Aiming for Success Down Under!

 

The Tour to Australia is never an easy one. This is why only 3 teams have comeback with Test series wins in that part of the world in the last 20 years. West Indies(1992/1993) won 2-1 in a 5 Test series,  South Africa (2008/2009) won 2-1 in 3-Test series and England(2010/2011) won 3-1 in a 5-Test series.

South Africa goes to Australia as favourites for the 1^st time in over 100 years. They have a settled Test side.  Each member of the team knows their role. It is also a successful side being ranked number one in Test cricket. South Africa is unbeaten away from home since they lost 2-0 to Sri Lanka in 2006. They have not lost a Test match away since February 2010 in India. That is a very long time ago.

Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn all played in that successful tour of Australia back in 2008/09. They know what it takes to win there.

Jacques Rudolph was not in that successful team of 2008 but he was there in 2006. South Africa lost that series 2-0 but Rudolph will remember it fondly as he constructed an all-important 102 not out on the last day of the Perth Test. This time around Perth will be the venue for the 3^rd and final Test in the series.

THE SAVIOUR: A happy Jacques Rudolph of South Africa leaves the field after playing a match-saving knock of 102 not out on the final day of the first Test against Australia in Perth

 

Leading the way with a rock-solid effort, adept while handling both spin and pace, and unfurling gorgeous cover-drives with a pendulum-smooth follow-through. Rudolph wasn't lured by the wide teasers from the faster men, and he was impressive in the way he used his bat, and not pad, to nullify Shane Warne's guile.

Take your catches, field well

If you play Australia the last thing you want to do is give any of their top batsmen a life-line. Gibbs knows this with Steve Waugh.  Batsmen like Ponting, Clarke and Hussey will make you pay for any dropped catch of their bat. Those 3 hold the key as they bat for a very long-time. If they give you a chance take it. The rest of the batting order is very weak and lacks experience.

Hope we do not see him bowl

 

Bat well

This might seem obvious but it is true. Coming up against Australian fast bowlers will be a tough challenge for any batting line-up. Smith, Alviro and Amla need to protect the rest of the batting order from the new ball. The last thing you want is to be 50/3. We also need to consolidate our position. If we get to 15 minutes before a break or end of the day’s play make sure we do not lose any wicket. Immediately after losing a wicket we also need to consolidate and bat cautiously. This is to avoid losing wickets in clusters like it happened in the Newlands Test last time.

If you want to beat Australia you are going to have to get big totals with the bat, 400-plus scores. This requires your batsmen to score centuries and big centuries. You will not achieve that by getting 30s and 40s. It also means getting batting partnerships. When England beat Australia 3-1 they scored over 500 runs 4 times during that Ashes series.

This is what we are defending

 

 Play for 90 overs

South Africa are very good Test side. They have a solid batting line-up and one of the best bowling attacks in world cricket. The only reason they are not totally dominating Test cricket right now is that they sometimes only play well 2 sessions out of 3 in the day. This is what keeps teams in the game against them. They can bowl well for 2 sessions, have a team at 150/7 but in the last session of the day bowl badly and concede 100 without taking a single wicket. End the day at 250/7. All that hard work for 2 sessions gets undone. Tahir needs to backup his fast bowlers well. He will be targeted just as England did. Right now he is the weak link in the attack. Play well the entire day.

If the Proteas can play good Test cricket for 15 days they will win this series comfortably. I predict 2-1 win for South Africa.  

South Africa Test squad to Australia back in 2005/2006 - Check how many are still in the team.

Graeme Smith (c)

Mark Boucher (wk)

Nicky Boje

Johan Botha

AB de Villiers

Herschelle Gibbs

Jacques Kallis

Justin Kemp

Garnett Kruger

Charl Langeveldt

André Nel

Makhaya Ntini

Shaun Pollock

Ashwell Prince

Jacques Rudolph

 

Top Football Cheaters, Divers, Con-artists

Best Dive Ever!!!

Zinedine Zidane and Materazzi in 2006 World Cup Final. Both men were guilty here but Materazzi walked away with a World Cup winners medal

Cristiano Ronaldo dives
 

Luis Suarez handball against Ghana

Luis Suarez diving
 

 The hand of God: on 22 June 1986, was a football match between Argentina and England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 Diego Maradona famously dribbled past six england players to score the 2nd goal. But it is the 1st goal that most people remember when he used his hand to score. Argentina won the game 2–1 and went on to win the 1986 World Cup. Maradona won the golden ball for player of the tournament.

France striker Thierry Henry admitted that he had intentionally handled the ball to set up William Gallas’s decisive goal against the Republic of Ireland in 2010 World Cup play-off in Paris.
 

Barcelona's Lionel Messi trying to emulate Maradona deflects the ball with his hand past Espanyol keeper

Didier Drogba one of the strongest men in football but he is famous for his dives

Arjen Robben - who tackled you?

 

Ashley Young Best Pool Diver

 

2012 ICC T20 World Cup: Preview

 

The ICC T20 World Cup is starting next week in Sri Lanka. It promises to be exciting and filled with surprise results. Here are my predictions followed by the tournament schedule.

The Favourites

England – With or without Kevin Pietersen they are still the defending champions and the Number 1 ranked T20 side so you have to make them favourites. They have a very young side led by Stuart Broad. Batsmen like Alex Hales, Joss Buttler and Jonny Bairstow are still relatively unknown in the cricketing world. They might struggle against spin though.

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni

 

India – The IPL gives them a huge pool of T20 talent to choose from.  The return of big-hitting Yuvraj Singh from cancer is a huge boost to the team. They still have the explosive World cup winning batsmen like Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Raina and Kohli. The conditions should suit India very nicely as they recently toured Sri Lanka. Oh I almost forgot! They are the current 50-over World cup champs and won the 1^st T20 World Cup ever held.

Sri Lanka – The hosts. This alone gives them a huge advantage on everyone else in the competition. What counts against them though is that no host country has won this cup or even reached the final. Their team still has the experience of Jayawardena and Sangakkara to guide them. They also have some young players like Chandimal and Thirimanne in the side. Captain: Mahela Jayawardena



Chris Gayle
 

 

West Indies – The dark horses. Chris Gayle! Chris Gayle! Chris Gayle! His return adds 50% to the team effort. If he has a good tournament then expects West Indies to reach the last 4. They also have the likes of Pollard, Narine,  Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels who can be match winners on their own. They are my pick to win the whole thing. Captain: Darren Sammy

 

 

The Surprise Packages

Pakistan – Their players do not play IPL cricket, they also do not play international games in their own country. They have a team capable of beating everyone at this tournament and winning it. The only question is do they want to? They have a very experience squad who have played in many ICC World Cup events before. Imran Nazir, Abdur Razzaq and Shahid Afridi seem to have been around forever. They also have a trump card in spinner Saeed Ajmal. I do not see them reaching Super 8s  Captain: Mohammed Hafeez

South Africa – They have new captain in AB de Villiers. He will feel the pressure of leading this team at a big event for the 1^st time. A team that is quietly confident of doing well. Their main goal is the 2015 World Cup. That is their main focus. They have a balanced bowling attack with lots of spinners to complement the fire from Steyn and Morkel. They will crash out in the Super 8s. It is too early to expect the Kirsten experiment to bear fruits.

Hashim Amla

 I do not see Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh doing anything special during this T20 World Cup. I just hope the rain stays away. Click here to see tournament schedule and SA times.

Reasons not to miss 2012-13 PSL season

1. Can Orlando Pirates win yet another treble?
The past 2 seasons they have dominated South African football by winning 6 major Cups. The only key player that has left is striker Tokelo Rantie. They have added Zambian striker Collins Mbesuma to their ammunition. Augusto Palacios is already under pressure from fans.

2. Battle for top goalscorer award
Last season Siyabonga Nomvethe took this award with his 20 goals. Can he do it again? The likes of Benni McCarthy, Edward Manqele and Majoro will be challenging for this award.

Edward Manqele is the new striker at Sundowns

3. Q-Innovation
It will be interesting to see which teams win the 4 Quarters. Will it be the same team winning them? Can one of the smaller less fancied teams turn the tables and win one of the Quarters?

4. Stuart Baxter new Chiefs
Following a horrible season last season where they failed to win any silverware, can Stuart Baxter bring back some pride to the team? How will the new signings (Nkhatha, Nkosi) perform?

Jessica Motaung trying to bring back the glory days

5. Moroka Swallows - Life after Gordon Igesund
They have never won the league before and last season they came within 2 points of being crowned as league champions. How will they survive without the man who took them that close?

6. PSL newcomers - Will they sink or swim?
We have been waiting for a very long-time to see Pretoria University playing in the PSL. Finally they have arrived. Can they live up to the expectations or will they be fighting relegation? Chippa United are also in unfamiliar territory. Survival will be the goal for these 2 newcomers.

Proteas : Undisputed Number 1!

On Monday we witnessed South Africa jump ahead of England in the rankings after their 51-run win at the home of cricket Lord's.

What makes this achievement so sweet is that the Proteas had to work so hard for it. England fought from the 1st Day of the 1st Test till the last wicket was taken on the last day of the Test series. The media gave this team no chance before the series. They said the Proteas had not played enough cricket before this Test series. Beating England at home 2-0 in a Test series is an incredible feat.  The win ended England's impressive streak of seven consecutive Test series wins at home and extended the Proteas' run of six years without defeat in Test series overseas.

For the 1st time in a long time all the pieces of the puzzle came together for this talented team. South Africa has always produced wonderful Test cricketers but they just could not dominate the world of Test cricket.

Great Coach
Gary Kirsten has been planning for this series from the moment he signed his contract as national coach and his preparation should not go unappreciated, despite his greatest efforts to avoid the limelight. He got the team mentally ready for battle by taking the team to Switzerland for a team building session with adventurer and motivational speaker Mike Horn. This is the one area that the Proteas have struggled with in the past. When times got tough in this series our players did not buckle under pressure.

Great Team
The formula for success is a simple one for the Proteas. It is based on a very strong batting line-up with seven specialist batsmen which has been made possible by AB de Villiers keeping. Our top 4 got BIG 100s. This balances up the test team perfectly.
On top of that South Africa have the best pace attack by far in world cricket at the moment. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander have been just awesome. Jacques Kallis has also chipped in with the odd crucial wicket. Imran Tahir, although not quite the best spinner around, gives variation to the attack. The South African fielding unit is rock-solid as well. There is no chink in the South African armour. They held onto their catches when it mattered most. England dropped 8!


Hashim Amla: Man of the Series

Next Challenge
The toughest challenge now will be staying as the number 1 Test team. Everyone will lift their game against us. The next challenge for this Proteas Test squad is a trip to Australia who are ranked 3rd in the ICC Test Rankings. Becoming number 1 was tough, staying number will be even tougher.

The team went on a lap of honour around Lord's

Shaun Pollock finally got a chance to ring the bell at Lord's

Great Captain: Most capped captain ever!

Johan Botha leaves SA cricket

Botha will be released from his national contract with Cricket South Africa after the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September.

“Johan has been an excellent servant of South African cricket for a lengthy period of time and we will never forget the manner in which he captained the Proteas to success in the absence of Graeme Smith in the away ODI series in Australia in 2009,” said CSA’s acting chief executive, Jacques Faul, in a statement.



“He has fully committed himself to the Proteas for the next five months which includes the away series in Zimbabwe and England as well as the World Twenty20 and is, at the moment, our first choice spinner in the T20 format.

“However, he has had an offer to captain South Australia over the next two seasons and this will provide valuable opportunities in broadening his experience in a leadership role.
“I must stress that Johan remains fully committed to South African cricket in the long run and is by no means bringing down the curtain on his international career for the Proteas.”
In line with the above statement from Faul, Botha reiterated his desire to grow as a leader and have no regrets, and said it was a cricketing decision entirely.

This is just bad news for our cricket. Johan Botha is a current Protea player. It is not like he is out the team. How many more players are we going to lose?? This is very strange. There was talk of increasing the number of franchise teams but if top players are leaving who will play in them??

Johan Botha came through the ranks in SA cricket. He played in our development teams before making it into the national side. A lot of money has been invested in his cricket. Time will tell.

Has Old Trafford Lost The Fear Factor

Opposition teams used to fear visiting Old Trafford. It was a Theatre of Nightmares for away managers who would go there and just park the bus in front of their goalposts. But this season something has changed. For some reason teams are no longer scared to take on Sir Alex Ferguson’s boys in front of their fans.

Some years ago Roy Keane complained about the atmosphere, or lack of it, created by the home fans with his infamous “prawn sandwiches” outburst. Maybe the United fans are too comfortable, or even too quiet, but certainly the atmosphere is no longer intimidating enough for away players.

This season Manchester United have lost only two league matches at home. Bottom of the table Blackburn Rovers won 3-2 and Manchester City thrashed them 6-1. In the Champions League, of their three home games United won only one – with a 2-2 draw against Benfica and a 3-3 tie with Basel, ultimately leading to them getting knocked out. In the Europa League, Ajax Amsterdam won 2-1 and last week Spain’s Athletic Bilbao outplayed United and came away 3-2 winners.

Despite this, United have shown that on their day they can still hurt teams big time at Old Trafford. This is clear in the 8-2 annihilation of Arsenal, while Wigan succumbed to a 5-0 defeat, Bolton and Tottenham lost 3-0, while Chelsea were disposed of with a 3-1 victory.

Looking at that home record, it doesn’t appear too bad. The thing is, teams now think they have a chance when they go to Old Trafford – especially, it seems, European teams. Now that is a worry for United’s future UEFA Champions League aspirations.

The History

When I look at the past 20 years I can recall only a few famous results by teams at Old Trafford.
In 1997, a young AS Monaco side led by Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet got the 1-1 draw they needed at Old Trafford to qualify on away goals after the first leg in France had ended 0-0.
Four years later, a goal from Paulo Di Canio was enough to send West Ham through to the fifth round of the FA Cup. The Italian rounded Fabien Barthez after latching on to Frederic Kanoute’s through ball for a famous win, with the Frenchman’s attempts to psyche him out of shooting coming in vain.
The next season, 2002′s double-winning Arsenal clinched the league at Old Trafford with a 1-0 victory, thanks to a strike from Sylvain Wiltord. The Gunners celebrated winning the Premier League at the home of their bitter rivals.

The Future

Manchester United need to remind teams just how unstoppable they can be in front of their home fans. They need to instil a sense of fear back into the Old Trafford atmosphere so that visiting European teams go there trembling in their boots. In next season’s Champions League United must be more convincing if they are to have any hopes of success.

2012 Asia Cup

The 2012 Asia Cup, the 11th edition of this tournament, will be held in Bangladesh.


China was interested to host the Asia cup at Guangzhou but it was decided by the Asian Cricket Council that Bangladesh will host the event. It will be the third time Bangladesh will host the event.

The event was supposed to be held between 1 March 2012 and 11 March 2012. But it is rescheduled to avoid conflicting with the ODI tri-series in Australia that also includes Sri Lanka and India, which is ending on March 8. Now the tournament will be played from 11 March to 22 March. The teams in the event are hosts Bangladesh, defending 2010 Asia Cup Champions India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

India squad for Asia Cup:
MS Dhoni (captain), Virat Kohli (vice captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ashok Dinda, Manoj Tiwary.

Pakistan squad for Asia Cup:
Muhammad Hafeez , Nasir Jamshed , Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Omer Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Shahid Khan Afridi, Hammad Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Omer Gul, Wahab Riaz and Aizaz Cheema

Sri Lanka squad for Asia Cup: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Sachithra Senanayake Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Seekkuge Prasanna and Suranga Lakmal.

Bangladesh is the fourth team participating at the event and the final squad is not yet announced by its cricket board.

A total number of seven ODI’s will be played amongst the four teams starting from March 12th and a final winner will pick the trophy on March 22nd

1st ODI- Bangladesh Vs Pakistan on Monday March 12th

2nd ODI- India Vs Sri Lanka on March 13th

3rd ODI- Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka March 15th

4th ODI- Bangladesh Vs India March 16th

5th ODI- India Vs Pakistan March 18th

6th ODI-Bangladesh Vs Sri Lanka March 20th

7TH ODI- The final match will be played between the top two teams on March 22nd

Australian ODI Squad for the West Indies Tour

The Australian selectors have named an ODI squad for the WI tour which starts in March. The ODI squad is the same as the squad for the Commonwealth Bank Series finals beginning next week with the addition of three players in Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon and George Bailey.

Shane Watson and Mike Hussey come back into the T20 squad to provide a great deal of experience and power to the batting line-up. There was simply no room on this occasion for Shaun Marsh, Travis Birt and Aaron Finch. Additionally, Mitchell Starc has not been selected as a member of this squad. However, Mitchell will travel with this group as a further development opportunity and spend valuable time around the Australian squad in the West Indies. Brad Hogg was also not selected but will still be considered for the T20 World cup squad later.

ODI Squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Watson, George Bailey, Daniel Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, Brad Haddin, Ben Hilfenhaus, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, Nathan Lyon, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner


Twenty20 Squad: George Bailey (captain), Shane Watson, Daniel Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, Nathan Lyon, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner

Match schedule:

ODI Series
Friday, 16 March - 1st ODI at Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, St Vincent
Sunday, 18 March - 2nd ODI at Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, St Vincent
Tuesday, 20 March - 3rd ODI at Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, St Vincent
Friday, 23 March - 4th ODI at Beausejour Cricket Ground, St Lucia
Sunday, 25 March - 5th ODI at Beausejour Cricket Ground, St Lucia

T20 Series
Tuesday, 27 March - 1st T20 at Beausejour Cricket Ground, St Lucia
Friday, 30 March - 2nd T20 at Kensington Oval, Barbados

Redknapp Not The Right Man For The Job

Harry Redknapp may be a top club manager, but he does not have what it takes to be a successful coach at international level for England. This is not some knee-jerk reaction based on what happened at the Emirates on Sunday, it is something I have been thinking about since Harry’s name was immediately mentioned as the top man for the vacant England role. Here’s a look at what has made Harry to be a successful manager at club level and a comparison to what is needed to become a successful national team manager.

Man-management skills

Players that have played under Redknapp say he is a brilliant guy to work with and they enjoy playing in his teams. This is what enables him to bring out the best in his players and develop a great team spirit among his squads. The key to achieving this, is that he works with the players everyday, and they therefore spend a lot of time with him. When Luka Modric wanted to leave the club in the summer, Redknapp convinced the player to stay and he did not sulk.

As an England manager he will get 2 or 3 days maximum to work with the players, after that they will go back to their respective clubs. This will not be enough time to build the relationship he normally has with his players except for at tournaments, where he will have an extended period of time with the players.

The “wheeler dealer”

I know Redknapp does not like to be lumbered with this phrase, but it’s true – he is a master at getting the right player at the right price. I do not know how he does it but he seems to always get it right. Last season he was able to get Rafael van der Vaart at a bargain £7 million, which turned out to be a masterstroke as the Dutchman has become a regular match-winner for Spurs. Add to this the cut-price purchase of Scott Parker – who has been one of the outstanding midfielders in the Premier League this season – the Adebayor loan and the recent signing of Louis Saha, and it’s clear he does good business.

As an England manager he will not be able to sign any new players. The talent pool is very limited and he basically has to work with what he has. He will not be able to make a season-long loan signing to boost the team and will have to rely only on development teams like the Under-21s. Absolutely no wheeling and dealing.

Beautiful winning football

I like to watch Spurs play these days, mainly because of the style of football they play. It is fast paced, attacking football that tears teams apart. It would be great to see England play like that, as their performances were generally dull under the stewardship of Fabio Capello.

But sometimes a team needs to win ugly. Get a 1-0 lead and hold on. The weakness in Harry’s team is that they don’t seem to have a Plan B, and lack the ability to be able to adapt to the opposition. When the side comes up against teams that dominate possession they struggle. The team sometimes needs to absorb pressure before launching attacks, and this is particularly the case in international football. A national team manager must be very good tactically and have a strong defence to rely upon.

It would be nice to see Harry Redknapp as the next England manager but I just don’t think he is the man with the right skills to take the role

Weekend Sport Review!

It was another sports filled weekend. I enjoyed every minute of it as it had many surprises.

Cricket
The most talked about cricketer from the weekend was Richard Levi. The opening batsman scored the 1st ever T20 century by a South Africa as he led the team to a series leveling 8-wicket wins against New Zealand. It was a record breaking innings as he hit 13 massive Sixes, reached his 100 off just 51 balls and became joint highest ever T20 score of 117. The decider will be played on Wednesday.

Ricky Ponting has been dropped from the Australian ODI side after a series of low scores in the ongoing tri-series with India and Sri Lanka. This was surprising because he has been the stand-in skipper in place of the injured Michael Clarke and the team won against India yesterday by 110 runs. The Aussie selectors are ruthless when it comes to dropping players. They do not wait for the end of the series. Shane Watson has been selected in his place. This could be the end of the line for Punter.

FA Cup
The nightmare season for Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal side continued this past weekend. Not only were they knocked out of the FA Cup by Sunderland but more injuries took place. This follows the 4-0 loss they suffered mid-week at the San siro against AC Milan in the Champions League. This was really the only piece of silverware the team had a chance of still winning this season. Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal

PSL & CAF Champions League
Kaizer Chiefs shocked everyone including their fans when they beat Swallows 3-0 at FNB Stadium. This was an unexpected result after their performance against Jomo Cosmos. When we look at how well Swallows had played coming into this fixture.

Sundowns dropped 2 valuable points when they were held to a goalless draw against Cosmos. Ajax Cape town are right back into the fight for league honours as they won their 2nd consecutive game since the league resumed. They are placed well in 4th place.

Orlando Pirates lost 3-1 in the preliminary round for the CAF Champions League against a team from Angola. This means they need to win away from home 3-0 inorder to advance. Highly unlikely.

CAF Champions League Glory!

Orlando Pirates are trying to win back the CAF Champions League this year. This is what they will have to deal with by playing in this competition.




Travelling & Accommodation

Africa is a very big continent. Teams have to travel long distances to play each other. This means having to spend lots of time in airports waiting for connecting flights. By the time the team gets onto the field they are already tired.



The other issue is the team hotel that you are given as the away team. Very few countries will offer you 5 star hotels. You will find hotels that have cockroaches and even prostitutes being used as accommodation. There will be a huge party happening very close to the hotel just to make sure the players cannot get a full night’s sleep.

Match Schedule

The CAF Champions league usually starts around January and finishes in November, this clashes with some domestic leagues which run from August to May. This means a team will play during their domestic off-season. There is also an issue of player transfer window which happens in January & around July/August. A team could lose its star players to big European teams during a crucial stage in the Champions League. You cannot just register new players into the tournament at any time. Example is Pirates’ new players are not eligible to play until at least the group stages when Pirates will be able to register more players.



The matches are played over the weekend. Most domestic leagues schedule their matches also during weekends. This results in shifting the team’s individual fixtures to a different day. A team will end up playing a match every 3 days just to fulfill all its fixtures. A big squad is needed and a coach must know how to rotate the squad to allow his best players to rest.



Hostile Crowd & Match officials

The recent tragedy in Egypt is just one extreme example of how hostile the crowds can be in Africa. You need players that are mentally strong and who are experienced at playing in front of those crowds. The match officiating tends to be very biased towards the home crowd and also if you are a referee from that region you are in trouble. Example would be a team from Southern Africa playing Al-Ahly in Cairo and the match officials are from Tunisia.



These factors mean if you want to be crowned champions you must win ALL your home games and by good margins so that whatever happens away from home does not affect you much.

AFCON 2012: So far so good

Before the tournament started I picked Ivory Coast’s my favourites to win it and Zambia’s the surprise package of the tournament. Both teams have made it to the semi-finals.


Perfect record!

Ivory Coast has won all 3 of their group games. Scoring 5 goals and have kept a clean sheet in all 3 matches. It has not been spectacular. They just do enough to win their games. The defense is looking rock solid. It will take something special to score against them. Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahoui rested 9 players for the crucial match against Angola and still the team was too strong and easily won 2-0. They were very convincing in their 3-0 win over the hosts. Still no team has beaten them. I do not see Mali stopping them either in the semi-finals.

Flying the flag for Southern Africa!


Zambia has impressed me. Botswana and Angola have failed to progress towards 2nd round. But Zambia has won 2 games and played a draw in a water soaked pitch. I am even embarrassed that even I picked them as surprise package. That’s how well they have played. I have elevated them to tournament favourites behind Ivory Coast. The way they beat Senegal (tournament favourites for some people) in the opening match made everyone take notice of them. So they are no longer a surprise team. Their captain and striker Chris “Crisis” Katongo has played a leading role in the 1st round for them. He creates, scores and leads the team well. Emmanuel Mayuka has been very dangerous upfront and scored 2 goals so far. He is strong in the air as Senegal found out and has pace.

Zambians celebrating

The only worry I have with Zambia is when they have to defend. Their goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene can be erratic at times. Libya was able to find the back of the net against them easily. It is something they need to guard against for sure in the knockout stages as one mistake could mean catching the next flight home. Ghana have scored two goals from corner kicks already this tournament. In the semi-final Zambia must watch out.

New Zealand Tour Squads and Match Schedule Announced!

CSA has announced the 3 squads that will represent South Africa in New Zealand. Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis  are OUT of the T20 squad. Rusty Theron, Richard Levi and Marchant de Lange are IN the T20 squad.

Interesting inclusion is Justin Ontong, he has been selected for both ODI and T20 squads. JP Duminy is the extra batsman in the Test squad. Tsotsobe and Marchant provide cover in the Test squad.

Proteas’ Castle Lager Test squad: Graeme Smith (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras, capt), AB de Villiers (Nashua Titans, vice-capt), Hashim Amla (Sunfoil Dolphins), Mark Boucher (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Marchant de Lange (Nashua Titans), JP Duminy (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Imran Tahir (Sunfoil Dolphins), Jacques Kallis (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Morne Morkel (Nashua Titans), Alviro Petersen (bizhub Highveld Lions), Robin Peterson (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Vernon Philander (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Jacques Rudolph (Nashua Titans), Dale Steyn (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Chevrolet Warriors).


Proteas’ Castle Lager ODI squad: AB de Villiers (Nashua Titans, capt), Hashim Amla (Sunfoil Dolphins, vice-capt), Johan Botha (Chevrolet Warriors), JP Duminy (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (Nashua Titans), Jacques Kallis (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Albie Morkel (Nashua Titans), Morne Morkel (Nashua Titans), Justin Ontong (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Wayne Parnell (Chevrolet Warriors), Robin Peterson (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Graeme Smith (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Dale Steyn (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Chevrolet Warriors).

Proteas’ T20 squad: AB de Villiers (Nashua Titans, capt), Hashim Amla (Sunfoil Dolphins, vice-capt), Johan Botha (Chevrolet Warriors), Marchant de Lange (Nashua Titans), JP Duminy (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Colin Ingram (Chevrolet Warriors), Richard Levi (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Albie Morkel (Nashua Titans), Morne Morkel (Nashua Titans), Justin Ontong (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Wayne Parnell (Chevrolet Warriors), Robin Peterson (Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras), Rusty Theron (Chevrolet Warriors), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Chevrolet Warriors).


February 2012


17 New Zealand v South Africa T20I Westpac Stadium, Wellington 08:00
19 New Zealand v South Africa T20I Eden Park, Auckland 08:00
22 New Zealand v South Africa T20I Seddon Park, Hamilton 08:00
25 New Zealand v South Africa ODI Westpac Stadium, Wellington 03:00
29 New Zealand v South Africa ODI McLean Park, Napier 03:00

March 2012

3 New Zealand v South Africa ODI Eden Park, Auckland 03:00
7 New Zealand v South Africa Test University Oval, Dunedin 23:30
15 New Zealand v South Africa Test Seddon Park, Hamilton 23:30
23 New Zealand v South Africa Test Basin Reserve, Wellington 23:30

Preview: 2012 African Cup of Nations

The Ivory Coast has only won the African Cup of Nations once despite producing some of the best footballers in Africa. That victory was back in 1992 in Senegal. This year 7-time winners Egypt failed to qualify. They had won the last 3 editions. Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa also failed to qualify for this year’s edition.

If there ever was a perfect time for The Elephants to be crowned as African champions it is this year. This could very well be the last time we see Didier Drogba in the AFCON. But hopefully he can also make it next year in the 2013 African Cup of Nations.

The Côte d’Ivoire squad is filled with quality and experience from the goalkeeper all the way to their strike force. During qualification they won 6 out of 6 games. They have a number one ranking in CAF. In Africa the toughest thing to do is win away. But Côte d’Ivoire managed to win all their away games in qualifiers. They are the only side that managed this. I predict them to win the Group and advance towards the knockout stages. 2012 African Cup of Nations Draw

Any successful team must have a strong spine. There is Kolo Toure (Manchester City) marshalling the defence, he has over 60 caps. The midfield general is his brother and recently chosen African Footballer of the Year, Yaya Toure his absence at Manchester City is already being felt and the tournament has not even started. Upfront it is the Chelsea striker Didier Drogba who scored 4 goals during qualifiers and has scored 50 goals in 75 caps

Didier Drogba

These 3 men will need support if they are to bring the cup home. Kalou (Chelsea) and Gervinho (Arsenal) will provide the goal scoring threat. The midfield will have Didier Zokora (formerly Tottenham Hotspur), Cheick Tiote(Newcastle) and Abdul Kader Keita. The 2 teams that can stop this team from lifting the title are Ghana and Senegal in my view. If those two teams win their respective groups and Ivory Coast win theirs, this would mean a much easier passage towards the final for The Elephants.

Zambia could be a surprise package too. They have a strong squad and will fly the flag for Southern Africa. Their team is very talented and it has proven goalscorers.  Click here to see the Zambia squad. I think Botswana will struggle in this tournament. They did well to qualify but this will be a wake up call for them. Senegal and Newcastle United striker Demba Ba is my pick for top goalscorer.

This is Africa. In Africa anything is possible!

Review : SA vs SL Test Series

Imran Tahir celebrates

Before the Test series began some cricket fans were saying it will be a walkover for South Africa. Kepler Wessels was even quoted saying “our SA A side can beat this Sri Lankan team”. We have to forgive them because Sri Lanka has been awful in Test cricket post Muralitharan. We all expected a 3-0 series win for South Africa. The Proteas had played tough cricket against Australia a few weeks back and this should have been an easy series for them.

1st Test Supersport Park in Centurion

Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to field on a green looking pitch. Sri Lanka got bowled out twice for less than 200 runs. Philander picked up 10 wickets in the match and was voted Man of the Match. South Africa only batted once in the match. AB top scored with 99, Smith made a solid 61 and Boucher hit a fighting knock of 65 batting with the tail most of the time.It was an easy win inside 3 days. But Morne Morkel struggled with no balls and his rhythm. Prince, Amla and Kallis did not make a big contribution with the bat. Rudolph managed 44.

South Africa won by an innings and 81 runs inside 3 days



2nd Test Kingsmead in Durban

Coming into this match South Africa had a bad record in Kingsmead they also had not won a Test series at home since 2008. Looking at how they had won the 1st Test another easy win was on the cards here going to Cape town. Sri Lanka made only one change from the 1st Test. Wicket-keeper Silva was dropped and in his place came Chandimal to make his Test debut. South Africa was forced to make a bowling change. Philander picked up a knee injury and was replaced by Marchant De Lange also on his Test debut.

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat 1st. SA batted poorly in this match. They got bowled out for 168 and 241. Marchant de Lange got best bowling figures of 7/81 in his 1st Test. Chandimal got 2 half-centuries. Sangakkara and Samaraweera scored their 1st centuries on SA soil. Samaraweera had been a late inclusion in the side. Rangana Herath bowled the best and was named as man of the match. Kallis got 2 ducks and no wickets in the match. He had a match to forget. Sri Lanka won the match by 208 runs inside 4 days and now series was leveled 1-1 with 1 test to go. Dilshan thanked Kepler for his “motivating” words before the series and Jayasuriya said “we chocked them nicely”.


3rd Test Newlands in Cape Town

If the 2nd Test had been Kallis’s worst Test ever, this was going to be his best. South Africa made 2 changes to the side. Alviro Petersen came in and Prince was dropped from the team. Philander came back into the side for Marchant de Lange. Sri Lanka left out Paranavitana for Thirimanne and Prasad came in for Fernando.South Africa batted 1st after Dilshan had won the toss and chose to field. 580 runs later Smith declared. Kallis got his 2nd double century and 1st against Sri Lanka. Alviro opened the innings with Smith and made 109. AB got 160. Rudolph batted at 6 and got a half-century. Sri Lanka failed to avoid the follow on and got bowled out. Smith enforced the follow on. 2nd time round SL set SA 2 runs to get. Kallis picked up the Man of the Match award and AB was Man of the Series.

South Africa won the match by 10 wickets and the series 2-1.

Vernon Philander got 16 wickets in 2 matches. He is the big find of the summer for South Africa. Marchant de Lange also is one for the future. Tahir struggled at times but came into his own on a turning wicket in Newlands. Alviro made a good comeback into the team. The future for Mark Boucher is still uncertain though. It will be interesting to see who is on that plane to New Zealand.

Bafana Bafana star faces uncertain future

Siphiwe Tshabalala is currently at Championship side Crystal Palace keeping himself fit. It had initially been reported that he is having trials there with a possible move away from Kaizer Chiefs. Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman admits that any move to sign Siphiwe Tshabalala may have to wait until the end of the season.

“He’ll be with us for a couple of weeks but it’s not really a trial as such – his friend KG is over here and he’s just keeping himself fit. It’s an opportunity for him with South Africa not getting to the African championships to keep his training up. As we speak right now it’s probably in the summer that we will revisit that one in terms of signing.” This is contradicting to the newspaper reports and agent claiming the transfer is very possible. Now we hear Kaizer Chiefs will resume talks with Itumeleng Khune and Siphiwe Tshabalala when Bobby Motaung returns from holiday. - from Kickoff.com


Personally I do not think a player like Tshabalala needs to go for trials to any team. The player is a regular at Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana. He played a leading role for the national side at the 2010 World Cup. A move overseas has been long overdue.
 
Tshabalala is used mostly on the left-wing but sometimes plays in a more central role. He is a hard working player. He makes good runs and can cross the ball well. The other good thing about him is that he scores a few goals for every team he plays for and has a powerful left foot (2010 FIFA World cup opening goal). He is disciplined on and off the field. You only find his name on the back pages of newspapers which is where footballers must be. I have never seen him get a single red card since 2006. He helps out the left back when the team is defending. The right foot though is just good for standing with him. Adapting to life at Crystal Palace should be made easier for him because another Bafana Bafana midfielder, Kagisho Dikgacoi is already there. He is used to playing in front of big crowds of around 60,000-90,000 all blowing vuvuzelas.
 
Tshabalala only has 6 months left on his current contract with Kaizer Chiefs. The Chiefs management would rather seal a deal now in this transfer window than wait and have him move for free in June. It would be difficult for them to put a very high transfer fee for him as time is running out and they would still want to make money out of the move. I do not think Palace will sign him now. They will wait and try to get him for free in June. Mamelodi Sundowns are also following the happenings closely as they want to give him an offer he cannot refuse. If he does not move overseas I think he will stay at Naturena.
 
He will be a big loss to Kaizer Chiefs as they are currently fighting to win the league title back from their rivals Orlando Pirates. Any Kaizer Chiefs fan will tell you about his contribution to the side. The only medal missing for him is a League winner’s medal. It would be great if he could leave having won the league with his childhood team. If there is one player who deserves a move to England that player is Siphiwe Tshabalala. He has earned it.