersen looked dangerous.
South Africa 354-6 in 50 overs
AB de Villiers 121, Hashim Amla 86, Stuart Broad 4-71
England 242 all out in 50 overs
Paul Collingwood 86, Kevin Pietersen 45, Wayne Parnell 5-48, Morne Morkel 3-39
South Africa win by 112 runs
Click here for live scorecard.
70 Comments
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28 Nov 2009, 13:20 pm
Yet another fifty from Amla. Six(6) fifties now to go with one century. He really must learn to convert these fifties inti hundreds.
On another note. It is good to see that all three test matches that were played in the week produced positive results.
28 Nov 2009, 13:26 pm
jozi
Thing is, Steyn played with Pollock with lots of success uniti it was decided that Andre Nel should play instead of Polly (fcken stupid idea!!) and that ended the great all rounders career
28 Nov 2009, 13:27 pm
Loving Hash’s form. Classy performer. Must just learn to convert
28 Nov 2009, 13:32 pm
@WP_: #50
Then again. Smith’s and Amla’s opening partnership allowed AB the freedom to play as well as he did.
No matter how big the score, it is still up to the bowler to put the ball in the right spot. I would suggest that the Aussie bowlers had all the freedom in the world to bowl as aggressively as they wanted to in the 438 game. We both know what the outcome was.
Any time any bowler takes five wickets in an ODI, I feel he should be rewarded if his performance lead to victory for his team.
28 Nov 2009, 13:36 pm
@WP_: #53
Agree. If he keeps getting runs I can’t see Hersh getting a game. Pity really, he’s my favourite batsman.
28 Nov 2009, 13:42 pm
@WP_: To be honest Polly’s bowling had lost a bit of zip and penetration.
When he retired it meant a major shift in the approach and pyschology of the whole team.
Batsmen needed to take more responsibility because the “tail” would be longer and bowlers needed to bowl with controlled aggression.
The more conservative, safety first policy was discarded and a more daring, bold approach was adopted.
I take nothing away from Polly, he served his country well and he was a great team player….dig the oke big time.
28 Nov 2009, 13:46 pm
@Jozi: True enough. A common mistake is for teams not to anticipate the time when their champions are gone. Australia lost a few at once and the step down for the team has been huge.
28 Nov 2009, 13:47 pm
I see that Alviro Petersen is striking it at 96 runs per hundred ball faced at an average of more than 48 in the nine ODI’s he has played so far.
What is the odds that some people will call him a quota if he fails on Sunday? (smilie)
28 Nov 2009, 13:50 pm
@nama1: Guess the same amount of people who still insist the Morne Steyn shouldn`t be in the 10 jersey.
28 Nov 2009, 13:54 pm
@stormer in a teacup: Yeah there were too many living legends in that Aussie team. It’ll take some time for the world to see another team like that.
Succession planning is key and that’s why I feel that we need to start finding a replacement for Bouch.
Nothing personal against him but AB doesn’t want to keep and Bouch is not getting any younger, same goes for Jakes.
28 Nov 2009, 13:57 pm
@nama1: Hondo might be the first one
Aaaah mate it’ll never end, it’s the South African ping pong story.
You’ve just got to remain objective and try not to get too caught up in the emotional kak and drama.
28 Nov 2009, 13:59 pm
@Jozi: True. AB or JP to fill nbr 3 spot for sure with the need for a bowling allrounder a la Pollock at 7. Need to identify the next keeper and start to include him in the squad the way JP was managed. How ready was he when his moment came?
28 Nov 2009, 14:04 pm
@Namakwalanner:
Sit jy in Springbok?
28 Nov 2009, 14:07 pm
@stormer in a teacup: Dead right, that’s one bit our administrators got right. Heino Kuhn is the next keeper in waiting. We’ll have to wait and see if he’s given any opportunities.
I’m not in favour of all rounders in test cricket. I prefer specialists. No. 1 to 6 have your specialist batsmen, 7 is your keeper 8 to 11 are your bowlers.
That’s a recipe that has yielded success for teams like Australia and even us in the last 2 years.
All rounders give you a false sense of security but when it matters most they are seldom consistent with either skill. you only end up getting “bits and pieces” contributions from them.
28 Nov 2009, 14:12 pm
@stormer in a teacup: #62
I think they’re doing it Stormer. That’s why they included Heino Kuhn in the squad albeit just for the 20/20 matches.
28 Nov 2009, 14:19 pm
@Jozi: #64
Only four bowlers?
If you top bowler goes of the boil, like Steyn is at the moment, you’ll have problems bowling out the opposition twice. You need at least one good alrounder to have a good balanced team. SA is lucky to have Kallis. Pollock, when he played, was just a bonus.
28 Nov 2009, 14:28 pm
@nama1: Ok wasn’t thinking straight you’re right reserve the no.6 spot for the all rounder.
28 Nov 2009, 15:17 pm
Wouldnt mind if Daryn Smit took over from Bouch rather than Kuhn.
Smit is just a good keeper as Heino, they have similar abilities with the bat BUT Smit can bowl very handy leg spin. i.e an all rounder and a keeper in one. Then i suppose that AB could keep for a few overs a day, dont think that would affect him too much.
Calling Alviro Petersen a quota would be laughable, he has been so consistent in domestic stuff and he has shown this in the first two odi’s against the poms with a couple of half centuries. He deserves his spot. Which is good, but in some ways is a pity as I’d love to see Hersch back in the starting line up. Love watching him bat. Pure genius.
28 Nov 2009, 15:31 pm
@Jozi: SA has a tradition of all rounders, probably better then most other countries. Allrounders can be deceptive if they are of the neither here nor there variety but if you consider the likes of Kallis, Pollock, Rice Barlow and Proctor these guys are two for the price of one, matchwinners who can step up in both arenas. Our traditional approach of encouraging our most talented players to have a go at everything has stood us in good stead. Players like Albie, who would be unlikely to be selected for one skill alone tend to cloud the issue but a guy like Parnell, who can bat, are a different matter.
28 Nov 2009, 15:54 pm
@stormer in a teacup: Yeah the players you mention are a rare breed. Legends indeed.
The trick is getting it right, I just don’t want to see players like Hall, Kemp, Albie et al tossed into the test arena and shifted around from one batting/bowling position to the next. That approach destroys players.
I prefer a set up where a player is given a clear role and allowed to excel in that specific role.
An all rounder at 6 is a must though as Nama already stated above.
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