Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
how is the wicket? any info? and weather update ?
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
South Africa wary of strengthened Pakistan
Try as he might, Graeme Smith will find it difficult to convince record-keepers that he has just led his side to Test wins in Kolkata and Lahore. For a start, the victories actually came at Newlands at Cape Town and Supersport Park at Centurion, not Eden Gardens or Gaddafi Stadium.
Smith’s liberal approach to geography was actually a broad allusion to the surfaces his men happened upon at each venue: dry, flat, offering more turn the older they got, which is what you might expect at either subcontinental venue. But having registered such impressive wins in alien conditions, they might be just a touch surprised at coming across a St George’s Park pitch that its curator says will provide bowlers with pace and bounce. It’ll be a good surprise, though, like reuniting with a pleasant old acquaintance.
AD Carter, the groundsman at Port Elizabeth, where the second Test between South Africa and Pakistan gets underway from tomorrow, told supercricket.com that the surface is as different from traditional PE low, slow turners as possible. “It reminds me of the one we had for the match between the Warriors and the Eagles earlier this month,” he said. “That one had pace and bounce and we hope this one will be similar.”
It was a pleasant bonus for South Africa that their rookie spinner, Paul Harris, took more wickets than both Anil Kumble and Danish Kaneria on pitches that were supposed to be tailor-made for them. But you’d think on a surface supporting fast bowlers, South Africa would back their trio of Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Shaun Pollock against most others.
Generally, the hosts face few concerns, although AB de Villiers is causing a few nagging problems; he is an abnormally gifted sportsman, though a tally of three fifties in his last ten Tests and an average under 14 in his last four as opener is just plain abnormal. Hashim Amla was a problem before the last Test but he made good runs at a good time and Ashwell Prince’s patch is currently so purple, his pop namesake, whose favourite colour it is, called to ask for it back.
About the only strife the middle order is currently facing stems from the stump mic’s kiss 'n tell with Herschelle Gibbs during the first Test. Even that, though, is only vying for second place on the Global Race Issues chart, lagging behind a Bollywood queen’s travails in the celebrity goldfish bowl of Big Brother.
But if ever a team was to admit to wariness over the state of the opposition, South Africa might contemplate doing it now. Pakistan fought for four days with virtually a two-man bowling attack at Centurion, one of whom had just come back from prolonged inaction and one of whom is suffering from a prolonged lack of threat.
Mohammad Asif will find his way back but Danish Kaneria began the new year in much the same vein as last. He didn’t bowl badly, he didn’t leak runs, he spun the ball yet he didn’t really look like running through anything more threatening than margarine. Kamran Abbasi sums up the dilemma well here but it might help to have genuine strike bowlers operating at the other end.
That is only one of the many reasons why the possible returns of Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar will lift Pakistan so much. With Asif in tow, this is Pakistan’s all-star pace attack, their current Harlem Globetrotters of pace bowling: there is pace, there is guile, there is bounce. In short, there is potentially everything in those three men you could hope for from a pace trio. It is still only a hope: Gul, despite coming through net sessions after an ankle injury, may yet be rested as a precautionary measure,
Also hoping to return will be Pakistan’s own middle-order beard. The tourists’ batting did sufficiently well and no more in the first Test. In fact, what they didn’t do was exactly what Mohammad Yousuf had been doing all through 2006: converting (no pun intended). Like some cross-decade bash, sixties mixed seamlessly with thirties and forties but, heartlessly, no-one remembered to invite the centuries at Centurion.
Yousuf, who dumped fifties altogether last year as if it were a crime against fashion (he made only three, and one of those was a 97), will be expected to bring just that ability. The hosts, though, will hope that his poor record in this country and relative rustiness since December combine to dampen his contribution.
South Africa (probable) 1 AB de Villiers, 2 Graeme Smith (capt), 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 Herschelle Gibbs, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Paul Harris, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini.
Pakistan (probable) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Yasir Hameed, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Shoaib Akhtar, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Danish Kaneria, 11 Mohammad Asif.
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
I thought Gibbs was banned.
Also its surprising that Asim is continously ignored.
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
^ He can play pending his appeal.
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
i would agree with the cricinfo line up
1 Mohammad Hafeez
2 Imran Farhat
3 Yasir Hameed
4 Younis Khan
5 Mohammad Yousuf
6 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt)
7 Kamran Akmal (wk)
8 Shoaib Akhtar
9 Umar Gul
10 Danish Kaneria
11 Mohammad Asif
i know Danish hasn’t been in great form but we need 1 specialist spinner and he is the only one available (unless we sent our assistant coach in)
Akthar, Asif, and Gul would make a great pace attack and return of MoYo would strengthen the batting.
only thing i dont like about this line up is Inzi coming in at number 6, but we can’t change that much. Also he is problally the best player Pakistan has who can play with bowlers so may be its not that bad
hope they all perform and :insha: PAK WILL WIN!
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Ya if he stick around. Unfortunaely he gets out even before Akmal so no question of playing with tail.
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Warning to my fellow Canadians looks like CBN is showing the England/Australia ODI right now
this game started at 10 so im thinking its going to go till about 6AM EST
dont bother staying up and waiting for the match to start as we wont get coverage till about 6 am
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Yousuf, Akhtar and Sami are in for Pakistan. No Umar Gul
No changes for South Africa.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
The pitch looks good for batting so it will be interesting how Pakistan pace bowls. Hope we can get some quick wickets.
lets see what happens ...
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
chalo jee waapis sami in...
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Sami! Lakh Laanat eh! Im off to sleep! 
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Sami again!
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Argh, Sami back 
abhi saab ko boundry per bhagaye gaye
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Pakistani lineup: Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, liInzamam-ul-Haq, Yasir Hameed, +Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif[/li]
Will Asim Kamal ever be allowed to play?? This is so wrong. And Mohammad Sami manages to creep into this one too.
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
De Villiers gone
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Amla gone.
Shoaib strikes again. 
27/2
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
I wonder what the dumb selectors are thinking now :)
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
SA 35/2 after 1st hour
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Smith out by Kaneria 
**GC Smith c Younis Khan b Danish Kaneria 28 (44b 3x4 0x6) SR: 63.63 **
SA: 40/3
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
Iss girti huee deewaar ko
ik dhakka aur dau 
Re: South Africa vs. Pakistan - 2nd Test - 19-23 Jan at Port Elizabeth
look like Pak are going to win