Cricket season

Karma wrote: I wouldn't mind seeing Du Plessis on the bench, Russouw at no3, De Villiers at 4, Miller at 5, Duminy 6, Wiese 7.... Berhardien shouldn't even be on the bench let alone the team...

I'm going to be non-PC and say that it will not happen as he is high performance contracted player, of the correct demographic and shares religious belief of directors / owners of major sponsor of SA cricket...just my opinion on the way I see things even though we may think it marginal issues...

Yip TNaicker, and that is the problem we will continue to suffer... I have no problem what race or religion our team consists of (much like everyone else), so long as they are deserving of their position in the team... In saying that, he did warrant a chance to prove himself, but after continued opportunities, when does the management decide that enough is enough....

If you look at the 3 top ODI teams in the world (imo they are), AUS, NZ, INDIA, when one looks at their batting line ups, Every single batsmen can single handedly win a game of cricket... Looking at our line up at current, unfortunately my confidence dips when I look at Du Plessis and Berhardien... Looking at the line up I mentioned on previous post, anyone of the players can chase any score down... Wiese is VERY underated with the bat, and a brilliant death bowler (a position where sa cricket lack a consistent performer), get him in, let him play....

@Karma...Duminy has also had his fair share of chances and he has been exposed at this level as a batsmen...

Been a fan of Wiese in the all-rounder role for a long time...he is no Kallis or Pollock or Klusener but he is no part-timer like a Duminy or Behardien...and if he were given the opportunities that other favourites have enjoyed, he will adapt to the level and make the place his own...

Or get in a 20/21 year old all rounder like Aiden Markram (captained the team to u19 World Cup win 2 years ago) and stick it out with him...

But both of the suggestions are of the wrong hue so that will not happen...I have tried to see who has been performing at franchise level that will meet the demographic requirements and I just cannot see anyone that shown even glimpses of ability to take the next step and be moulded into an international level all rounder, which is what we desperately need to bring balance to the team...then we don't have to accommodate Duminy and Behardien...

Agree TNaicker...

I watched the Cobra's about a week back, and I was super impressed by a kid named Jason Smith...(He was also in Markhram's team that won U19 wc).

On the all rounders point, we have a up and coming talent of substantial proportion, unfortunately he is only 16 (I think), and will only be ready for international cricket in 4-5 years... He was part of our current U19 team, bats 3 and bowls seem... Similar build to Kallis.... There is sometthing serious there to work with, so I just hope the High performance academy do everything they can with him.... Can't remember his 1st name, but surname is Mulder...

Ffs.... Miller and Russouw warming the bench and Berhardien starting......

Atleast they have given Wiese a run....

@Karma...Wiaan Mulder from Gauteng ??

As I said about Behardien...the run he has had whilst a guy like Russouw plays a match, dropped a match, plays a match, dropped for 2 matches...and they will probably say that Behardien has greater "all round" ability !! Because he can "bowl" his donkey drop junk and concede tons and that makes him a bowler...

I am not watching today's match in protest (even though I know no-one cares...but I gain nothing by watching the match as collecting another beating is never fun...enough is enough !!) and don't care what the result is...this nonsense must stop...we handicap ourselves and the team expects support...I much rather have no faith in this team than blind faith...and the greater the drop in viewership numbers, the sooner it will trigger a positive change...

IPL 2016 February 9, 2016 Kings XI Punjab appoint David Miller captain

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Kings XI Punjab have named South Africa batsman David Miller captain for IPL 2016. Last year the team was captained by Australia's George Bailey, but the franchise had not retained Bailey this season.

Sanjay Bangar, Kings XI's coach, said Miller had the right temperament to lead. "I have watched David grow as a player. He has displayed outstanding batting abilities and a cool temperament in many high-pressure situations," Bangar said. "I am confident in his potential to lead the boys this season."

While he has little captaincy experience on the South African domestic circuit, Miller, 26, is a key batting cog in Kings XI's line-up. He has been with them since the 2011 season, signed in April 2011 as a replacement player for England allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas.

In 2015, he was the only batsman to score more than 300 runs for them, hitting 357 at 32.45, with a strike rate of 134.21. It was a poor year overall for the team, which finished last in the league stage of the tournament. Ahead of the IPL auction this year, Miller was one of four overseas players retained - the others being Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson.

Miller's appointment comes a few days after Kings XI appointed retired India batsman Virender Sehwag team mentor.

Squad: David Miller, Swapnil Singh, M Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, Rishi Dhawan, Kyle Abbott, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pardeep Sahu, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Farhaan Behardien, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, Manan Vohra, Gurkeerat Singh, Axar Patel, Nikhil Naik, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, KC Cariappa, Armaan Jaffer

TNaicker wrote: @Karma...Wiaan Mulder from Gauteng ??

As I said about Behardien...the run he has had whilst a guy like Russouw plays a match, dropped a match, plays a match, dropped for 2 matches...and they will probably say that Behardien has greater "all round" ability !! Because he can "bowl" his donkey drop junk and concede tons and that makes him a bowler...

I am not watching today's match in protest (even though I know no-one cares...but I gain nothing by watching the match as collecting another beating is never fun...enough is enough !!) and don't care what the result is...this nonsense must stop...we handicap ourselves and the team expects support...I much rather have no faith in this team than blind faith...and the greater the drop in viewership numbers, the sooner it will trigger a positive change...

With Wiese playing today, they should have dropped Behardien and replaced him with Miller.

Berhardien stats though is not too bad in ODI's.

Batting at an average of 31 with a strike rate of 98.

His bowling is at 5.62 per over with over 110 overs bowled with 14 wickets taken.

Morris has bowled 64 overs and is going at 6.31 with 12 wickets taken. Hardly had opportunity to bat.

Wiese is just starting out his ODI career but is more of an impact player than those of Morris and Berhardien, but Morris IPL auction of 1 million dollars tells a different story.

Match turning overs now with Tahir bowling. Either going to get 4 wickets or get smashed for 60

@naresh...the IPL auction was a joke...Pawan Negi (who is he ?? following cricket for a long time and still cannot think of anyone else who has done so little who sold for so much !!) sold for more than a million dollars and washed up players like Yuvraj, Nehra and Sharma went for bundles...

I'm glad that a South African fetched a million dollars (in my opinion undeserved) but there are many players better than Morris...and many more better than Behardien and Duminy given the chances they have enjoyed and not utilised...

I'm just tired of how non-cricket determinations are increasingly dominating our sports teams and I'm going to take an extended hiatus from watching any of our team sports as they are increasingly subject to non sporting considerations rather than being single minded in the pursuit of excellence...I'll wholly support the individuals that show excellence...

Maybe some of the teams are just tired of most of these foreign players just turning up and going through the motions to earn their money. Was it not Steyn who said that he plays in the IPL for a holiday. A joke how many of them do nothing on the field. Mind you you only get paid pro rata to how many matches you play. So if someone who does not play at all will only get a fraction of what they were auctioned for. IPL is not my cup of tea. I watched the first two as the first one was new and the 2nd one was played in SA. I have watched very little since but do follow the SA players on Cricinfo to see how they go.

TNaicker wrote: @naresh...the IPL auction was a joke...Pawan Negi (who is he ?? following cricket for a long time and still cannot think of anyone else who has done so little who sold for so much !!) sold for more than a million dollars and washed up players like Yuvraj, Nehra and Sharma went for bundles...

I'm glad that a South African fetched a million dollars (in my opinion undeserved) but there are many players better than Morris...and many more better than Behardien and Duminy given the chances they have enjoyed and not utilised...

I'm just tired of how non-cricket determinations are increasingly dominating our sports teams and I'm going to take an extended hiatus from watching any of our team sports as they are increasingly subject to non sporting considerations rather than being single minded in the pursuit of excellence...I'll wholly support the individuals that show excellence...

agree wholeheartedly with you. BUT when you have a team with half of the team not up to scratch then the other half will eventually just drop down to their level. That is what happened over the past few month with the Proteas. Elgar good, Van Zyl poor, Amla good du Plessis poor, Bavuma good AB poor by his standards, Vilas poor de Kock good, Morkel poor Radaba good, Morris good Viljoen and Abbot poor Piedt good.