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[ppccopener]

SA aren't the team they were, England should be looking to best them really given this. Anything less than a win (only care about tests ) and eng really need to re think their side

(we) can't rethink the side Pro we are rebuilding it?
that doesn't make any sense........

I do think we have a chance of getting a result on the SA series thou,we will have to play well that's for sure and the wicketkeepers position is a bit messy but the basis of the side is solid.
Compton coming in I reckon will be good for England,he's more of a traditional type player in amounst a lot of stokeplayers

[ProCricketer1982]

Questions on their openers ?? They are utter pants

Amla is out of form

Ab is ab

Faf is stuck in slog white ball mode and out of form

Philander out
Steyn might play but he won't be fit and firing and is declining anyway
Morkal alone isn't a threat


The rest are decidedly average, the fact they are calling for rousaux and de cock in their test team shows that they lack batting.

England have an in form cook and root, Compton will provide actual batting and Taylor too.. Anderson, broad at the least will out bowl morkal and then I assume plunkett will out perform radebe or whoever they play. Our keeper is as poor as theirs batting wise, as is our spin.

So yeah, on balance I'd say it's England's to lose is time. Ab is good but he can't do it totally alone

[Disco]

Plunket isn't in the test squad.

[smilley792]

Plunkett got dropped for Jordan adi



With that kind of thinking from the England camp, SA are definately favourites

[Aussie In England]

South Africa's form is being blown way out of proportion. Whilst Elgar struggled in India, on the whole he has done pretty well at Test level. The other opener is a lottery at present.

Amla, de Villiers and du Plessis are the three world class batsmen in their middle order.

Duminy is a decent batting all rounder at 6, or he could be replaced by Roussow whom contrary to views on here is a pretty fine player(he has a FC 300 and that's no mean feat in South African conditions).

De Kock will probably return as wicket keeper and he's another good young player.

Steyn is in decline? Based on what? Steyn, Morkel, Rabada, Abbott and de Lange aren't too shabby as a pool of fast bowlers.

I doubt SA will select a spinner as Duminy does a decent job.

Losing 1 series badly in foreign conditions in nearly a decade is hardly a benchmark for a home series.

[Manormanic]

England have an in form cook and root, Compton will provide actual batting and Taylor too.. Anderson, broad at the least will out bowl morkal and then I assume plunkett will out perform radebe or whoever they play. Our keeper is as poor as theirs batting wise, as is our spin.

Plunkett has been inexplicably dropped and Radebe is a retired footballer... 

[jezza39]

Losing 1 series badly in foreign conditions in nearly a decade is hardly a benchmark for a home series.

Exactly, just wait until Amla and du Plessis get back to the nice bouncy green tops at home, and AB out of form? Lol.

Steyn and Morkel are still a gun partnership, and really, Steyn on the decline? His test bowling average over the last 12 months is lower than his career average. No doubt Broad and Anderson will be a handful, but Steyn is in a class of his own.

De Kock rubbish? His batting average is higher than Bairstow's and Buttler's... Apart from Cook and Root the England batsmen are either not fully tested, not up to the grade or out of form.

[FattusCattus]

I suspect the Saffers will prove to be a very stiff test, despite the disparaging comments on here. However, I do expect it to be very close, and I think England have every chance of winning. I see England lining up like this -

Cook
Hales
Compton
Root
Taylor
Bairstow
Stokes
Ali
Broad
Anderson
Footit

[sfa82]

Reading many of the comments on here England will walk over the Proteas during their tour over here. Can't wait to watch this series! Think the experts on here might be proved wrong.

[Aussie In England]

South Africa squad: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers (wk), Kyle Abbott, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Morne Morkel, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl

South Africa has announced their squad for the first two Tests. Big news is Dane Vilas has been axed and AB de Villiers will don that keeping gloves for the first time in 2 years in the Test arena.

Other news is both Imran Tahir and Simon Harmer have also been discarded.

Rilee Roussow returns after recovering from injury and could be competing with van Zyl for a batting spot.

Dale Steyn has also recovered from his groin injury.

[ScottParko]

There was talk, featuring loose quotes, of Graeme Smith coming out of retirement...

[liscon12]

Well Vernon is out for the first two, for me he hasn't been as effective in the last couple of years since his destructive start to Test cricket but still I think he would have bothered England with that nagging line and length approach he has.

http://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12346/10093467/vernon-philander-ruled-out-of-first-two-tests-against-england 

[petehosk]

I hope that I am proved wrong, but facing SA in their own back yard is never going to be easy!!
SA are capable of playing average cricket (as are we!!) and fair to say that Amla and possibly a few others are not on the best form.
But they are also capable of playing incredible cricket, and in a team that contains Amla, AB and Steyn, anything is possible!

[sanredrose]

ABD to double up as wicket keeper as well ... Amla choices can't get any better than this. Practically they have opened up a slot for an extra batsman at no 7 position.

[Kulli]

ABD to double up as wicket keeper as well ... Amla choices can't get any better than this. Practically they have opened up a slot for an extra batsman at no 7 position.

And the chance for AB's back to go POP!