India Tests take aways

2-0 in India is indeed an epic Test series win. The Protea's first since 2005. The records and accolades have been amply enumerated elsewhere. Moaning about the easy run to the WTC final last cycle may stop now, or at least once the English and Aussies are done with the other Test tour ongoing and take some notice of results in other parts of the world.

What other takeaways can we call?

Shukri Conrad has found his inner P-Div
The 'grovel' comment was as cringeworthy as anything said in a presser by everyone's least favourite Snor. Bavuma and Conrad have been walking on water for a couple years now, but WTF Shukri?! I can only hope that when the time inevitably comes to eat those words, you take it as in your stride as well as Tony Greig did.

Picking allrounders
Both coaches loaded the team with allrounders. It worked for Conrad, less so for Ghambir. One coach got a lot of heat for the selections, and it wasn't the one who was winning.

Rabada misses out
Visiting quicks in India usually don't really mind missing out injured. But this time KG may have experienced a tiny amount of regret. For someone already in the GOAT discussion a record of 9 wickets at 44 in India stands out as a low point, and chances to rectify those numbers don't come along every day.

WTC cycle is ... progressing fast
Seems it's barely started, yet we're nearly halfway through? These away points will surely help the Proteas greatly.

Long wait for the next Test action The world champion Proteas play again soon... as soon as September 2026, when Australia come and visit. India on the other hand are in a hurry and head to Sri Lanka in ... August next year.

What a crowded Test calendar we have.

Photo retro: 2023-12-21 - SA vs India at Boland Park

This was the third of three ODIs. India had batted first and put up a good 296. Photo was taken from the south western grass bank near the score board. I wouldn't swear to who was batting there but it was near the start when there was still hope, so likely de Zorzi and one of Reeza Hendricks or Aiden Markram.

Hope didn't last and India went on to take the game by 78 runs and the series 2-1. Both teams moved to Newlands next to start the Test.

More memorable for me was solo parenting three small kids through the event. The daytime temp hit 38C, and dropped sharply at sundown. One child lost a tooth midway through the first innings. Two got in trouble with security for sneaking out to fetch a ball hit too far (yes, this is thing one can do at Boland Park). I spent most of the second innings queueing to buy pizza (maybe not a bad thing given the RSA collapse), and overall spent way too much on confectionary and bottled water and way too little on beer.

As you can tell from the horrendous focal length the pic was taken with my smart phone at the time. It was a Samsung A73.

At Least No One Can Say We Choked...

... because on the night, India was clearly the better team. The Proteas were outplayed, man for man.

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This review by the estimable Firdose Moonda really says all that there is to say about our T20 (and ODI) sides: less than the sum of the parts. I'm not sure what the problem is, but by now I would say that it's become chronic and is a much worse problem than the old "chokers" tag. At least "choking" meant only losing a couple of high-profile games. This new mediocrity results in a lot more losses.

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Sri Lanka went on to win it. It's a good send off for some of their legends. Hard times lie ahead in transition for them, but for now they are deserving T20 champions.

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As the lands here under the Southern Cross begins to slide into winter darkness there isn't much cricket in the immeadiate future. The Protea's next date is with the Lankans in July, over at their place. I have a selection of ideas to write about during the slow news days, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

ICC Power Grab Leaked

Image from Zimbio

I would have written something caustic about the leaked news of India, Australia and England's sordid plans for the ICC. Anyone who's been vaguely following cricket could see this coming and can see where this is going.

But Jarrod Kimber has already said all that needs to be said. I have nothing to add to his commentary except to urge you to follow the suggestion he makes at the end of his post.