Saman - You misunderstood my post. That's why I said clearly "Gilly was too good at his job". Kalu didn't had a good average but surely he did start pinch hitting before Gilly. Comment about fast bowling 100 mph + ........is just a thought in your mind, but Kalu actually did succeed for a short while in pinch hitting. After all he declined in the business and that opened doors for players like Gilly to shine. Remember this argument is not about who's best but who started it. There's no question that Gilly was the BEST but my argument is who started it!?

Prophet, that is why India A got the better of the Aussie A side by far very recently.

Thanks Pom, I would at least be able to sleep better at night, MasterG the violence here is what bothers me the most, both my neighbours robbed in one day, luckily the one was away and the others got tied up, luckily nothing happened to them just had guns pointed to them. I know its not always that bad but enough is enough, I love this country but how do you enjoy it when your always having to look over your back.

Delcricket, saying that is stupid. Kalu had a test average of 26 and S/R of 60 over 49 tests. Gilly averaged 47 with a S/R of 81 over 96 tests. Kaluwitharana may have wanted to introduce that type of play, but he obviously failed miserably. It's because of Gilly that England have tried loads of keepers over the years, not because of Kaluwitharana. That's like me saying I want to revolutionise fast bowling by bowling 100+ MPH, but I can't. When someone can, I can't then say right well you do it better than me but the idea was mine, so I get the credit! lol

toothchipper, you are right about the Indians not being trench fighters. But, that has something to do with the quality of domestic cricket. Most players rarely go through the same kind of stress in the domestic circuit. If at all there are any world-class cricketers coming out of India, it is not the system that produces it. At best each county team has 1 or 2 quality players. Most of the others are just there to make up the numbers.

saman - Gilly wasn't the first to revolutionise attacking wicket keeper batting. It was Sri Lanka's Romesh Kaluwitharana. Gilly was just too good at his job, but the credit doesn't belong to him.

Saman - thanks. You gave us the stats to back up what everyone except Tekcirc knows - India have a pathetic away record. And Tekcirc, suggesting that Aussies want flat belters, so we can have plenty of draws is just as laughable. Australia has hardly had a draw in the last 13 or 14 years, they do whatever they can to win a match, even if it means risking losing it. India might have a won a few more away series if they had the same approach - batting on & on & on in the Sydney Test a few years back (Steve Waugh's last match) until they had 700+ and couldn't lose, when the series was locked at 1-1 was ridiculous. And the Aussies still gave the win a go in the last session! And in a post full of silliness, your claim that the "occasional underprepared wicket...gives us some of the most exciting cricket ever" just about takes the cake...

You might be right about the Indian attitude Toothchipper, Indian cricketers aren't renowned fighters. It may not be related to pride though, more that their cushioned from life's toughest challenges through the BCCI largesse and veil of excuses. Aussies are a determined race and will fight tooth and nail to secure victory, we're prepared to hang tough in the trenches. And thanks for the endorsement of our beautiful country Pretorian pom. Not surprised you found it the best of the five you've resided in. SA was a beautiful place to visit but it's let down by it's criminally-minded people and the air of weltschmerz created by these barbarous thugs.

Some nice states there saman, thought I was going to have to do the hardwork on Tekcirc. Sometimes I get the impression that Indian players do not have the same pride to play for their country that Aus and SA (excluding recent ODI series vs Eng) has. There is not that desperation when it comes to fielding and having to bat out of a tough situation. I have seen India's batting fail miserably on so many occasions, and so easily. That is why I think Aus will once again have the beating of them. When things get tough, Aus will battle through the difficult patch, for India Sehwag, Dhoni or whoever, will hit out, hit 2 or 3 fours and then be dismissed.

I think Symonds is a power fielder whereas Jonty was more a touch athlete. Also Symonds rarely makes a mistake. Jonty was reliable but both he and AB don't or didn't hit the stumps enough for elite fieldsmen. I did love watching Jonty in action though. Crimson, looks like your yet another Saffa escaping to our beautiful country. It seems the ANC is doing its best to lose its youngest and brightest - it's a disgrace really how they're managing their cricket talent and aspiring employees.

In my opinion (I'm biased, Jonty is my all-time favourite cricketer), Jonty Rhodes revolutionised the way cricket was played in his field of competence, much in the same way that Gilly created counter-attacking Keeper-batsmen and Waqar used the reverse-swinging yorker. Rhodes had a mediocre batting average (although he corrected that and his average doubled almost overnight), and made up for that by his fielding. His runs stopped by reputation and his amazing catches outweighed any perceived lack of runs (which is why I put him in at 6 or 7 in my all-time saffer test team). Symonds is a good fielder, and so is Ponting, and so is Freddie and Colly and Gibbs etc. In their position there are quite a few good fielders in the world, look at Amla at short leg, or Dravid anywhere near the bat.. or how many catches can anyone remember Smith spilling at slip? But I do think that Rhodes was and still is in a class of his own. He was able to read batsmen very well, which when coupled with lightning reflexes lead to run outs and catches galore.

I think Symonds is more accurate when it comes to throwing down the stumps. In terms of fielding being a spectacle, nobody comes close to Jonty.

Oops, that was a typo. I meant ArrogantOz. Anyways, Arrogant, taxi-driving ain't all that bad, it pays better than dole. Try it sometime.

ArrogantOx, you may find a taxi-driver's job demeaning. I don't. Better that than be a mugger.

MasterG couldnt agree more. Jonty was by far the shapest fielder and revolutionary at the backward point fielding position.

Tekcirc, "Penny..isn't it funny how India have the second best away record this decade?" : let me clear a few things up for you. Of the Test nations and in the past decade, you can only count Australia, England, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as nations that will consistently win series. According to cricinfo, Aus has an overall 74% series win rate in the 2000's, while SA is second with 48 and Sri Lanka 3rd with 45 (England 4th with 43). Of these, in the Series victories of the 2000's section of statsguru, you can find results for each series and who won. I discount wins in Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. Aus has won 10 out of 14 away series, losing one in India in 2000/01 and the Ashes in 2005, drawing once in India and once in NZ (!), which makes for 71% away series win rate. SA have played 15, won 5, lost 6, drawn 4, which makes for 33 % away. India have played 14, won 3, drawn 3, lost 8. (win 21%). England have played 14, won 5, lost 7, drawn 2, win rate 35 %. Hell, even Pakistan played 13, won 3, drawn 4, lost 6 has a better win rate (23%) and draw rate. All of these stats are for away series. Only Australia and SA have beaten India in India, and only Australia, England and Pakistan (2) have beaten Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. I didn't count Bangers and Zim matches, and this is only for 2000 onwards. Eat your hat, please.

I read a quote from an Aussie journalist over the weekend, who stated that Andrew Symonds is in a league of his own as a fielder, better than Ponting, or even Jonty Rhodes! What does everyone think of this? Symonds is, without doubt, an exceptional fielder. But for my money (and obviously there's some bias here) he has not had nearly the same impact as Jonty Rhodes. Rhodes was included in the 1992 World Cup team as a specialist fielder who was a useful batsman and produced a string of outstanding performances (including the famous diving run-out of Inzamam) which, resulted in all teams placing far more emphasis on fielding. In my opinion, Jonty made fielding 'sexy' in a way that no-one, before or since, has matched.

For the awards, Shiv Chanderpaul should win test player of the year, Smith should win cricketer of the year, Dhoni should win the T20 and ODI awards, and Mendis should win the emerging player of the year.

Crimson...I was not aware that I called you anything? Good luck with your decision and future....you big old Pretend-a-african you (that is a complete and utter joke - I really do wish you the best - Aus is a fantastic place with great people and IMO opinion the finest of the five countries I have lived in).

Crimson, mate, show a bit of optimism. I have it on good authority that white males are still the most employed demographic group of UCT graduates. Anyways, I see that SA have rejected the proposed tri-series, which doesn't surprise me in the slightest; the players did not seem at all keen on the idea, although it would have been a good opportunity to blood some younger players. Unfortunately September now looks like being a very long month...

I think Arthur is thinking of scaling down the commitments of Kallis, i.e in the shorter forms of the game, not in tests. His T20 and ODI form has actually been quite lamentable. Who is everybody's tip for the ICC awards? Steyn should do well, Captain Lard shouldn't. BTW when is the editor going to do a story on the corpulent Saffers? I think the extra baggage some of them carries takes its toll towards the end of tours and may not be helping them in their quest to avoid injury. Australia's spinning cupboard is bare given that we're looking to our batsmen to provide spinning options for the impending tour of India.

Pom I am not negative but I myself am trying to emigrate to Aus from SA as I am still young and if anything , Aus is the most similar to SA. I have been offered a job there and will most probably be part of the so called "brain drain". I have no hard feelings to people who leave SA for money or due to quotas, and the utmost respect for KP and people like Ryan Mclaren. I am not staying in a country that restricts me due to the colour of my skin or that has us living in jails (all the security we need) and the criminals out in the street.I am no doomsayer but I have am pretty fearfull as to what is going to happen in this country. In Australia I am sure I will be judged according to my knowledge and abillity rather than my colour etc etc. You can call me what you like POM. At the end of the day I am a young educated South African white male with ambitions in life and although I will miss my beautifull country terribly I refuse to have any chance of my wife, children being raped or not having the best life they possibly can. I enjoy playing club rugby and will also be doing so in Australia. I am also free to say that I am not taking any opputunities away from any Aussies as there is a shortage of staff in Australia for the post I am taking.

Hate to burst the bubble there Oz but Saffa Braai's (Barbecue's) are untouchable.

To think Mickey Arthur wants to start building a team for the future now just before the biggest tour on our schedules. WTF is up with Saffa selectors and coaches? He wants to get rid of someone like Jacques Kallis because he under performed on one tour? You need a solid core of players to make any team stronger and recently after all the players defecting to the IPL, Kolpak and other talent hungry countries like Australia South African Cricket is looking a little thin on top quality players at our disposal. Losing Kallis on top of that might be the last major choice Arthur makes as Saffa coach. BRING BACK RAY JENNINGS!!!!!

Yes poochandi, Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay is supposed to be quite a sight. I don't entirely agree with your assessment of the Australian tour of India. Hayden and Symonds are quality players but we have proven performers who can fill their roles quite nicely.