The Cricket Thread

[lancelot]

Chocked again.

[Anakha56]

We are the chokers, We are the chokers, No time for winning because we are the chokers of the game...

That should be our cricket anthem...

/waits for a tongue lashing from M/T

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[thEnaileDonE]

So SA can't loose any matches without it being because they choked?

[Anakha56]

Did you watch the game? We were in control with the ball, we controlled the batting until those 3 quick wickets. Yes it was a good bowling from England but come on we had at one stage 20 balls more than the runs required to win. It was a big collapse and I hope we can learn from this and prevent it from happening in the semi's...

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[doo_much]

Damn.

But better to lose now and gain some humility than later?

[Tribble]

No idea where the saying came from but it sux. It is not better to lose now. They should have won. Now and next time.

[Mystical_Titan]

***** happens, it's going nothing to do with choking. Careful I don't choke you, Anakha.

[Anakha56]

M/T it may happen but statistically whenever our team is in a pressure situation we collapse and this happens all the time in World Cup. Thats why I am glad it happened in the early stage and not when it really matters. M/T how about we do some choking on binge drinking when crash out the W/C?

[Mystical_Titan]

We're not going to crash out. We're at the very least going to reach the final this time. Mark my words.

[Sojourn]

It may happen but statistically whenever our team is in a pressure situation we collapse and this happens all the time in World Cup.

+1
Chokers indeed.
MT's loyalty and optimism are to be commended, however, I have no faith that we will pull it off and enter the finals based on their fighting spirit displayed yesterday.

A team with class, form and substance, would have sealed the game yesterday.
We just don't have the "stomach in chest out" attitude it seems.

Guess you can translate that into "choker".

[Stuart]

I would think that the moniker "choker" would only apply to a game of the utmost importance with the highest pressure. Yesterday's game would not qualify. We lost. We're not out of the competition. We're still in pretty good shape for the next round, in fact.

I am not, however, as optimistic about the final as MT is.

I see that Kevin Pietersen got himself a hernia with all that effort put into his eight overs of blistering pace yesterday. Hands up if you feel sorry for the guy.

As a matter of interest, any word on why our captain-in-training has not played the last two games?

[Mystical_Titan]

Because you're a selector and you don't like him.

[Sojourn]

Well, you only need 1 captain on the team...
Last time I checked GS was still fit to play?

[Sojourn]

Oh and also this...
I feel nothing for KP or any of the other SA-B team players.

[Anakha56]

The thing is Stu if we cant handle the pressure for a game that did not carry any weight what will happen when we are confronted by a game that does matter? If you look at our history there is only one way in which we will perform and yesterdays game proved it. Also look at the amount of extras we gave away vs England. we loss at that point as well...

I am all for us to lose the tag but until we can win high pressure games be them big or small the tag will remain.

As for KP he gave four runs we give him a hernia fair trade in my eyes .

[Mystical_Titan]

Guys... I think you are all reading more into this than there really is. Show me one team that hasn't done what SA did yesterday.

[Anakha56]

M/T show me one team that has cracked under pressure every time they have played a World Cup game? We have a reputation of not being able to perform when the pressure is on.

All I can say is that I am glad it happened in a game that does not mean that much. At least now we will learn and reflect on it so that we can overcome it for it when it truly matters.

[Stuart]

Well, you only need 1 captain on the team...
Last time I checked GS was still fit to play?

So your theory is don't play the vice-captain until the current captain retires, then hand over the reigns immediately?

The thing is Stu if we cant handle the pressure for a game that did not carry any weight what will happen when we are confronted by a game that does matter?

Be that as it may, you can only "choke" in a game that really does matter.

M/T show me one team that has cracked under pressure every time they have played a World Cup game? We have a reputation of not being able to perform when the pressure is on.

To be completely fair here, it's not really a case of can't-perform-in-the-World-Cup. We have failed in every major ICC competition since readmission. Not that that makes it any better, but we should at least recognise that the issue transcends the World Cup. It seems that any time we pay in a multi-team competition we fail. It's one thing playing the same team over five games; it's quite another playing seven different teams over seven games.

[Mystical_Titan]

I'm curious to see what England will do with their batting order now that KP has departed the scene. Maybe open with Prior and put Morgan back into the middle order?

[Sojourn]

I am not going to be sucked into another GS vs JB captaincy talk.
We agreed to disagree.

OK, leave the choker tag by the door.

MT, it is totally out of character for you to be complacent about the way we lost.

Stuart, every single game in a world cup is an important game. Based on non-elimination, you rate the game as unimportant? I say, based on how unimportant it was, it made it even more important to pull a win from it.

If (edit: when) we get ousted, please know I have bookmarked this passage of posts for future reference.

[Anakha56]

M/T show me one team that has cracked under pressure every time they have played a World Cup game? We have a reputation of not being able to perform when the pressure is on.

To be completely fair here, it's not really a case of can't-perform-in-the-World-Cup. We have failed in every major ICC competition since readmission. Not that that makes it any better, but we should at least recognise that the issue transcends the World Cup. It seems that any time we pay in a multi-team competition we fail. It's one thing playing the same team over five games; it's quite another playing seven different teams over seven games.

So then the next question is this, what has been done to overcome this problem? How many ICC events has Smith captained and we always have the same result? Is it the Captain or the Coach who is at fault? We have played and beaten every team out there but as you said when it comes to a multi nation game we fail, why? Do we not prepare properly enough?

[Mystical_Titan]

MT, it is totally out of character for you to be complacent about the way we lost.

SA have always coasted through the group stages of any tournament before getting thrown out during the knockout stages. While the word "choke" often comes to mind, I think it's also been a case of them becoming complacent, much like WI in the 1983 WC final against India.

I think an early loss takes the complacency factor out of the equation and makes them realise that "Hey... we better pull our fingers out of our bottom here".

[Stuart]

I am not going to be sucked into another GS vs JB captaincy talk.
We agreed to disagree.

Ja, but you're taking it to a whole new level if you argue that a potential future captain needn't even play regularly until he's given the captaincy. That there is crazy talk!

Stuart, every single game in a world cup is an important game. Based on non-elimination, you rate the game as unimportant? I say, based on how unimportant it was, it made it even more important to pull a win from it.

If (edit: when) we get ousted, please know I have bookmarked this passage of posts for future reference.

Okay, let's pretend for a moment that I was using the term "important" in a relative sense. For the sake of argument, let's say that "important" equates with "elimination" and "unimportant" with "non-elimination."

And on a completely unrelated note, this 2.5m rule with the Hawkeye system is just getting rediculace now.

[Stuart]

M/T show me one team that has cracked under pressure every time they have played a World Cup game? We have a reputation of not being able to perform when the pressure is on.

To be completely fair here, it's not really a case of can't-perform-in-the-World-Cup. We have failed in every major ICC competition since readmission. Not that that makes it any better, but we should at least recognise that the issue transcends the World Cup. It seems that any time we pay in a multi-team competition we fail. It's one thing playing the same team over five games; it's quite another playing seven different teams over seven games.

So then the next question is this, what has been done to overcome this problem? How many ICC events has Smith captained and we always have the same result? Is it the Captain or the Coach who is at fault? We have played and beaten every team out there but as you said when it comes to a multi nation game we fail, why? Do we not prepare properly enough?

It's not about Smith or Van Zyl here. We had exactly the same problem under Wessels, Cronje and Pollock. You can hardly blame the current management for a historical problem.

[Mystical_Titan]

And on a completely unrelated note, this 2.5m rule with the Hawkeye system is just getting rediculace now.

Yeah. Absolutely ZERO continuity. One umpire will give an out decision under the 2.5m rule, another will reverse the decision. WTF?