First up is the early start to the Ashes test, where we have two matches to go and the series is level at 1-1. Here at home, we have the second test in a three match series with South Africa leading 1-0. Join us here for updates and some good holiday cheer for our team.
Australia:
SR Watson
PJ Hughes
RT Ponting
MJ Clarke
MEK Hussey
SPD Smith
BJ Haddin
MG Johnson
RJ Harris
PM Siddle
BW Hilfenhaus
England:
AJ Strauss
AN Cook
IJL Trott
KP Pietersen
PD Collingwood
IR Bell
MJ Prior
TT Bresnan
GP Swann
JM Anderson
CT Tremlett
South Africa:
GC Smith
AN Petersen
JH Kallis
HM Amla
AB de Villiers
AG Prince
MV Boucher
LL Tsotsobe
PL Harris
DW Steyn
M Morkel
India:
M Vijay
V Sehwag
R Dravid
SR Tendulkar
VVS Laxman
MS Dhoni
CA Pujara
I Sharma
Z Khan
Harbhajan Singh
S Sreesanth
Tweet
Go Proteas!
Good Show Australia. Bwhahahahahahahahaha
Aus
All out for 98.
Eng
48/0 after 13 overs.
Ponting must be pouting.
aus were destroyed…98 all out.
Raining here in Ptn this morning.
Not raining in Dbn though.
Morning all!
What a start to the Ashes test.
Eng 58/0 and trailing Aus by only 40 runs now..
Overcast day in Durban. The rain will definetly have an impact on this game.
Toss will be very important.
Aus get their first wicket!
Cook is reviewing the decision.
Big inside edge and the decision will be overturned.
Eng 70/0 and only 28 behind Aus now. Still another 13 overs to go!
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 9) :
How did the ump miss that inside edge to give a LBW?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 10) :
That was a terrible call.. even I saw that, and I am hardly awake..
Eng 90/0 after 29 overs
Scores almost level with only a day played..
Eng 98/0 and scores are level..
England leading the Aussies now with 10 first innings wickets still to go..
Eng 103/0 after 30.4 overs
Cook gets his half century.
Cook 53 off 93 balls.
Strauss gets his 6000th run in test cricket.
Well done!
aus really under the pump!
Eng 157/0 at Stumps on day 1
They lead by 59 runs
Delayed start at Kingsmead.
There is some spit in the air..
Pitch looks good, but it has started spitting again, and the covers are provisionally on.
More than just spit in the air in Ptn. 🙁
@KSA Shark © (Comment 21) :
I was out for a while now and its not raining in Durban North.
Over to Durban its looking okay, and apparently the covers are off..
@KSA Shark © (Comment 21) :
You have a good day yesterday?
The toss will happen at 10h30..
Conditions are good to go!
Covers are back on apparently..
Its that type of day today!
We should have a 11am start
SA have won the toss and will bowl first!
SA team is unchanged.
India have made three:
Vijay, Pujara and Zaheer come in for Gambhir, Raina and Unadkat
The SA team is on the park and the batsmen joining them soon.
Lots of support in the stadium.
Amla playing in his 50th test! Congrats mate!
Steyn to get us started, here we go!
Gets Sehwag smack on the fingers..
Pitch bouncing like a bastard!
Sehwag edges through an empty 4th slip..
Morkel bowling really well!
Morning everyone.
Pleased we won the toss. Rain totally stopped now in Umhlanga. Hope that is the rain for today.
Go Proteas.
@Puma (Comment 32) :
Apparently we will be seeing some more rain in the afternoon.
We can only hold thumbs..
Steyn gets the edge off Vijay, but goes through 2nd slips hands..
Not sure if it carried to slip..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 33) : Probably could but for no rain in Umhlanga. Don’t think we will see a full 5 days here, far too much rain this time of year.
Hope we bowl well and take some wickets before the rain comes back.
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 34) :
Daffy Duck Harris standing at first slip, but standing about 2m behind Boucher..
Should have been taken!
@Puma (Comment 35) :
It will be raining every day if the recent weather is anyting to go by.
Are you going to the game any of the days?
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 34) : Richard, I don’t have tv in my study, so will be back and forward to post. Going now to watch the cricket.
Thanks for putting the crici thread up again.
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 37) : No not going to any. Would have, but too much rain on and off, so rather just sit relaxed at home to watch.
@Puma (Comment 38) :
Cool man.. enjoy!
India 23/0 after 7 overs
Lonwabo Tsotsobe into the attack now..
Steyn is a man on a mission.. chirping Vijay with every delivery..
@Puma (Comment 35) : That plus bad light at the end of the day is always a problem in Durban.
Steyn gets Sehwag!!
Sehwag only gets 25 and is caught by Kallis.
India 43/1
YES FINALLY a wicket. Shewag gone.. 😎
Richard, some dark clouds building up by me, hope it stays away from the cricket.
Dravid strolls in with exactly 12000 runs to his name
Morkel back into the attack..
@KSA Shark © (Comment 43) : Yeah for sure that too. We should actually have summer and winter time here in Durbs like they do in Europe. Light at 4.30am in the summer crazy, we should change our clocks.. 🙂 I smile but serious it would be great to have it light here until 8pm during the summer months. I love us getting a test here. but really Durbs not the place to hold a test this time of year cause of the summer rains we get. Winter the weather is a cert. But no crici at home that time of year. Pity.
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 48) : Another wicket or two before lunch would be a plus for us. Keeping fingers crossed 🙂
Looks like the rain could be back sooner than I thought.
Edged through the slips again, this time through AB de Villiers..
Steyn gets his man the very next ball!!
Ind 48/2
Vijay gone for 19 off 42 balls
Heeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaa another one for Steyn. 😎
Nice going, need another wicket looks like rain could be coming back.
Great spell by Steyn..
8 overs, 2 wickets for 19 runs
Ind 62/2 after 17 overs
2 more overs until lunch
NZ beat Pak by 5 wickets in the ODI.
Consecutive top edges from Tendulkar, both going over the slips for four..
Very lucky!
@KSA Shark © (Comment 56) :
I completely missed the mark with that game. I chose Pak by 5 wickets.. NZ on the comeback?
Ind 74/2 after 19 overs and LUNCH..
Ends with a huge shout for LBW.
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 54) : Yes very good there by Steyn.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 56) : Thought they were playing a T20??? Never watched so have no idea now.
@Puma (Comment 60) : 😳 It was a T20 not ODI.
“I” knew what I meant. :wink::
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 58) : Not NZ on the comeback. More like Pak on the fix.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 61) : 😛 Got ya…hehe
@KSA Shark © (Comment 62) :
Ah yes.. makes sense now..
About going to the cricket KSA, think we can delay until day 4 or 5 and see if the ankle gets better? The last thing I wanna do is go to Kingsmead on crutches..
Still no rain here but dark clouds about. Just hope the rain stays away from cricket.
Cheers Richard and KSA catch up after the lunch break.
Back playing at Kingsmead, Tsotsobe get a four off him from the first ball..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 64) : Yeah we can do that no problem. At least with the current weather we know there WILL be a day 5. 🙂
Tsotsobe gets Tendulkar!!!
Caught by kallis in the slips!
Ind 79/3
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 68) : Nice!!!!
@KSA Shark © (Comment 67) :
Awesome, thanx man.. will let you know how it goes!
Thats the start SA would have wanted!
Ind 93/3 after 26 overs
Top edged pull shot lands meters away from a diving Amla.
Very lucky!
We need another wicket now.
Steyn back into the attack! C’mon Protea!
Ind 102/3 after 30.2 overs
Laxman spanks Steyn for a six!
12 runs in 4 balls
India 138 for 5. Dhoni and pujara at the crease
Lost the signal for about a hour. See Steyn has picked up another two wickets. Need to get Dhoni, we get him out think we could bowl them out today. That is if the rain don’t come. Huge big dard clouds about now.
@Puma (Comment 79) : dard – dark
@Ben (Comment 78) : We doing well so far, hope we can get Dhoni next.
Yip we need he’s wicket
Ind 168/6 at TEA
4 wickets for Steyn
2 wickets for Tsotsobe
Just watched the replay of Tsotsobe’s catch. Brilliant, brilliant catch that. Having problems with my signal today. Always when the weather is bad, we need cable tv in this country…
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 84) : Just listening in the break there, that we have to win this series 3 zip to take the number one spot back. Wow!!! that will be tough, thought we just had to just win the series.
We normally win in Cape Town, so hoping we win this test in Durbs. If the rain stays away, we just may.
Steyn goes off… damn hope he is okay.
play still on or finished.
Hope everyone had a merry christmas…is it just me or do we not have a plan b when it comes to having a 3rd strike bowler for tests..I mean tsostobe is too slow to be 3…