ICC World Cup 2011 - SWOT Analysis : SOUTH AFRICA

The South African Cricket Board announced its WC Squad couple of days back. Except for a couple of surprises it was more or less the squad which everybody expected.

The final squad looks like this :

Graeme Smith (Capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (WK), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk (WK)

From the looks , it can be said that the team has beefed up their squad with all round bowling attack, getting off their conventional single dimensional pace attack. They are most likely to play 1 spinner + 3 pacers + Kallis. Maybe, at the Lankan grounds, where there isn't even an iota of help for pacers, they will go for 2 spinners + 2 pacers + Kallis. Their batting has looked consistent, though their middle order has wobbled without their 'Anchor-man' Kallis. Duminy has looked a lot better recently, his services will be key in the world cup. The inclusion of Peterson over Albie Morkel is definitely debatable. Both of them haven't proved themselves in the Int'l circuit in the recent past but, Morkel can be good with the bat comparatively. Dropping Mark Boucher was expected .

STRENGTHS:

• The Awesome Twosome combo of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. Irrespective of the pitch and weather conditions, they are fatal.
• Their batting is strong with Kallis coming back. Smith, Amla, Kallis, ABD are the Fantastic Four of SA now .

WEAKNESS:

• They come along the tag of .. you know it .. "CHOKERS".
• The spin department is very inexperienced and chances of getting the 'STICK' treatment is more if they don't adapt to the conditions.
• They lack a power hitter at No.7. Faf du is expected to fill in that position and he doesn't look like a slogger. This is where Albie Morkel could have been handy.

OPPORTUNITIES:

• They definitely possess a squad combined with experience and young legs and this is the time for them to lose their CHOKERS status.
• Imran Tahir. Will he? Won't he? Period.

THREATS:

• Most of their star players(Smith, Kallis, etc) are prone to injuries .Their loss might dent the team big time .
• Their batting can be exposed while playing quality spin. Most of the teams possess a front-line spinner and playing in the sub-continent will definitely test their batting abilities.
•  Spin will be key in this world cup, the Proteas have heavily backed Botha to be their no.1 man for the job, the third seamer be it Tsotsobe or Parnell dint have much success during their last tour to India. Adapting to sub-continent conditions will be high on their agenda.

The team looks pretty competitive on paper and the same team pretty well when they toured the sub-continent. As Duncan Fletcher said, they are a team which can definitely make it till the end this time . They should hope that the LADY LUCK is with them and DUCKWORTH & LEWIS far away .

Pakistan Vs South Africa 1st Test Dubai : SAF Report Card

Can anyone crack this nut?
© AFP

   After crushing Zim without mercy and beating the Stanis in the T20s & ODIs, Proteas started favorites in the 2-match test series as well. Smith opting to go with 2 spinners in Botha and Harris along with Steyn, Morne in the pace department and Kallis to bowl his share(senior citizen quota). Clearly, Smith struggled with his 5th bowler options. But, it was the Proteas top-order that made merry in the first test against an unimpressive Pakistan bowling attack. Check how the Pakistanis fared in the match here.

Alviro Peterson - 6
Brilliant 150 run opening stand with Smith on day1. Set the mood for others coming in.

Graeme Smith - 7©
Started slowly, took his time at the crease. And by the time you knew it took the game away from the Stanis. As a captain dint use his bowling resources all that well. His decision to declare in the 2nd innings was to provide a result to the  test and it almost did go very wrong for him. Bold but the bowlers lacked the skills to take wickets on a  day 5 pitch. He may have used Kallis a bit more and perhaps Peterson's bowling just to test the Stanis.

Hashim Amla - 8
198 runs in the game. He's turning out to be the run-machine Proteas would have dreamed to replace Kallis at the no.3 slot. Runs in limited overs has helped his confidence overflow with aggression. Tendulkar, Ponting, Sehwag loyalists beware!

Jacques Kallis - 7.5
208 runs in the game. Played the Pakistani spinners with ease.Dominated the old-school style caution with aggression.

AB De Villiers - 4
Had a game to forget. Got out in the 1st innings when Gul, Rehman just pulled things back for Pakistan. Dint get to bat in the 2nd innings.

Ashwell Prince - 4
Had the same fate as that of De Villiers.


Mark Boucher - 5
Dint flourish with the bat. Was neat behind the stumps.

Johan Botha - 5
Got into the Pakistani middle order in the 1st innings getting 3 wickets. Failed to do so in the 2nd innnigs.

Paul Harris - 4.5
Picked up just 2 wickets in the game bowling 56 overs! But dint leak runs at a miserly rpo of 1.86 for the match. Ideally Smith would like the wickets column show some life.

Dale Steyn - 5.5
Bowled well but, could not finish the job for his captain. The Stanis played him very cautiously infact, in the Pakistani 2nd innings Misbah faced Steyn for 34 deliveries scoring zilch!

Morne Morkel - 6.5
Stuck to the task and earned a well deserved 5fer in the 1st innings. However, couldn't repeat the performance in the 2nd innings and Pakistan played it easy.

IPL 3.0 Royal Spirit

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Introducing this team is like showing light to the sun(LOL), from being the under-dog champions to now being over-rated chimps they have done it all in just 2 seasons of IPL. The big news last year was Shilpa Shetty and her beau who had bought stakes in the champion side. From there on everything seemed to go down-hill literally! Warne the chief-in-charge could not re-create the magic the Royals put up in the debut season. Partly due to missing key players like Watson and Tanvir who were very effective in the inaugural season. Even Graeme Smith dint look in touch even at home conditions. So, they ended up missing the cut to the semis but, entertained us with a few fiercely fought games. Thus, keeping us interested in the Royals.

This year they have done Warne some favour and made him feel at home by bringing in some of his mates from down under and his county side Hampshire. Michael Lumb currently making news is also one to look out for. Damien Martyn was probably the steal for them in the auctions it has to be seen whether he stands to that. Otherwise losing Kaif and Jadeja has made their domestic rooster even more brittle. Apart from that Royals planning to expand their franchise even outside India is a bold and great move.

SQUAD: Shane Warne, Johan Botha, Damien Martyn, Michael Lumb,Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Shrikant Wagh, Abhishek Raut, Sumit Narwal, Faiz Fazal, Syed Ahmed Quadri, Amit Paunikar, Kamran Khan, Amit Singh, Graeme Smith, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Morne Morkel, Shaun Tait, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Sidharth Trivedi, Swapnil Asnodkar, Mahesh Rawat, Naman Ojha, Amit Paunikar.

STRENGTHS: Warne's captaincy, his ability to make heroes out of unknowns.

WEAKNESS: Domestic players aren't top-class or even half of that. Sticking to just 4 foreign players will be tough.

WATCH OUT FOR: Michael Lumb as said earlier, Shaun SLOON Tait who's been in impressive form for Australia in T20s.

WAH's xi:

• Smith
• Naman Ojha
• Abhishek Jhunjhunwala
• Damien Martyn/Michael Lumb
• Dimitri Mascarenhas/Shane Watson
• Yusuf Pathan
• Shane Warne©
• Abhishek Raut
• Kamran Khan
• Sidharth Trivedi
• Munaf Patel

WAH Say: The team looks mighty weak, if they need Tait/Morkel they would have to either drop a foreign player who can bat. The pinch of losing Jadeja, Kaif is gonna feel like a sledge hammer slammed on to your face! Sure to end at the bottom of the league table. Expect very few wins this time. Ex-champions will have to remain "ex".

Ind Saf 2nd Test in Pics

Day 1 - SAF win toss, dominate play



After tea: Ind's spinners rise to the occasion



Day2 - Indian batsman come to the PARTY!




Day3 - Laxman, MSD continue the act as Saffers begin to feel kinky.





Day4 - Rain, Bad lights just 39 overs of play, SAF still have 7 wickets in hand.



Day5 - Final day, SAF lose wickets initially, though Amla continues to frustrate the Indians.



In the end it was race against time for the Indians, Amla kept his cool but, Bhajji struck just moments before close of play taking Morkel's wicket and with that the match. India level series 1-1. Top spot in the ICC World test championship secure.



Excellent exhibition of cricket from both teams.