Sportsbet Blog

The cricketing boards of Australia and South Africa have wasted no time in putting plans in place to take advantage of the growing rivalry between the top two ranked teams in world cricket. From the 2012 season onwards these two giants of the game will square off on an annual basis, avoiding the current situation of back to back test series.

While Cricket Australia has not yet released the exact details of the arrangement, it is understood that each country will host the other every second year, with possible separate tours for tests and one dayers.

One of the big complaints from the South African camp is that there was no time to come down from their historic tour to Australian shores earlier in the year.

The new set-up would prevent this from occurring in the future…but it will also prevent these two teams from competing against each other in a Boxing Day test. The only time South Africa plays away from home over Christmas is when they tour Down Under, and the new arrangement would see tours between the two countries taking place in either Oct/Nov or Feb/Mar.

This is the main drawback of the set-up as the Boxing Day and New Years tests in Australia are by far the most well attended in world cricket, with the possible exception being the manic atmosphere of the sub-continent.

For a cricket fan there is no greater prospect than watching the world’s top two teams battle it out in Melbourne as they recover from the festivities of the previous day. Hopefully some arrangement can be made to ensure this fixture is played by these two teams at least once every four years.

In Other Cricket News

The Australian cricket team have returned from a four day break after wrapping up the series in the second test at Durban. They have arrived in Cape Town where they will play the third test at Newlands Stadium, one of world sports most picturesque settings.

It is amazing to think of the turn around that has occurred in the past fortnight – in both the performances of the team, and the writings of the press. Having been slated by journalists in the month leading up to the series, there have been large mouthfuls of humble pie consumed by journo’s who have already turned their focus to how the Aussies are a near certainty to claim victory in the Ashes later this year.

And while I agree that the team probably deserves to be favourites, I think the past six months in cricket, and the shocking events in Pakistan in particular, have taught us that there are presently no certainties in the sport.

We would seem to have entered a period of more even competition than the cricket world has seen in some time. Australia has been dominant since the late 1990′s, and before that the Calypso Kings reigned supreme for a similar length of time.

Today we have Australia, India and South Africa as rivals capable of snatching victory from their opponents on any given day in any part of the world. Strong in both tests and limited over matches, these teams should generate great excitement in cricket over the next four or five years.

And while England are a step or two off the pace at the moment, a home series where they will attempt to match their mighty deeds of four years ago, should at least give them motivation enough to play above the level we have seen from them of late.

But for now we should just admire the deeds of this young generation wearing the Baggy Green who are finding their feet at test level in a most convincing fashion against the toughest of opponents.

Crooksy

With the Australian cricket summer barely over, a new test series in South Africa is almost upon us. While much was made of the series loss earlier this year, what hasn’t been mentioned is that Australia are also protecting an impressive record against the Proteas in their own country. The Aussies have not lost a test series there since South Africa emerged from the sporting wilderness and rejoined test cricket over 15 years ago.

So while the South Africans were obviously overjoyed at their tour victories in Australia, you can be sure that they will be fighting even harder to change the record books in their home country in front of a sport loving nation who have bought tickets for this series in record numbers. Expectations have been raised high and the team will be striving hard to ensure their fans are not disappointed. Add to this the fact that only two of the current Australian squad (Ponting and Hussey) have played test cricket in South Africa and on paper you have the makings of a very lopsided contest.

So where does this leave Australia? Well…in a very tough battle to be honest. I’m not going to talk about generational change, it’s all been said many times before. For me the interest in this series lies in the performance of the current players, not the statistics of the ones who have retired. The focus of most of the attention will be on our bowling attack, who between them have taken less than 100 test wickets. With the exception of Johnson you have players untried in test cricket, let alone tough series’ away in South Africa and England. Some sportspeople raise their performances when the level of competition lifts. Others are unaable to adapt their game to differing conditions and opponents.

Hopefully one, and maybe two of the rookie bowling squad of Bollinger, Siddle, Hilfenhaus and McGain can step forward as the man with the desire to play above themselves in the top flight of cricket. South African pitches are generally favourable to pace, so the quicks will have plenty of opportunities. Mcgain may have to wait until the second test, depending on the make up of the Australian middle order.

The other worry for the series is Michael Clarke who is nursing a back injury. His consistent performances would be sorely missed, and if he succumbs we will probably see Marcus North making his debut alongside Phillip Hughes. Hughes in particular has generated more interest in a young player than has been seen in this country since his test captain was carting Sheffield Shield attacks in his teens.

This test team is without a doubt the least experienced in twenty years and for me that is exciting. We may not come through the series with a win but we should get a glimpse into the fight within the team as well as more of an idea about our prospects for the ashes tour later this year.