Proph, I'm not going to get drawn into what caused your 'angst'. My concern was only the double standards displayed by you (and others by their silence this time around) in having no issue with a current Test captain coming out and bagging opposition players in his book, when only a few weeks ago all you guys suddenly "lost respect" for, and ran Gilly (a retired player) down for much the same thing. Only difference seems to be that Gilly had the audacity to target the untouchable Tendulkar, while Vettori targetted some players you Indians love to hate. If there's not a double standard there, I'd love you to explain why not. And please note, that unlike what you guys did with Gilly, I have no problem with Vettori saying whatever he likes - it's the fact that you have no problem with him that I have a problem with...

ArrogantOz, that's a pretty interesting finding. I have actually been impressed with how often umpires get LB decisions correct, albeit with a few incorrect ones thrown in. I always felt though that it's an almost superhuman quality to be able to look out for the no-ball and then still have time to adjust your viewpoint to still make the call on the LBW. It just puts into perspective how tough a join umpiring is

South Africa are making the Bangladesh bowlers look like worldbeaters.

Whoa Pom, easy there lad. England should have won the last ODI, but botched it badly. Sadly, it's becoming a common occurrence now. Also, I said they should win when they were 1 down for a hundred-odd after 20-odd overs. You do realise the messages posted here are delayed right? By low-scoring I meant SA to rack up around 400-450 runs in the first inning and the Bangla's to run out of steam at around 150-220. Why the animosity all of a sudden? Bad day at work?

@MasterG: Perhaps something like the automated system they use in long and triple jump? Shouldn't be too difficult to tailor it to cricket.

Actualy it is good batting from South Africa to negotiate the new ball and score 53/0. Alas at 2.53 to the over but still no wickets are down. Good solid start. The South Africans are so happy they are batting first. More practice. The Bangladesh "B" team would have not made 100 on this pitch. South Africa should try bat for 3 days at least for batting practice and score close to 1000 runs, lol. Then set Dale and Morne' loose on them to bowl them out twice by the end of the 4th day.

Saman...I think in the ODI format England are capable of stepping up, it was after all only a few short months ago that a 'tired and emotional' (bless 'em) SA were humiliated 4-0 and spared from a whitewash because they decided to play a game in Wales where it rains everyday...stepping up against a team who are good in the ODI format will be harder though. However series wins against Australia away, India at home and Sri Lanka away in the not so distant past suggest it can be done...although India are way too good at present. In the tests - no chance, 0-2...I wonder if the Indians would mind if we moved the games to Wales?

And Penny, Vettori's timing could be part of upping the ante before the cricket series. I don't deny that. But, it was the content that struck a chord with me and not necessarily the timing.

Gilly's comments were quoted in ample measure by the the Aussies here but you are affronted by my quoting Vettori, Penny. I know you play hard but please play fair too. My quotes came straight from Vettori and my angst came because an Aussie player reports to the umpire that he was on the receiving end of a "f**koff". That same player is the leading perpetrator when it comes to using foul language. Is that ok with you?

Kurtkz...So SA / Bang will be low scoring ? Forgive me if I do not take your cricket punditry too seriously as you were the exact same person who said "England should win from here" in the last ODI, when they needed 9+ an over off the last 18 !!...Welcome back to Roy - after the disgraceful way he was racially abused in India I hope he can put it all behind him and come out firing...Karma...as you would say, LMAO - good to have my 'forum bunny' back ! Btw, you forgot to put the 'Q' word in capitals, twice?

Interesting comments from Arthur over the weekend, he said that he was hoping for a good batting pitch that would force the SA quicks to work hard for Bangladeshi wickets. One wonders whether Smith would have chosen to bat first had he won the toss, purely to make the game more competitive? It should make for a closer game, but it just shows that Bangladesh still have a long way to go before they will be regarded as a threat by the other test-playing nations.

Is it just me or does M Yousuf sound *really* sour over his handling by the PCB? Surely statements like "there's no batsman good enough to fill my place in the team" is overstepping the mark? Methinks Yousuf's ego is a bit out of whack.

Interesting question, Arrogant. Personally, I don't have any problem with the back foot law; some bowlers will be able to step further over the front crease than others, but that's simply a natural advantage, such as being taller, etc. However, an automated no-ball system would certainly be easiest; but would it be possible to produce the instant results needed to alert the batsman? Another possibility would be for the umpires to stand a bit further back, thus reducing the head movement required for them to track the ball.

Good bowling from the Bangladeshis so far. The ball is doing plenty in the air and off the pitch. I have a feeling it's going to be a fairly low-scoring game if the pitch doesn't flatten out later in the test.

Pom at least South Africans have excuses to mention. Your English team got a thrashing in Sri Lanka. Just beat a New Zealand "B" team at home. Lost to South Africa at home and are now getting thrashed in India? I fear your beloved COMMONWEALTH team HAS NO EXCUSES, they simply suck. With quota's, the lure of the Pound and constant Political interference I feel we as South Africans have a right to put forward reasons why we do not perform as well as you 1st World countries. Should we simply keep quiet like the Zimbabweans do and just accept that their once strong sport is now the laughing stock of World Cricket and they even lose series to Bangladesh? Now you see Mascarena's as a quota player? I dont see a black Man bowling or batting for you losers. All I see is a Human being batting or bowling. With all your insults directed at the local Afrikaans population in South Africa I can hear it is you actually who is the closet racist Pom. Maybe oneday you might understand what damage this subject is actually doing to ALL SA SPORTS. Now the only succesful sport in South Africa, which is Rugby is also being taken over by the Government and they are trying to change a system which is working.

Gotta love Proph (and his silent partners)! Gilly (an ex-player) gets ripped apart for daring to state a few facts about a couple of Indian players in his book, and the reasons for him doing it and the timing of the quotes (during the India / Aus series) cause widespread hysteria and accusations from some C365 members of him trying to deflect attention away from an under-performing Aussie side. But now, the ever impartial Proph takes great delight in posting a few quotes from Vettori's book (on the eve of the Aus / NZ series) that bag a few of the Aussies. No suggestion from our erstwhile fellow forumer of hidden agendas, or a new found lack of respect for Vettori (a current player, and captain no less). Why the different attitudes Proph?

Tuesday you state:...." KP was trying to hold the pommy innings together. The pitch was very conducive to spin towards the end and he had an escalating run rate to contend with". Oh I see that was why he had a gate bigger than a farmyard ! That was a defensive shot that ge got horribly wrong as he has done against spin on regular occasions over the last two years. Don't get me wrong I think KP is great (Thanks to his mum he is one of the greatest living Englishmen) but my appreciation of him does not extend to a blindness regarding his current technical frailties...whilst the ODI performance has been very poor I feel the Test series could be the stuff of nightmares if our top batsman does not get some relevant coaching soon.

"Steve Harmison has to unleash his inner devil"
xpear, is there one inside of him? He comes across as a diffident sort of a chap. Flintoff can, though.

Absolutely right, khiladi1. To me India will not be a deserving no.2 until they start to win Test series in SA and Australia. Being propelled to the No.2 spot based on home-series wins alone is not a great enough achievement.

Vettori rips into Ponting, Symonds and Hayden in his own book "Turning Point". He says that they are always "spoiling for a fight" but don't take too kindly to it when it is comes back at them. That much has been very evident. Next time the Aussies try their mythical "play hard, play fair" nonsense, the opposition should simply laugh in their faces.

Roy is back in the Australian XI!

Xspear: If England could step up they would. It doesn't help to make unseemly comments on players who are trying to do their best. Just accept that the English don't really play cricket anymore. It is the immigrants who are keeping the flame alive, barely if I may add. It is the same in soccer and in other sports. Why do all the training when others will do it for you? Makes sense to me.

Damn I love cricket. According to the Oz newspaper this morning, a study published in an edition of Clinical and Experimental Optometry has stated that it's physiologically impossible for an umpire to properly focus his eyes and make an accurate LBW judgement after first looking at the bowling crease to judge whether or not the delivery is a no-ball. Umpires have more time to get their eyes up and focused on the batsman if they are judging where the back foot lands, and this again raises the old complaint about the current front foot law versus the previous back foot law, although the study also found that statistically it didn't make a significant difference in the accuracy of LBW decisions. There was only significant improvement in LBW judgements if the umpire didn't have to judge where the bowler's feet landed. Those of us who have umpired will probably relate. Is it time to return to the back foot law as some former cricketers have been saying for years? Or can technology take over the no-ball decisions and leave the umpire to concentrate on the batsman? Might we not have less no-balls overall (after a period of adjustment) and possibly some slight improvement to over rates if we returned to the back foot law? Would a slightly earlier no-ball call from an umpire give a batsman sufficient time to take advantage and go the tonk?

Trush1003...Mascarenas is not playing because of quotas. The English are just to proud to use this as an excuse whenever we lose. Oh when Oh when will England be free of such political interference and just pick their best team. You guys just do not realize what it is like to go out there not having your best team around you. I really do not think people realize what a great captain KP is, having to deal with such political interference...blah blah blab..I must take these Khaki shorts off and get my mullett cut - I appear to be becoming a Saffa. Next thing you know I will forget how to use a knife and fork and have to cook all my food outside on a fire...P.S. Good idea to use Freddie as an opener to avoid spin. Do you think there would be any chance that the Indian captain may be equally as 'innovative' and open with two spinners?!

Xspear, don't you think they should have "stepped up" a while ago? Are you sure they are capable of "stepping up"? =)