Cricket

When do England tour India? Until Anderson shows me something on those wickets, Steyn is not only better, but miles better.

Steyn
Tests : 54
Wickets : 272
Average : 23.18
Strike Rate : 40.9

Average in RSA : 22.27
Average Away : 23.25

Anderson
Tests : 70
Wickets : 267
Average : 30.05
Strike Rate : 57.2

Average in ENG : 27.02
Average Away : 36.48

Useless statistics mate, we are talking about right now who the better bowler is.

Anderson was fantastic in Australia and Sri Lanka in this last two years, and has been brilliant at home.

Steyn has also been excellent.

Right now - there's not much in it.
 
Steyn is going to be a nightmare for the English batsmen on those wickets.

This is possibly the best South African team since around 99. Our biggest problem is that we have quite a long tail.

Best English side since the 80's.

Genuinely think England will win 2-0.
Although a five test series would of been far better.

No weaknesses in our side bar the number 6 position, and with a strong tail and spinner, we should win it.
 
Best English side since the 80's.

Genuinely think England will win 2-0.
Although a five test series would of been far better.

No weaknesses in our side bar the number 6 position, and with a strong tail and spinner, we should win it.

Remember though that this is probably the first time we have had a spinner who can actually spin the ball.

I think your top order might struggle against Philander, Steyn and Morkel. The English pitches will suit all three of them nicely. Having said that, England definitely go into the series as favourites.
 
Remember though that this is probably the first time we have had a spinner who can actually spin the ball.

I think your top order might struggle against Philander, Steyn and Morkel. The English pitches will suit all three of them nicely. Having said that, England definitely go into the series as favourites.

The SA pace line up will undoubtedly cause England problems, it's a good attack.

Only Steyn would get in our line up (bowling) though IMO, be interesting to see what the neutrals would say to that?

Looking forward to it though. Certainly will put a better contest than India did.
 
The SA pace line up will undoubtedly cause England problems, it's a good attack.

Only Steyn would get in our line up (bowling) though IMO, be interesting to see what the neutrals would say to that?

Looking forward to it though. Certainly will put a better contest than India did.

Even Windies have put a better contest than us, so that's hardly a prediction ;)
 
Even Windies have put a better contest than us, so that's hardly a prediction ;)

Such a dissapointing series, but England made a bit of a mockery of it themselves by getting dicked in Abu Dhabi in the same fashion.

Zaheer getting injured so early seemed to drain the Indian side.
 
Such a dissapointing series, but England made a bit of a mockery of it themselves by getting dicked in Abu Dhabi in the same fashion.

Zaheer getting injured so early seemed to drain the Indian side.

As soon as Zaheer went injured, it was series over for most of Indian fans.
Saying that, we have two bowlers coming through who can bowl more than 145 consistently, hopefully they progress well.
 
Zaheer shouldn't have been picked for the Lord's test he wasn't fit, the key was Pietersen grinding out the first day there before getting a double century. That really set the tone for the rest of the series. I was at the Edgbaston test, Dhoni was so negative and the body language of the Indian fielders was poor. No energy, only Praveen Kumar looked up for it at all. I was suprised at some of the senior guys, I expected a bit more from Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Sehwag in the field. It was all hands on hips though.
 
As soon as Zaheer went injured, it was series over for most of Indian fans.
Saying that, we have two bowlers coming through who can bowl more than 145 consistently, hopefully they progress well.

I have it at 3, maybe 4. Yadav, Aaron, Awana and if the speedometer is right Veer Pratap Singh is capable of hitting the 140 kph mark too. India need to be careful though, you don't want these fast bowler's overthinking. Yadav seems to be coming on nicely from what I saw in the IPL.
 
As soon as Zaheer went injured, it was series over for most of Indian fans.
Saying that, we have two bowlers coming through who can bowl more than 145 consistently, hopefully they progress well.

Pretty pathetic attitude that though, ecspecially as the players seemed to follow that trend.

The fielding was average, and Sehwag borderline embarassing with the bat.
 
I remember Kumar was getting the ball to nip about early in the day and Dhoni had a sweeper on the offside, I was absolutely baffled. I think someone like Kohli will do the side a world of good, they need that attitude.
 
Anderson needs assistance.

He's the best in the world with the overhead conditions, can make it talk both ways with great disguise and control

But to say he needs it is complete bollocks

24 wickets @ 26.04 in Australia says it all

And for comparing Steyn to Anderson since Jan 1st 2009

Anderson 159@26.54, Econ-2.82, SR-56.3
Steyn 122@23.82, Econ-3.17, SR-44.9

Steyn takes more wickets, but is more expensive doing it - not sure where both have toured in that time though, so may be inaccurate - plus, England's attack is better, so wickets are shared round in that same period Swann has 180 and Broad 135 - the next SA is Morkel on 93 wickets

Anderson and Steyn are the two best in the world, enjoy them whilst you can
 
He's the best in the world with the overhead conditions, can make it talk both ways with great disguise and control

But to say he needs it is complete bollocks

24 wickets @ 26.04 in Australia says it all

And for comparing Steyn to Anderson since Jan 1st 2009

Anderson 159@26.54, Econ-2.82, SR-56.3
Steyn 122@23.82, Econ-3.17, SR-44.9

Steyn takes more wickets, but is more expensive doing it - not sure where both have toured in that time though, so may be inaccurate - plus, England's attack is better, so wickets are shared round in that same period Swann has 180 and Broad 135 - the next SA is Morkel on 93 wickets

Anderson and Steyn are the two best in the world, enjoy them whilst you can

You mean Anderson surely.
 
The average divided by the economy rate should give you the strike rate in overs. So those stats point to Steyn giving away less runs to get a wicket whilst at the same time taking fewer balls to get that wicket.

Steyn probably won't even be our best bowler on tour. It will probably be Philander with the overhead conditions.
 
Didn't Philander play at Middlesex with Strauss? To be fair Kallis is the massive difference, reverse swing will be key too.
 
Didn't Philander play at Middlesex with Strauss? To be fair Kallis is the massive difference, reverse swing will be key too.

I'm not sure about his stint in England but when conditions are good for him he is a real handful. I'm not sure how well he would do on a really flat wicket but he won't need to worry about that on this tour.

Kallis is a bit of a strange one. I don't think he will bowl too much as his batting will be key. However, he will be needed to break those big partnerships - something he has done well in the past.
 
I'm not sure about his stint in England but when conditions are good for him he is a real handful. I'm not sure how well he would do on a really flat wicket but he won't need to worry about that on this tour.

Kallis is a bit of a strange one. I don't think he will bowl too much as his batting will be key. However, he will be needed to break those big partnerships - something he has done well in the past.

Kallis gives you a legit 4th seamer, as for the wickets if Trent Bridge is anything to go by they might be flat by the time comes and reverse swing will be key.
 
English pitches will not and do not necessary suit the SA quickies. English pitches are not as fast & bouncy as in SA. You need to bowl a fuller length on English pitches, something neither 3 are used to.

As for comparing Anderson's stats with Steyn's; Anderson's stats are miss leading! It took Anderson a long while before he started producing the goods at test level.
 
English pitches will not and do not necessary suit the SA quickies. English pitches are not as fast & bouncy as in SA. You need to bowl a fuller length on English pitches, something neither 3 are used to.

As for comparing Anderson's stats with Steyn's; Anderson's stats are miss leading! It took Anderson a long while before he started producing the goods at test level.

Eh?
Apart from Morkel, both Steyn and Philander bowl full most of the times.
 
Well Kallis is very experienced and Tahir and Philander have a lot of County Cricket experience. Steyn will adapt too, the only question mark is Morkel but he's got the height to get away with it I feel.
 
KP retiring from all forms on international limited overs cricket, wants to prolong Test career. Very suprised by his decision and a loss for England.
 
KP: "With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015," he said.



The ECB say that the terms of the central contract state that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one-day formats automatically rules himself out of consideration for both formats of the game as planning for both formats is closely linked. But Pietersen added: "For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20."

Strange that they couldn't find a middle ground.
 
Isn't the Twenty20 WC this year? I'm surpised he didn't wait until after the competition to announce his decision if he knew about the terms of the contract. Maybe he has some injury?
 
I think KP's decision is heavily influenced by the IPL, he could have easily played the next World Cup. He can't play IPL and find all that time to play cricket and spend some time with his family. This year he's gone from Abu Dhabi to Sri Lanka then straight to India for the IPL before coming back here (where he even played a county game). Cutting out the IPL wouldn't make a huge difference but I do think cutting out T20's would have made more sense but as Neutral pointed out it seems you have to quit both. I do think the younger players would have benefitted from KP's experience in ODI's. Back to back Ashes series are definitely on his mind too I guess.
 
The back to back Ashes series is a joke, the first series will be completely meaningless unless one team wins 5-0.
 
Fair feck's to KP, he wants to be financially secure and have a longer test career. He's played 85 tests in under 7 years (only seems like yesterday he was slog sweeping Warne and I was like woah). Surely they could have figured out a rotation system for KP though, I don't know. There is far too much pointless cricket though, I mean England have 7 ODI's in India after 4 Tests, why? I'd much rather have 5 tests against South Africa and 3 ODI's or something.
 
The ECB need to change that rule where a central contract player automatically rules himself out of all limited over international cricket if he chooses to retire from one. Pietersen remains by far and a way England's best player in the T20 format. Him not being available and with Luke Wright one of his possible replacements is like the football team missing Rooney and having Andy Carroll as his direct replacement..
 
Eh?
Apart from Morkel, both Steyn and Philander bowl full most of the times.

They'll need to bowl fuller then they do in SA. Obviously Steyn's the best fast bowler in the world and the other two aren't bad either. But they'll need to bowl a different line & length to what they might be used to.
Fast bowling's so technical, it's difficult to bowl shorter or fuller than your normal length. You can't just switch it on & off.
 
Steyne is easily the best bowler in the world and of this past generation IMO (although the standard has been rubbish). His averages are up there with the greats of the game. He hits the 145 mark regularly and moves the ball pretty much wherever he goes.
 
Jimmy Anderson and Dale Steyn? :lol:

Bet you haven't seen test cricket in a long time.

Saw him bowl versus Sri Lanka and Pakistan recently.. James Anderson is the real deal.

But as good as Anderson is, Steyn is even better. Anderson will go down as one of the best bowlers of his generation(if you count only his form of the last 2 years), Steyn will go down as one of the best ever.
 
Anderson's numbers in the last 2 years are only a fraction below Steyn's, btw. It was compared in an article on Cricinfo a month ago.
 
I wouldn't compare Anderson to Steyn. Steyn is a genuine fast bowler, Anderson isn't. Steyn is the best strike bowler in the world. But Anderson can even get a 20 over old Kookaburra ball to swing in the sub continent. Ideally you'd like 1 of each in your team.