Australia vs South Africa, 2nd Durban Test, Day 4

It's neither gracious nor classy to say I told you so. However, I possess neither of those qualities so let me point out that I've been campaigning for a long while that Matthew Hayden should make way for a new opening batsman. My argument was that in this period of transition, Matthew Hayden was not the future. In Durban, we've seen the future in Phil Hughes. And the future is looking bright. If Hughes can handle a swinging Duke ball, it could be a long Ashes series for England.

Thanks in large part to Hughes' twin centuries, Australia now have South Africa by the short and curlies. The Saffers need to bat the better part of two entire days to save this Test, already one batsman down due to Graeme Smith's ruined hand. I see this game lasting into the 5th day unless South Africa completely fall apart. But an Australian win should be inevitable barring something completely nuts like a Duminy triple century with Graeme Smith coming out in the last few overs of the match (surely not again!!!)

Posted by JC on Mon 9 Mar

15 comments

It may be too early to say this, but I think Phil Hughes has better technique than Hayden had. Hayden bulldozed his way through all bowling attacks successfully, but was not the purist's delight.

Phil Hughes and the other guy who impressed in T20 and ODIs (Shaun Marsh) look classy and eminently watchable. Being the Indian that I am, I watch all cricket.. and enjoyed watching Hughes' century on TV yesterday.. The rising ball, the swining ball... no nothing was a problem for him.

If such young and promising talent have the commitment and discipline of Sachin, they can play for at least 15 years.. and etch their names in history.

Posted by Mahesh on 2009-03-10 00:44:13

Well, I reckon Phil Hughes has an ugly technique, but as the saying goes - 'He has an eye like a dead fish'. He really struggles against a good short ball - however if it's slightly misdirected it's always 4. His feet seem to always be in the wrong spot - but he always hits the middle of the bat. That's what's screwed the Proteas with there so called 'plans' against him.
With the technique he's got I bet England are right now working out strategies for the ashes - if he can make runs there then it could well be a great decade for Aussie cricket with Hughes at the top of the order.

Posted by Hewy on 2009-03-10 13:13:35

Oh, JC, I haven't mentioned that I was wrong about the unloved red-haired stepchild - McDonald. I seriously didn't think he would play - but I think I was fooling myself! Punter loves him, and I guess they were never going to give another uncapped player a game. 3-for in the first dig, but he needs to get wickets on day 5. I doubt Siddle will play the next test with a sore foot, so they'll cap Geeves/McGoffin and suddenly the Ranga is playing 4 tests in a row.

Posted by Hewy on 2009-03-10 13:38:57

Post New Comment

You need to be logged in to post a comment. If you're new, register here. Existing users, login via the right margin.

Username
Password
Keep me logged in
		New? Register here

CricketBlog.com

Australia vs South Africa, 2nd Durban Test, Day 4

Post New Comment