Aussies v. Proteas. ODIs.

[Donny]

Steyn's gone for 39 from 4 overs.

[Donny]

The Aussies are 0/88 after 10 overs.

[Donny]

Both 42 n.o.

[Donny]

11 overs gone.

0/95.

Warner 48*, Finch 43*.

[Donny]

Finch out for 53 (34).

1/114 after 14 overs. Warner 54*.

[Donny]

1/198 after 30 overs.

Warner 93*, Smith 44*.

[Donny]

Century for Warner. 96 balls.

1/209 after 32 overs. Smith is 47*.

[Donny]

Fifty up for Smith.

1/216.

[Pies4shaw]

Australia's bowling attack is execrable - how do they not defend 371?

[Donny]

It's all relative.

If one team hits 371, the other team has little option but to chase. They, therefore, take risks they normally wouldn't. If they get away with it, they win.

This was much the same as when SA chased down the Aussies' 434, in 2006. Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith (265 between them, from 166 balls) just flayed away at nearly everything and got away with it.

If Worrall and Hasta going for 78 & 79 was execrable, how would you describe Dale Steyn's (close to the World's most high profile pace bowler) 96 and Kagiso Rabada's 86 ?

[Pies4shaw]

The bowling figures show, in substance, that two of their guys were taken to the cleaners but even more of our guys were.

This should be a 1 in 100 year event, not something that happens once a decade.

[Donny]

"two of their guys" ? Surely, you know who Dale Steyn is.

"two of their guys were taken to the cleaners but even more of our guys were. " The Oz bowlers went @ 7.5 r.p.o. The Prots' bowlers went @ 7.4 - a cigarette paper between them.

Chris Tremain's 10 overs: 1/65. This is a bloke playing in his second ODI.
Dale Steyn's 10 overs: 2/96. He's played 115 ODIs.

It's not as if SA won with overs to spare. The got the winning run in the 50th. over.

[Pies4shaw]

I don't think the overall average run-rates has much relevance, Donny. Steyn and his mate went for 182 from 20 overs (so, 9.1 RPO). The rest of their bowlers went at 6.2 RPO and, of those other 30 overs, the 16 from Tahir and Duminy went at 5.3. Australia didn't have any bowler who was able to get through their overs for under 6.1 RPO and our slow bowlers bowled almost 6 less overs than Tahir and Duminy for exactly the same number of runs.

There's no reason to criticise a batting team that makes 371. But we all know that high run chases are always much harder to achieve, all things being equal, than setting and defending the high target. Hence my comment that the bowling attack was execrable (although some were slightly worse than others, none of them were much good on the night).

[Donny]

4th. match. 7 pm AEST.

[Donny]

Tony G would say, "Disorstrous stort"

Smith won the toss and batted.

3/39 after 13 overs.

Smith 21*.