Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series

[kevshat]

The eagerly awaited return series between these two heavyweights begins on Thursday. It's a 3 test series which is all live on Sky. Schedule: February 2009

Thu 26 - Mon 2 10:30 local, 08:30 GMT	1st Test - South Africa v Australia New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
March 2009
Fri 6 - Tue 10 10:30 local, 08:30 GMT	2nd Test - South Africa v Australia Kingsmead, Durban
Thu 19 - Mon 23 10:30 local, 08:30 GMT	3rd Test - South Africa v Australia Newlands, Cape Town

Series Odds:

	South Africa	1.72	1.78	Betfred" onclick="a(0,354917239,4,6,0,6074); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.66	1.72	1.72	Boylesports" onclick="a(0,354472412,4,5,0,6169); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.8	1.67	1.65	1.8	1.72	Paddy Power" onclick="a(0,354931369,4,6,0,3); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.66	1.72	1.66	1.66	1.61	Victor Chandler" onclick="a(0,354205209,4,6,0,6001); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.66	William Hill" onclick="a(0,354869318,4,6,1,4); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.66	1.8	Betfair" onclick="a(0,353386233,83,100,1,401); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.83
	Draw	4	4.2	Betfred" onclick="a(0,354917240,11,4,0,6074); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">3.75	3.75	3.75	Boylesports" onclick="a(0,354472413,5,2,0,6169); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">3.5	4.2	4.3	4	4	Paddy Power" onclick="a(0,354931370,11,4,0,3); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">3.75	4	4	3.75	3.75	Victor Chandler" onclick="a(0,354205210,5,2,0,6001); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">3.5	William Hill" onclick="a(0,354869319,11,4,1,4); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">3.75	4.4	Betfair" onclick="a(0,353386234,16,5,1,401); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4.2
	Australia	365" onclick="a(0,354855837,3,1,0,15); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4	4	Betfred" onclick="a(0,354917241,10,3,0,6074); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4.33	4.33	4	Boylesports" onclick="a(0,354472414,100,30,0,6169); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4.33	4.25	4.4	3.5	3.75	Paddy Power" onclick="a(0,354931371,7,2,0,3); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4.5	3.75	4.5	4.5	4.33	Victor Chandler" onclick="a(0,354205211,10,3,0,6001); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4.33	William Hill" onclick="a(0,354869320,3,1,1,4); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4	4.2	Betfair" onclick="a(0,353386235,33,10,1,401); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">4.3

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Will come back with some bets for this series on Wednesday but I'm sure the Aussies among us can get stuck in, in the meantime.

[Henry Jr]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Looks like Australia will play 4 quicks as neither Mcgain nor Horrible are named in the final 12. Most likely is North to debut as a number 6 batsman who bowls a bit of offspin (took 6 for in the lead up match a few days back). I'm not really convinced about North's tweakers but time will tell I guess. Really hard to go against the Saffers at home. Took them for the Series win in Aus and can't see a reason why you would be against them in a home series. The only issue I can see is the weather as it looks like it could be a wet one first up. Good luck everyone. :beer

[WoodyTHFC]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series South Africa to win the series 1.84 betf 10 pts Strong on SA to win this series. They did it in Aus and I see no reason why they cant do it again. Over the last couple of years thay have steadily grown and with are India the best team in the world right now imo, being at home or away has been no trouble and they have been most impressive. Their batting line up is very strong and consistent. It says a lot that a player like Prince who has been very impressive in the last couple of seasons and with it scoring a lot of key hundreds cant now get back in the team such was Duminy's class in Aus. Whats also impressive is their pace atatck which has shown it can take 20 wickets often in the last couple of years. Steyn the leader of the main pace trio is for me the best fast bowler in the world right now and gets his wickets at a phenomenal strike rate. Contrast the SA attack with the Aussie line up who I see as an attack that will struggle regularly to take 20 wickets. Johnson is their best fast man but he often does well against teams he encounters first time he plays them (perhaps their a bit surprised with his pace) yet after that he can struggle to be as effective and Aus are desperate for him because Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Bollinger etc shouldnt scare this SA line up. Aus batting on paper is still pretty strong if not as strong as it once was but SA have the pace attack to threaten the Aussies and for me will complete the series double over the Aussies. Amla to SA sereis run scorer 5.5 wh 10 pts Amla's improvement as a test player sums up SA's. When he first played against Eng he was worked out a bit but over the past couple of seasons he really has come on and proved a genuine no.3 of quality. The past three seasons he has always averaged over 45 and made some important 100s with it. He didnt score a 100 in Aus but he regularly got starts and he will be looking to convert some of those starts into a couple of really big scores in Aus and he seems very capable. No.3 is a perfect position to score telling runs in this series and Amla has a very good chance to do that against an average attack. M.Hussey top Aus series run scorer 4.5 var 10 pts M.Hussey has added pressure on him in this series following a poor test summer last time in aus., his first real one in test cricket. However he is still a real class act, his general test record shows that and the signs were right at the end of the aus summer admittedly in shorter format matches, that his form was returning. In the NZ ODI series he had a good series with 3 half centuries and that was on the back of a half century in the last SA ODI. He should come in at no.4 for this series which I feel is a good position for him and in the context of this market considering some of the Aussie top 3 will face SA's real strength with the new ball and will often be vulnerable for me. Steyn top SA wicket taker 2.5 wh 10 pts Steyn for me is the best fast bowler in world cricket, indeed arguably the best bowler full stop. He is a major wicket taking threat in international cricket and can destroy batting line ups. Steyn has over 150 wickets in test cricket and at a strike rate of around 38 balls per wicket which is just phenomenal. 11 times he has taken 5 wickets in an innings and in just 30 games thats another very impressive statistic. Morkel and Ntini are the other members of the main pace trio but Steyn is just taht bit more of a wicket taking threat than them and for me if Steyn remains fit through the whole season then he will be the top wicket taker in the series for SA.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series 2 outrights for me. 3pts Lay SA to win Test Series 1.84 Betfair South Africa won the test series in Australia last month and they won it very impressively indeed. Although it must be said that Australia were in control of all 3 matches at certain times in each game. They lacked a ruthless streak there but with a bit of experience and a bit of confidence forming Australia could just be a different animal. This series comes at a time when the weather isn't wholly reliable in South Africa. In the 1st test, storms are forecast for the majority of it and that could make this effectively a 2 test series. Australia bring a fairly good squad here. Sure there's none of the stars of yesteryear but this is still a competitive squad. South Africa have the likes of Smith and Boucher fit but there's no guarantees that Smith in particular won't go lame again. And we don't know for certain that JP Duminy is the finished article despite his excellent series in Australia. I'd like to see him repeat that effort 1st. Summing it up, I don't think there's much between these two sides when all is said and done. I can see all 3 matches having twists and turns but I still think it could be a bit too soon to be taking SA at odds on against the Aussies so I'll have a small lay on them. 1pt B.Haddin Top Australia Series Batsman 14/1 Boylesports Brad Haddin's probably in the form of his life with the bat right now. Admittedly, most of that is in the one day arena but he still played well against SA. That included a 94 at Perth. He was the 4th top scorer in that series with an average of 45.60 but since then has been superb in the one day series with New Zealand. Batting down the order isn't ideal but wickets in SA at this time of the year aren't always high scoring so I think he'll be in the mix and in a 3 test series one big score will have him right in there. 14/1 is a big price and well worth the minimum stake.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series 4 for me for the 1st test. 3pts Australia 1st Inns Lead 5/4 Stan James Australia's batsmen have had a few confidence boosts since the test series between these two sides in Australia. They've made a few changes. The highly rated Phillip Hughes comes in for Matthew Hayden and that looks a good move, while Marcus North looks set to take the number 6 spot. They could play Andrew McDonald and have Brad Haddin at number 8 in this match but even with Haddin 7 and Johnson at 8 they line up pretty well. I've long since thought South Africa's batting lineup isn't that long but they keep on churning out the runs. However there's a couple of question marks about their top 6 in this match and with Morkel in at 8 they do have a long tail, if Australia can get rid of them which they struggled to do in the last series. 1st innings scores here are generally low which is surprising because the characteristics of the ground are good for batsmen but with scores being low there's enough value in the 5/4 on Australia leading at half time. 4pts D.Steyn's Performance Under 121pts 5/6 Bet365 With storms forecast throughout most of this match there's every chance that Steyn could only get one whole innings to bowl. As I said when these two sides last met, Steyn is the best bowler in the world for me but a minimum of 5 wickets in potentially one innings is a lot to ask. He can contribute with the bat, as we saw in Melbourne but I don't expect anything like that here so I think Steyn will need 5 wickets and if the rain gets involved in the match then I think he might struggle to get them. 3pts P.Hughes (+0.5 runs) to beat N.McKenzie (1st Inns Only) 5/6 Ladbrokes Phillip Hughes is a young left hand opening batsman but he's a huge talent and he tends to shine on the big stage. He warmed up for this match with a nice half century in the warm up game and could turn out to be a real run machine like the guy he replaced in the side. Neil McKenzie had a poor series in Australia where he was statistically and aesthetically the worst batsman and his career stats at the Bullring don't match up too well either. He only averages 20 on this ground in 4 tests so Hughes might not have much to beat so I'll take him on Ladbrokes 1st inns handicaps. 1pt J.Kallis Man of the Match 10/1 Bet365 Jacques Kallis needs 12 runs to go past 10,000 in test cricket so you'd have to think he'll go past that landmark in this match which would push him to the forefront of people's minds when the MOM is dished out. He'll still have to perform but given he'll always be in the game with his 3D credentials then there's every chance he will perform. He averages 46.10 on this ground with the bat and also has 20 wickets here too so any sort of good contribution with 12 runs could see him the MOM.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series That was a bit of an annoying test match for me. Australia won the 1st innings very easily as I suspected with them batting down to 8 with genuine batsmen and as he showed, Johnson is no mug at 9. If Ponting had declared at lunch on day 4 instead of needlessly batting on Steyn's performance would've stayed under the line and Hughes showed how good he was, in the wrong innings. I end the test -4.25pts but hopefully I'll get 3 back with the lay of SA for the series.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series 4 for me for the 2nd test in Durban. 3pts Australia 1st Inns Lead 6/5 Totesport Australia won the 1st innings at Johannesburg by a landslide and while I don't expect the difference to be so huge here, mainly down to scores not being as good here at Kingsmead, I do expect Australia to be leading at half time. As I said they would do in the 1st test, Australia are batting with 8 frontline batsmen although to be fair Andrew McDonald hasn't shown he's got what it takes in this form of the game yet but when your number 9 is hitting 96* and swatting bowlers all over the shop you can get away with it. Even Siddle and Hilfenhaus aren't mugs with the willow. I said it in England, in Australia and I'll say it again now they are in South Africa. As good as their top 4 are, I really don't think this SA batting lineup is long enough. Of the top sides it has to be the shortest and you can still make a live argument that it ends after AB de Villiers at the minute despite Duminy's potential. It's a fact that it ends after Boucher at 7. As I said in the last test, Australia's batting length will ensure they score well and I think they'll lead at half time again. 4pts M.Johnson's Performance Pts 131&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. This is a pretty high total and one which I would normally leave well alone but with injury concerns to Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson is going to have to carry this Aussie attack. We saw in Australia how he troubled the SA batsmen and we saw it again in JoBurg last week. He took 8 wickets in that match and of course added 97 runs. Realistically we're looking for 6 wickets here but even 4 or 5 could be good enough if he continues to bat well. This wicket suits bowlers with a bit of extra pace and bounce and that's right up Johnson's street and I'll take his performance to go over this line albeit a target I'd normally leave alone. 3pts J.Kallis (+0.5 runs) to beat M.Hussey (1st Inns Only) 5/6 Ladbrokes Jacques Kallis beat Mike Hussey in both innings at The Wanderers and comes to Kingsmead knowing it's a ground he bats well on. He's got 3 50's and 4 tons to his name here in his 11 test matches at an average of 58.18. He made a couple of solid contributions in JoBurg without going on and doing some real damage but he does look in good touch with the bat. Mike Hussey is a weird one. He was out of form against this lot in the test series and then came back to form in the ODI series in Australia and now he looks out of form again. Only he'll know what sort of shot he was playing in that 2nd innings of the 1st test but it wasn't clever. On his day Hussey can beat any batsman but I don't think he should be giving Kallis a start here so I'll go with the South African all-rounder here. 1pt ew B.Haddin Top Australia Batsman (1st Inns Only) 10/1 Ladbrokes (1/4 1,2,3) I said before a ball was bowled in this series that I expect Brad Haddin to go well with the bat and he proved me right in JoBurg where the only Australians to outscore him was Marcus North and Ricky Ponting. I expect the Aussie wicket keeper to go well here too at a very big price. Let's make no mistake, this guy can bat. He has all the shots in the book and he looks full of confidence be it against spin or pace. He plays his shots but does so in a controlled manner and on a ground where team scores aren't very often high, Haddin could well take advantage of batting against an old ball and land the goods at a double figure price.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Another annoying match. Australia easily won the 1st innings and Jacques Kallis looked like he was going to beat Hussey until he had to retire hurt then came back and was useless. Johnson took 3 early wickets then wiped out 2 more when he made Graeme Smith retire hurt which effectively ended his performance chances. -5.40 for the match and -9.65pts for the series going into the 3rd test next week. On the plus side I've got the SA series lay in which I'll add to the final total when the series is over. :hope there's some decent bets around to end the series with.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Ok the final test begins at Cape Town in the morning. Fairly low scoring place in test match terms and one where the overhead conditions have a massive effect. I'm going with 3. 4pts Australia 1st Inns Lead 9/10 Totesport So far in this series Australia have won the 1st innings by 240 and 214 runs. I see absolutely no reason why South Africa will overturn such huge deficits especially when they will be without Graeme Smith in this match. Australia could be without Marcus North but that's cool with me because with Johnson being down at 9 in the series so far they've batted a long way down. I've said in the two previous tests how SA have a long tail and that will continue to cost them. Australia to lead at HT for me. 3pts P.Hughes to beat H.Amla (1st Inns Only) 5/6 Skybet Philip Hughes has beaten Hashim Amla in the last 3 innings of the series and the only innings he lost was the 1st one where Amla's 1 beat Hughes' duck. Since then though Hughes has scored a bucket load of runs, including two centuries in the last test which is a phenomenal effort for one so young. Hashim Amla just looks out of form to me. He hasn't been able to handle the Aussies' pace attack and with their respective forms the way it is I'd expect the youngster to beat Amla again. 1pt ew M.Johnson Top Australia Batsman (1st Inns Only) 33/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1,2,3) Ladbrokes are taking a risk here. Johnson's already splattered a 96 in the opening match of this series so rest assured he can bat. He can also clatter it when he's left with the alsorans too which helps given he's likely to bat at number 8. That said, when he hit that 96 he was in at number 9 so he should in theory have more time to put a score together. I've said already how 1st inns scores here can be low and if that's the case in this match then Johnson would have every chance of at least a place at over 6/1 but won't be completely without a chance of topping the pile at a big looking 33's.

[Crouch Potato]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Best of Luck Kev, not that you need it, seeing as you have been on fire recently. Have followed suit with Mitch Johnson @ 67 (eskander) and have also added Albie Morkel @ 34 (centrebet) for the SAF team. If what you say is true about the conditions then I feel this will apply doubly for Morkel, seeing as the SAF batting seems to be struggling a fair bit. Also Morkel should come in with some confidence after starring against them earlier, albeit in the pyjama form of the game.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Up and down day today really. Mitchell Johnson came 3rd which was the good thing although if someone had hung with him he could've got a bit closer to Katich but I'll take the 3rd place. Australia got shot out for nothing really so the 1st inns lead looks dead but Hughes has set Amla 33 in their match bet which he's failed to get close to in either 1st innings so far so :hope Hughes can hold on there.

[aussie_fan_number1]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Amla is playing a few shots, Kev. He has already overtaken Hughes. I still think the pitch aint a total batsman's paradise. Think they will score under 480. What do you reckon,Kev?

[aussie_fan_number1]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series I placed a bet of under 102.5 on the afternoon session but Ponting let Mcgain bowl for 5 overs, givin away 51 runs out of a total of 108 runs (28 overs) scored in the session. Unbelievable! Ponting should have taken him out after the 3rd over if not before.

[RussP]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Jeez!!!! De Villiers hits 6 x 6's off his last 9 deliveries:eek:eek:eek:eek:eek

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series South Africa have done England no favours at all in this innings. There's no chance of us facing McGain and McDonald later in the summer now :sad. Great stuff to watch though :dude.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: South Africa vs Australia Test Series Bit annoyed with a small loss in that match, especially with Johnson top scoring in the 2nd innings and Hughes shouldn't have been given out when he was in the 1st innings but that's life. Tried to find something to go at and get some profit but couldn't. -1.40 for the match. Gained 2pt on the outrights thanks to Australia winning the series so I end the series with a disappointing -9.05pts.