Sports Watch

Tsotsobe can be dagerous

2010-12-28T03:31:00.000-08:00

I have seen Lonwabo Tsotsobe can make name for himself is he gets a run in the next test. The main thing that makes him dangerous is the fact that he can induce strokes from batsmen because of his bowling angle. He is especially dangerous when he pitch up a fraction with the ball aimed a bit wider of the off stump and reduces is speed a fraction. We have already seen Dravid and Tendulkar chasing these balls and paying the penalty.

To make this more effective he should bowl ideally at 135 KM/h and then bowl the wider one at 130 KM/h. The carrot ball will dismiss a lot of good batsmen if he applies this tactics. In the first Test against India a lot of Balls went wide of third slip that indicates that his speed was a fraction slow for the conditions.

By picking up small hints like balls that are going just wide of the third slip can also help him in determining the optimum speed for the pitch that he is bowling on. The rule should be if the ball goes wide of third slip you should bowl about 3 to 5 KM/h faster so that the nicks can go to hand in the slips area.

Younggolfers in PGA Golf tournaments

2010-08-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

It seems like more and more players are in the run to win major competitions. I think coaching has a lot to do with it. Nowadays youngsters start training by swinging clubs and be taught at a very young age. Look at youngsters from age of 4 being coached to become the next generation of professional golfers.
By having the feel at such a young age to read greens and positioning them selves on the course, managing all what courses can throw at them. I have seen exiting news on youngsters you can have a look at http://www.younggolfers.net to see what I am talking about. Good luck to all upcoming young aspiring golfers. Remember the best golf is played by applying your mind and playing the course to your best ability.

South Africa Perform well at Newlands ODI (Trying to level the series)

2009-11-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

It has been a great batting performance from South African batsmen. Graeme Smith has set the tone trying to dominate the England bowling in the first ten over’s. Amla and Smith batted well in a first two powerplays putting the English bowling under immense pressure. This has forced the English captain to hold off the third powerplay which have played into the hands of the South African team. This meant that the batsmen could rotate the strike and play themselves in and they could then attack when the powerplay had to be taken. Smith eventually fell to a ball playing the ball on to his stumps. Amla have also played a big part in South Africa reaching the score, which set the stage for AB de Villiers to play a blinder of an innings. He played with freedom and attacked the bowling also running between the wickets wit Amla and later with Pietersen. The only negative from the South African team was the batting of JP Duminy going out to a pull shot scoring 6 from 15 balls faced

South Africa VS England 2009 ODI Newlands

2009-11-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

South Africa has won the toss at Newlands and elected to bat in their cricket match agianst England. Newlands which has been known for pear shape match results where the team batting first has a huge advantage over the team batting second. The reasons for these phenomena can be attributed to the lack of movement from the ball during the day comparing it to the night. It has been known that the ball is doing something from the deck and through the air. England will be doing well getting close to the huge total that South-Africa has managed to score. The score for the South African innings was 354 for the loss of 6 wickets. Special mention needs to be made in the way AB de Villiers has batted like a rock dispatching the ball all over the park 121. He was well supported by his fellow batsmen. England that has got match winners in their team but it is going to be tough.

Kallis Out ODI's against England

2009-11-22T00:43:00.001-08:00

Jacques Kallis has been replaced by Hasim Amla for the rest of the ODI’s against England. Kallis that has not responded on treatment for a bruised rib have been diagnosed with a cracked rib after a second scan yesterday. This have been a cruel blow to the South African team just before the start of the Odi. This will be a good opportunity for Amla to prove that he can play a integral part in the South African line-up. Meanwhile South Africa has gotten of to a decent start to there innings. The current score is 43 for the loss of 2 wickets after 9 overs. South Africa will have to consolidate their innings as there was a loss of two wickets in short succession.

Proteas vs England ODI Centurion 22 November 2009

2009-11-21T23:48:00.001-08:00

So it is Cricket at last since the rain has set in over Gauteng over the past week. It is the first time that the weather is looking good and that we are sure there is going to be some good cricket played. England has won the toss and elected to bowl due to some moisture around. I think that this is the prudent decision that might prove to be the correct one for them. I think Smith would have done the same if he won the toss. The only good thing positive for the Proteas is that it is not overcast , but you can be assured that there is going to be some lateral movement.
Then there is the omission of Jacques Kallis which has been removed from the line-up due to a suspected cracked rib. This will also put him in doubt for the rest of the one day internationals and even for the first test against England.
Anderson will be opening the bowling and the Proteas will have to be at their best if they stand a chance of getting off to a good start.

Smith and Bosman dominate T20 at Centurion

2009-11-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that the batsmen have done the job in the 20/20 match last Sunday. Gleam Smith and Loots Bosman were superb in the way they went about in there dismantling of the English bowling attack. It has been calculated low risk cricket that have placed the pressure squarely on the English bowlers. The opening partnership was the biggest in the 20/20 form mostly because both batsmen like to dominate the bowling and that they were on a role.
Bosman nearly became the second batsmen in international T20 match to reach the elusive three figure total. He ended up with 96 runs unfortunately hauling out to a shortish delivered ball. He tried to hit the ball for a boundary not backing down putting the team upfront. Smith also played absolutely excellent and it is evident that his elbow is much better than last season in the way he is stroking the ball with immense power. It has also been evident in his shot selection that he is not only limited to certain regions he is playing his shots. This will make things much more difficult for the English especially in the upcoming test series.

Proteas vs England 20/20 Centurion

2009-11-15T03:45:00.000-08:00

So there is again some weather around in the Johannesburg, Pretoria area. The Duckworth / Lewis method of determining the eventual winner might be again come into play. South Africa has probably been the team most affected in this manner, but it is probably because they only have one game plan, and that is to chase a target rather than to set one. It has cost them two advances in world cup matches one against England in Australia and one against West Indies in South Africa. I sure don’t hope that DL will be used today to determine the winner of today’s match. The previous game has shown signs of being a cliff-hanger up to the point that the rain has intervened. If this first encounter has anything to go by the tour will be something else and the intricate matchups something to behold and to enjoy.

South Africa VS England 20/20 match

2009-11-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

I went to the South African vs England 20/20 match tonight. I think Standard bank was greedy selling the tickets for much more than they should have. I think they could have had about an extra 10 000 people at the Wanderers tonight if the pricing was done more prudently and even if there was a drop of R30 to R50 on the cover price they would have made more money in the stadium. I have spent more than that amount at the stadium. I don’t know how these corporate companies work out the price, but the one stand had 3 dancers only dancing for 10 to 20 people in the one corner. That was really lame that the stadium was not packed like during the 20/20 matches that were hosted by the Indian organizers a few months ago. They worked with a much better plan trying to fill the stadium to capacity and gaining more revenue on the Advertising and the selling of memorabilia to fans.
I think Standard bank should revisit their prices and that they might make more friends in the future. People don’t like being ripped off especially if they don’t get the moneys worth from what they are getting. I think the chance of games being rained out id quite good, luckily there was some play tonight, and it the chances of being a cliff-hanger was good. With the rain coming early and putting an end to proceedings I have felt a bit short changed. You are welcome to give your views on this.

The Springbok starting XV to face France in Toulouse on Friday

2009-11-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

So the Springbok team for the match Friday evening will be as follows:
15 Zane Kirchner (1)
14 JP Pietersen (30)
13 Jaque Fourie (51)
12 Adi Jacobs (28)
11 Bryan Habana (54)
10 Morné Steyn (9)
9 Fourie du Preez (52)
8 Ryan Kankowski (9)
7 Schalk Burger (53)
6 Heinrich Brüssow (10)
5 Victor Matfield (89)
4 Bakkies Botha (63)
3 John Smit – Captain (90)
2 Bismarck du Plessis (30)
1 Tendai Mtawarira (19)

So here is my take on the team selection and things that we will have to keep a look out for – There will be the battle up front that is going to be fundamental in the outcome of the match. I have seen that a hard battle upfront certainly have an effect on the way a team dominates and controls the match. France have one of the biggest front five combinations in world rugby at the moment. We must see if South Africa can stand up to the task that have been set by these players.
I do think that South Africa should fare well in the loose with Heinrich Brüssow and Schalk Burger both fetchers and complementing each other well. It is a pity that Spies was ruled out due to injury as that would be by first choice.
I do think the most stringent test will fall on Zane Kirchner and Adi Jacobs which has to fill cardinal positions and will be playing in stead of De Villiers and Steyn which have been playing well during the whole Tri Nations campaign. I predict a very close game that might be won by drop goals and penalties in stead of the wide open running Rugby. Good luck Boks!

Preview to the 2009 Currie Cup Final Bulls vs Cheetahs

2009-10-31T02:43:00.000-07:00

This is certainly going to be unforgiving hard physical rugby being played at Loftus with no prisoners taken by either of the two competing teams.

The Bulls will probably have the upper hand in both the lineout’s and rumbling the ball up with a good kicker to convert and capitalizing on any errors form the Cheetahs. The Bulls will have to be patient in their buildup and going through the phases. Regardless of the score there should not be a letup during the last twenty minutes of the match. It was during this time that the Cheetahs have normally caught up with their opponents in the past seven matches.

The Cheetahs will probably have the upper hand in the scrums and has shown in the past few weeks of the Currie Cup that they have a formidable pack upsetting the springbok front row in the semi finals. Then there is also Brussouw that will probably get some turnovers or win penalties with his phenomenal speed and quick recovery, putting pressure on the opponents. Then there is Potgieter that can also slot some testing kicks.

It will certainly be a tight game. Good luck to both teams but we would like to see a winner and not a draw.

The lack of some of the Springbok players for the Sharks has not gone unnoticed

2009-10-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

The lack of some of the Springbok players for the Sharks has not gone unnoticed. Players like the beast and John Smith have looked lacked lustred in their performance. It was noticeable that both of the players have struggled in the scrums and might have been the reason that they have not performed in the match. The calling of the word Beeeeeast was lacking in the game which has gone to show that there was seldom a rollicking run by the beast that normally end up with a gain in field position. John Smith was just as quite in the game and this have shown up to be one of the reasons that they lost out to the Cheetahs. Players in the Shark team that was playing well includes Bismarck Du Plessis, Kankowski, Pienaar which seemed to be the form players for the Sharks. The loss to the Cheetahs was a definite surprise for me but the Cheetahs always seems to get stronger to the end of the season when the weather normally gets warmer and the chance for running rugby is a better prospect.

Looking back at the week’s Semi-final match between the Sharks and the Cheetahs.

2009-10-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Looking back at the week’s Semi-final match between the Sharks and the Cheetahs it has been clear that the Sharks have been maybe overconfident in their match approach. The Cheetahs has always been a team that finishes strongly in the last 20 minutes of the game and has proved to be the case in the match. The non performance of some of the staunch Springbok players in the Sharks outfit is also a course for concern in the year end tour to England. The front rows for the Sharks have been totally dominated in the scrums by their Cheetah counterparts. I personally think that Os du Rant has done wonders to the cohesion in the front row for the cheetahs and they will still improve into the future. Maybe they can become a force to be contended with in the future and maybe also in the super14 competition. It will be interesting for me to see how the Bulls front row is going to stand up to front row of the Cheetahs in the final. I personally think that the Freestate has got the best front row in the Curry Cup competition.

Formula1 refuelling 2010 – Should Diesel be allowed to compete in next years championship or will there be only a few finishers.

2009-10-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

I am thinking back to Formula1 era where there were no refuelling allowed, it must be said that was when the turbo versions of the formula1 cars was allowed. I seem to remember a race where there were only 3 or 4 cars that managed to finish the race due to all the other participants running out of fuel. Should Diesel cars be allowed in next year’s competition? At least there fuel consumption is a lot better than the normal formula1 cars and will be lighter in weight and can go further with the same amount of fuel . This should be a good contest between the fuel and diesel with both having some advantages and disadvantages for both and where diesel has improved rapidly during the last few years

The ICC cricket final - What a prospect.

2009-10-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to New Zealand cricket for beating Pakistan convincingly in the ICC champions trophy match at the Wanderers. New Zealand played exceptionally well and beat Pakistan against my expectations to setup a final at Centurion against Australia. This is going to be a magnificent day for both teams trying to win the ICC competition for a second time. I think New Zealand has an even chance of winning this competition but Australia will start as favourites in the match. As explained in a earlier post I think that Centurion has one of the most consistent pitches during both the innings. Australia does not have a huge advantage over New Zealand as New Zealand always seem to have some impact in New Zealand, Australia matches and Australia only had two players batting on the pitch that is going to be uses for the final where it was only Watson and Ponting getting the bulk of the runs in their semi final match against England. So if there players can be dismissed cheaply it will be game on. The strengths for New Zealand other then the opening bowlers will be the spin of Vitori in the middle over’s that always seem to get some purchase from the wicket and also a wicket or two during this spell. I think he is a better bowler than Haurits in the middle over’s that will narrow the margin of victory for Australia or swing the game New Zealand’s way. So this game is not a one horse race and I am looking forward to see what the final result will be. Good luck to both teams you deserved to be in the final.

Australia vs England in ICC champions trophy match (Prediction update)

2009-10-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

So England has come up about 25 runs short because of some pretty tame dismissals and not batting out the overs. England has done got the runs on the board and Australia has to chase it now and the rest is history. The weather is quite fair with some cloud around so here is my prediction – Australia will find it quite challenging in the beginning of the innings due to the bowling conditions, but if they can preserve their wickets in the first ten to twelve over s they will be set to progress to the finals. My gut feel is that Australia will progress to the next round and win the match by four or five wickets with about 4 over’s in hand.

Australia vs England in ICC champions trophy match (Prediction)

2009-10-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

So it is time to look into the crystal ball and yet another game between England and Australia but this time at Centurion in Pretoria. Centurion has one of the best batting pitches definitely in South Africa with true bounce and not deteriorating throughout the day. I think this pitch is probably the best one day “day game” pitches in the world but does benefit the team batting first in a “day night” game mainly to two factors. During the day the pitch is so flat and does not deteriorate a whole lot, but at night there is just a bit of nip around but does not moisten the ball sufficiently to detract from bowling and the second factor will play into the team bowling second will be that the ball will discolour quicker due to the moisture on the ball that makes it difficult to pick up from the pitch.
England posses a devastating team in suited swinging conditions for bowling, but I don’t think Centurion will have wet enough conditions and Australia has a hard working attack that will pick up wickets on a regular basis.
My Prediction Scenario one -- England wins the toss and elects to bat. England will score 287 to 293 for the loss of seven wickets. Australia should win with 4 wickets in the second last over.
My Prediction Scenario two – Australia wins the toss and elects to bat. Australia will score 310 to 320 with the loss of six wickets. England will fail to get the needed runs to win and lose by about 25 to 17 runs if there is no movement of the ball at night but will win by 45 it there is assistance.

Alonso to be unveiled for the Ferrari Formula 1 team.

2009-09-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

It is expected that Alonso will be signing his contract with Ferrari. This will be a valuable commodity in next year’s competition and Ferrari has spent good money to acquire the services of this talented driver. I think that he could be a sure bet for next years driver championship competition. Alonso has proved time and time again that he is a above average driver and with a better competitive car next year he will certainly be a force to be reasoned with. With this move to Ferrari the only thing will be to fit in with the team form the outset to assist him in going for the competition
It will now be interesting to see how the refuelling rules will impact the championships – Read my views on the refuelling.

England VS New Zealand in ICC Champions trophy

2009-09-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

So New Zealand has bowled out England for a meagre total of 147 on a weather assisted Wanderers pitch. With the ball swinging nicely this will be a quite daunting target to achieve. If New Zealand can beat England convincingly they will go to the next round of the competition and the hopes of Sri Lanka dashed. New Zealand has done the basics well to ask the questions right from the start of the match and earned their right to be in this position. It is now up to the batsmen to show their skill and worth to see if they can progress in this years ICC champions trophy.

Pakistan progress to next round of the ICC Champions trophy

2009-09-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

So Pakistan also progressed to the next round of the ICC champion’s trophy due to the fact that the game between Australia and India was rained out and them being at the top of the pile. Meanwhile the rain looks set to continue today and might influence the outcome of today’s proceedings. It has been a great tournament so far that have produced interesting outcomes

England on top in ICC match against South Africa

2009-09-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

England has outplayed South Africa in their ICC champions match. It seems like South Africa will also fail to proceed to the next round of the competition. I would like to see only day matches played at Centurion as it has been shown that the team batting first in the

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

2009-09-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack in the 21st over going for a four in his first over. The performance of Swann will be pivotal in the outcome of the match. To my thinking the partnership between Smith and de Villiers will be the make or break to their chances in the ICC champion’s trophy competition.

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

2009-09-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

2009-09-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

South Africa VS England in ICC 2009 Second innings

2009-09-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

South Africa has made a good enough start to the run chase on Centurion in their match against England in the ICC champions trophy match to be in front 89 for the loss of two after 17 over’s of the scoring rate compared to rate of England at the same stage. The two batsmen out for South Africa are Herschel Gibbs and Jacques Kallis, both of whom were caught in a soft manner. At the crease at the moment are AB De Villiers and Graeme Smith