Sportsbet Blog

Keep one eye on the telecast, and the other on Betfair, and make the most of Betfair’s dynamic markets. They’ll be open from when the referee blows his whistle until, well… he blows it again at the end. With opportunities every second, that’s over 54,000 seconds (plus injury time) of opportunities.

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For more info on how Betfair works and how to get your hands on a prize checkout their website here or see our Betfair Review.

Newlands Stadium, Cape Town 3rd Test Aus vs Sth Africa

South Africa have moved into the most commanding of positions in Cape Town, with their batsmen having displayed an absolute disregard for the talents of newcomers Bryce McGain and Andrew MacDonald.

At the close of day 2 McGain was staring down the barrel of owning one of the least desired of test records – the worst ever economy rate in a test innings. And while he was able to avoid that distinction by the end of the innings it will provide little joy having been taken for 149 runs from his 18 overs.

Unfortunately for McGain this may well end his chances of a trip to England later this year, and Australia will go back to the drawing board in their search for a tweaker.

Andrew MacDonald did not fare much better and at one stage was hit for four consecutive sixes by A.B DeVillers – only the third time in test cricket that has been achieved.

In the end the South Africans racked up their highest ever total against the Aussies and finished the third day in style by claiming the wickets of Phillip Hughes and Ricky Ponting, leaving the visitors needing a further 336 runs just to force the Proteas to square up for a second innings.

Of the bowlers Siddle was the standout, managing to concede just over two runs per over amidst the carnage going on around him. Johnson was the leading wicket taker with figures of 4-149.

The Australians will now turn to Katich to take his overnight score of 44 well past three figures, and Michael Hussey will be looking to remind people why he is such a vital cog in this Australian middle order. We are about to discover how much fight there really is in this Aussie outfit.

In Other News

IPL Looking At A Move To South Africa

With The Champions Trophy tournament having been shifted from the sub-continent to South Africa after the recent events in Pakistan, the IPL is now seriously considering a similar move.

Apparently IPL officials have been shopping around for security cars and it has also been noted that the IPL has made approaches to a South African security firm to negotiate the procurement of a fleet of armoured SUV’s and specially fitted buses.

While no announcement has officially been made, these preparations would seem to indicate that one may not be too far away. The preparations come amidst recent revelations that Sachin Tnedulkar & Sourav Ganguly were targets of a kidnapping plot organised by a Kashmari Separist organisation in 2007.

Tendulkar At His Sublime Best

Speaking of Tendulkar, the supreme batsmen of his generation was at it again in NZ, notching his 42nd test century with his 160 in India’s first innings against the Kiwi’s in Hamilton.

Tendulkar was his usual modest self, downplaying his innings claiming he was a little slow to get going.

“But once the new ball was taken I was timing it much better,” he said, while pointing out that “every hundred is not fluent”.

He was then straight back into the thick of the action taking a low catch at slip to dismiss opener Tim McIntosh. Tendulkar was adamant the catch had been taken and while the Kiwi’s disagreed they blamed only themselves for their poor showing so far in this test. They will resume play still requiring 166 runs to get past the Indians with 7 wickets in hand.

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.

If you are thinking about placing a few bets on the upcoming tour of Pakistan don’t include Andrew Symonds in the reasoning of your choice as there is doubt that he will be playing any Australian cricket again let alone wearing the baggy green.

There are limited reasons for Andrew Symonds to want to continue playing Australian cricket altogether. After the treatment the media, the Australian Cricket Board and the selectors have given him of late I don’t blame him for setting his sights to the Indian Premier League for his future career.

The way I see it the disregard of Australian cricket Symonds has shown since being snubbed by the ACB and selectors is a giveaway that he has already made up his mind and is set to play in the IPL. He will be earning a cool 1.5 Million over 6 weeks that will make up for the 1 Million dollar share market battering in finance company Storm he took last month.

Playing in the Indian league would see him unable to take part (even if he were selected) in the scheduled ODI series against Pakistan as it conflicts with the IPL games. If he was to play it would be a huge pay cut to play the series with minimal pay compared to the IPL.

He has been quoted in saying that he dislikes all the off-field commitments that international cricket brings and didn’t want to attend majority of them. The IPL off season will allow him the time off that he needs to get away from all the hype of the cricket world.

Some analysts estimate Symonds only has 18 months left in his international playing career. Taking this into account he would have to consider whether to play the 18 months with Australia, retire from cricket (..and go fishing) or extend his cricket career and preserve his knee injury playing in the IPL for years to come, like Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Glen McGrath are all doing.

The all rounder is a huge icon in India after the controversy of the Australia V India tests in 2008. He has plenty of support from millions of fans in India and sponsorship deals to last years. He is perfectly suited to the Twenty20 form of the game holding an excellent batting average of 56. Backed up with a strike rate of 23 with his medium paced deliveries and a super accurate throwing arm in the field.