I was given a lot of stick when I said that South Africa is not going to reach the semi finals of the Champions Trophy.

Mickey Arthur and Geoff Boycott think that South Africa are one of the favorites for the world twenty20 title, but I don't think so.

Here are my reasons why.

1. Have they ever won a World Cup?
   
   
2. Knowing their luck, rain, a silly run out, or a blazing West Indian bat will keep them away from the title.
   
   
3. Only 2 of South Africa, Australia, and India can reach the semi finals; my bets are on South Africa not being 1 of the 2.
   
   
4. Mickey Arthur has said that his players' exposure to the IPL has allowed them to gather thoughts, strategies, and preparation stuff from players of different teams.
   
   With 12 of South Africa's world t20 squad members appearing in 7 different IPL teams, its going to be one hell of a confusion-galore dressing room with tons of strategies that neither Arthur nor Smith will know how to comprehend.
   
   Fortunately, none of them played for KKR.
   
   
5. In one of his statements Arthur named a few players who were the only ones who could not be called on to bat or bowl at any time.
   
   One of those players was Robin Peterson - wasn't he used as an opener or in the top order in a recent T20 game?
   
   How can they expect to win if Arthur doesn't know his players himself.
   
   
6. In the recent past, Johan Botha has captained South Africa in T20s. Smith is going to have a hard time taking over.

South Africa usually start every championship as one of the favorites, and we all know where they end up.

I don't see why this time will be any different.

First it was Arthur Turner talking about how the Australians are unhealthy for the IPL.

Now its an iafrica columnist, Dan Nicholl, taking the piss out of Lalit Modi.

That is the best Lalit interview, I have ever read or heard.

Here's a sneak peak of what its all about:

Dan: Slight misunderstanding there… What else can we expect?

Lalit: Well, we’ve extended our DLF deal. No more singles; instead, they’ll be DLF minimums, which gives a nice symmetry to things, and gives the commentators something extra to talk about.

Dan: That’ll be great — we really haven’t heard enough commercial allusion from your commentators. Are you happy with the team?

Thats quite funny from Dan Nicholls, but something tells me the South Africans aren't really enjoying the IPL.

Thanks Amy for pointing me to Lalit's best interview.

Arthur Turner, a columnist at Sport24, which is a South African website, has some amusing views.

He talks about how the Australian dominance in the IPL is unhealthy.

He talks about how its not good for the competition in the IPL to have so many coaches from Australia - 5 out of 8.

Turner goes on to say that no one outside Australia knows Greg Shipperd, Darren Lehmann, and Darren Berry, the 3 Australian coaches without international coaching experience.

He argues that the fact that these 3 have highly valued IPL contracts goes to show that Australia, as a cricket nation, is over rated.

Turner must have some nerve to say that.

Shipperd is arguably the best 20-20 coach on the planet. He led Victoria to the 20-20 title 3 years in a row. He coached the best 20-20 team of Australia, who for the longest period were, and maybe still are, the best cricket team in the world.

We all know who Greg Shipperd is.

Darren Lehmann's credentials as a coach may not be as good as the one he had as a player, but again no one can argue against Lehmann's cricketing nous.

Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, and many others have spoken about how they used to turn to Lehmann on occasions on the field.

So yes, we all, outside Australia, also know who Lehmann is and how good he can be as a coach.

As for Darren Berry; he is probably the least known of the 3 but I do know that he is a former captain of Victoria and close to Shane Warne.

Warne made it clear that he wanted his coaching staff last year and we all saw what Berry and Warne did for the Royals.

So we may not have known Berry before last year, but we do now. Everyone does.

Turner doesn't stop there.

He goes on and talks about the large number of Australian players (26 of them) that are playing in the IPL. He denounces their presence by stating that they are only there because of the Australian coaches.

He presents his arguement by mentioning that South Africa beat Australia recently and are the number 1 ranked ODI team and yet they have a lesser number of players (15) playing in the IPL.

So its all about that is it Turner? Its all about why there aren't more South Africans than Australians playing the league?

Turner compares the domestic performances of Rob Quiney and Ryan Harris to two South African players - Henry Davids and Rory Kleinveldt.

Moreover, Turner argues about Ryan Harris and Rob Quiney while stating that some of the Australians in the IPL have never, and will never, play an international cricket match.

I wonder if Turner knows that Ryan Harris has played an ODI for Australia and that Quiney has been talked about as a potential ODI opener if I am not mistaken.

They are definitely better known than the Henry and the Rory that he mentions.

Turner concludes his piece by saying that IPL will have to address these problems if it wants to remain the premier Twenty20 competition.

What problems!?

Had Turner only talked about the huge presence of the Australians in the IPL and argued that a more equal distribution of players from international cricket playing countries was required, then maybe, just maybe, his arguement would have carried some weight.

But the fact that he puts forward names of South Africans that could have been better bets than the Australians in the IPL, diminishes any value that his arguement could have had.

With Turner being a Player Agent in South Africa, it all falls into place now, doesn't it!?

You're not that talented but break into South Africa's strong middle order.

You become one of the mainstays of their batting line up.

You out-shine Kallis and bore the crap out of viewers with your long and slow innings.

You are elevated to the Vice Captaincy.

Your tag of being a test player does not get you a bid at the IPL auction.

You are your country's best test batsman.

You injure your thumb.

A young promising batsman replaces you in the middle order and makes his mark.

You are fit again but lose your place in the team.

But you're still Vice Captain.

The captain gets injured mid way during a test and is ruled out for the next test.

The opener is dropped from the team for the next test.

You make your return to the team as an opener and the captain.

You were the Vice Captain so obviously you would be the captain in the original captain's absence.

24 hours later the selectors decide that you need to focus on your new opening role and should not be burdened with the captaincy.

So its taken away from you.

But are you still the Vice Captain?

Should we be happy for you or feel sorry for you?

As a kid, Pietersen would have dreamt about playing for South Africa.

He would have dreamt about playing alongside the likes of Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher.

He would have dreamt about captaining South Africa.

He could never do that.

But now Vijay Mallya has come to KP's aid and provided him with the opportunity to realise his childhood dreams.

No I'm not talking about the $1.55 million.

I'm talking about playing for and captaining South Africa.

KP is a strong captaincy candidate for the Royal Challengers.

Boucher is being mentioned as his possible deputy.

Kallis also plays for the Royal Challengers.

As does the premier South African bowler - Dale Steyn.

Thats almost like captaining South Africa.

And he gets to play with his childhood heroes - Kallis & Boucher.

What a happy team.

Mallya should change his slogan to "Bangalore Royal Challengers - making dreams come true!"

Not long ago I wrote about how Australia's ODI team excited me.

How could they not?

How could any side with a batting order that reads Marsh, Warner, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Hussey, Haddin, White, Hopes not excite you?

Well when they get thrashed 4-1 it makes you wonder.

It makes you wonder of the JP Duminys, the AB De Villiers, the Hashim Amlas and the likes.

It scares me to think that if a South African team sans Smith, Boucher, Kallis, Steyn, and Ntini can so easily beat Australia, what can they do to other opposition?

More importantly, what can they do when Smith, Boucher, Kallis, Steyn, and Ntini are back in the side?

Add that to Gibbs, AB, Duminy, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, and anyone out of Amla, Prince, McKenzie, Tsotsobe, Parnell, Harris, Botha, Jaarsveld, or whoever and you have a World Champion.

When Dale Steyn picked up 5-23 against India bowling them out for a mere 76 earlier this year, he truly caught my eye.

Sure he had done a lot more before that spell including the demolition of the Windies in a 20-20 game but realising that he had raced to 117 test wickets in only 22 matches, made me take notice.

Back then I wondered how good he was.

Soon after, he jumped to the number 1 rank in ICC's test bowler rankings.

Along with Ntini and Morkel he formed the best pace attack in international cricket in my opinion.

By his standards, Steyn had a quiet first test against the Aussies.

Today, he changed all that.

A 10 wicket haul against the Aussies is big.

In fact its huge if you're a fast bowler.

Not many bowlers have accomplished that.

And when you trim that down to fast bowlers, the list seems to be non existent for the last 2 decades or so.

In recent years its only been the spinners, Muralitharan (once), Kumble (twice), Harbhajan (thrice), and Vettori (once) who have managed 10 wicket match hauls against the Aussies.

In fact this milennium, its only been these spinners who have managed this feat.

Digging a bit more and I had to go as far back as 1990 to find a fast bowler who managed a 10 wicket haul against the Aussies - Wasim Akram at Melbourne.

If I am missing anyone, please enlighten me.

In light of this, Steyn's 10-for today is HUGE.

Its his 3rd match haul of 10 wickets in only his 29th test.

The Englishmen, George Lohmann and Sydney Barnes, had more in fewer matches, but despite that Steyn has made his mark in the record books.

When Steyn picked up Siddle today he had his 150th test victim.

150th test wicket in his 29th test match.

He's gotten there faster than Dennis Lillee! Faster than Warne! Faster than Allan Donald!

Ian Botham and Hugh Tayfield got to the mark in the same number of matches.

And only Sydney Barnes, Waqar Younis, and Clarrie Grimmet got there faster.

Steyn is already in the company of legends and dare I say, ahead of some.

Whats more, Steyn's 10 wickets in today's match puts him 2nd on the list of best strike rates of all time, jumping slightly ahead of JJ Ferris. Only Lohmann stands ahead of him.

Waqar Younis is the only bowler in the 'top 10 best strike rates list' to have played more than 30 tests.

Steyn, I reckon, will end as the second. Probably ahead of Waqar as well.

Damith over at flyslip has taken an interesting look at who will lose their balls during the Australia vs South Africa test series that starts tomorrow.

That was a very entertaining piece but one suggestion in there left me puzzled.

Damith began his post with "The biggest test series of the year has ... "

Excuse me but the biggest?

I wonder if that was a random honest mistake considering Australia and South Africa look like the strongest sides in the world to the naked eye or was that an opinion based on I'm not sure what.

The biggest test series of the year took place in India recently and India won that 2-0.

Even an Ashes series is bigger than an Australia vs South Africa one.

Hell even an India vs Pakistan series is bigger than Australia vs South Africa.

Or atleast the results and the competitiveness of these serier suggest so.

Australia have had South Africa's goat since their readmission to the world of cricket some 18 years ago.

Australia have beaten them 15 times in 24 tries, losing only 4 times since the 1993/94 series.

This decade the record looks even more lopsided at 10-1 for the Aussies in 12 matches.

So then what makes this series the biggest of all?

The fact that they are the number 1 and number 2 ranked teams?

Well that was the case in 2001 and 2002 as well when the Aussies beat the Proteas 3-0 and 2-0 in the 2 series played that season.

So then what makes this series the biggest?

Nothing at all in my opinion.

I honestly believe that South Africa don't stand a chance unless Steyn, Ntini, and Morkel are operating at 150% and in full flow without either of them breaking down, in which case Australia don't stand a chance.

It will be one very one-sided series.

Nothing like the India-Australia or India-Pakistan test series in recent times.

It was a record breaking day as Jacques Kallis scored 49 off 49 deliveries notching up a Strike Rate of 100, which is unheard of when it comes to Kallis.

He was delighted after this effort and was found waving his bat vigorously at his critics who have always claimed that he bats too selfishly.

His spirits though were slightly dampened as he realised that Hashim Amla, who not only got a big 100, but also scored at a Strike Rate of 103.70!!!

And if that wasn't enough, AB De Villiers walked to the crease after Kallis' dismissal and smashed 54 off only 27 deliveries, scoring at twice the Strike Rate that Kallis did.

Kallis' record breaking day wasn't looking all that record breaking anymore, but it kept getting worse for Kallis.

Albie Morkel decided to have some fun and smashed 3 sixes and as many fours to score an unbeaten whirlwind 37 at a Strike Rate of 284.61!!!

At the end of the innings, Kallis was seen with his head in his hands wondering why he always gets overshadowed.

Last, at the time of going to press, Tamim Iqbal was batting at a Strike Rate of 207.14 and Kallis' displeasure was evident on the field.

Match Scorecard.

"Give me the same players who were part of the team in the 90s ... and see the result. We don't have the same talent that we had in the 80s and 90s and we have to accept that as a reality."

For once I believe Dr. Nasim Ashraf has made sense.

Its sad but its true.

All countries go through their own talent cycles.

West Indies have suffered the most in this regard dominating cricket through the 70s and 80s only to find themselves low down the rating for the last 15 years or so.

India have experienced the opposite trend with the emergence of new talent that is far ahead of the batsmen and the bowlers of the 90s.

Australia seemed to have overcome this talent-cycle by establishing a strong system that creates and provides a never ending supply of talented cricketers.

Though even they faced a hurdle during the mid 80s with the exodus of a number of big names and it was left to Allan Border to build a young team.

Since then though, Australia has been able to make sure that succession is easy and successful.

Sri Lanka have relied on a number of old hands of the 90s who have continued to play during this decade. Jayasuriya, Murali, and Vaas will soon move on and when Jayawardene and Sanga do the same in 3-4 years they could face what the Windies have and what Pakistan are.

New Zealand have very recently experienced the downward trend of the talent cycle with the departure of players like Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, and Shane Bond.

England and South Africa are 2 countries that seem to intrigue me. I don't think either has faced a downward or an upward trend in the talent cycle.

They have both produced the same boring and unexciting cricketers for years and years with the exceptions of the Steyns (Donald) and the Morkels (Klusener, McMillan) and the Flintoffs and the Pietersens.

Despite all this, I think Pakistan has still done alright.

They are still the unpredictable team they were in the 90s when they had all those supremely talented players.

They were never a consistent team back then, nor are they one now.

So despite not having the Saeed Anwars, Amir Sohails, Inzamams, Miandads, Wasim Akrams, Waqar Younises, Rashid Latifs, Moin Khans, Saqlains, Mushtaqs, Razzaks, Ijaz Ahmeds, and others, not much has changed has it?

The first ever Asian Cricket Awards were held in Karachi on Friday.

Australia have held award nights for many years now with the "Allan Border Medal" being the event of the year. Everyone looks forward to that night in order to get a peak of the Aussie WAGS.

South Africa held their awards recently as well. I'm not sure whether this was their first time or of they've done so before as well.

India could have had an award night or two of their own if they had learnt something from Bollywood, which I think has 10 award functions every year.

Why in this case they wanted to hold one jointly with Pakistan and Sri Lanka is beyond me.

The BCCI with Bollywood in tow could have held a GRAND Awards night even if they wanted to have one with Pakistan and Sri Lanka's involvement.

Have the Indian cricket Administracrats missed a trick here?

Have they missed out on a money making opportunity?

Where were Sharad Pawar and Niranjan Shah when these awards were being planned? Or above all, where was the man who has given entertainment to all and made money for the BCCI - Lalit Modi?

Think about this:

Asian Cricket Awards.

Hosts: Ravi Shastri and Karan Johar.

Presenters: Ajay Jadeja & Neha Dhupia / Shoaib Akhtar & Rakhi Sawant.

Performances: Kareena Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Shahurkh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Celina Jaitely, Amrita Arora, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Abhishek And Aishwariya Bachan, Meera, Reema, Resham, Shaan, Mummar Rana, Shahid Afridi, Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam, Hadeeqa Kiyani, Shahid Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Saif Ali Khan, and more.

Award Presenters: Imran Khan and Hema Malini, Wasim Akram and Madhuri Dixit, Sunil Gavaskar and Rekha, Kapil Dev and Jaya Bachchan, Arjuna Ranatunga and Bindoo, Shoaib Akhtar and Rakhi Sawant, Saurav Ganguly and Nagma, and more.

Award Categories:
Best Cricketer, Male
Best Cricketer, Female
Best Match
Best Coach
Best Captain
Best Supporting Captain
Best Supporting Cricketer
Best Supporting Coach
Best Wicket Keeper
Best Cricketer in Catch-Dropping Role
Best Cricketer in Comic Dismissals
Best Debutant of the Year
Best Run Out (fielder)
Best Run Out (batsman)
Lifetime Achievement Award

To add to the glamour and achievements the TV people should have also gotten awards in the following categories:

Best Commentator
Best Supporting Commentator
Best Sound from Stump Mic
Best Cameraman
Best Pitch Curator
Best Presenter
Best News Channel
Best Weather Forecast Predictor
Best Cricket Show
Best Cricket Movie

And the Administrators as well.

Best Selector
Best Supporting Selector
Best Board Member
Best Supporting Board Member
Best Chairman
Best Supporting Chairman
Richest Board Member

The rights to telecast the show should have been put up for grabs -Sony, ZEE, ESPN, Star, Neo, Ten Sports, Fox, and others would have vied for the rights and the BCCI would have received a multi-million dollar cheque.

Cricket and Bollywood in India - how did the BCCI miss this money making idea?

Throw Pakistan into the mix and play the India-Pakistan solidarity angle and you have a sure shot winner.

Throw Sri Lanka in and market the "Asia is One" gimmick and you have a sure shot money spinner.

Then why was an Asian Cricket Awards night held in Karachi, where no such performances were possible instead of Mumbai or Delhi?

Oh BCCI, you have disappointed.

If you turn it around next time and follow my tips, I will expect Royalty.

You'll make money, I'm sure you can share a little.

He destroyed India with 5-23 in only 8 overs to bowl out a famed batting line up for 76 in less than 20 overs on the 1st morning of a test match.

Commentators cited the pitch as a demon and unlike something one will find in India and more like something that would be found in South Africa. But the deliveries Dale Steyn bowled to pick up those 5 wickets were peaches! He got Sehwag and Dravid with beauties, one an inswinger and the other an outswinger. And it was the same pitch on which RP, Sreesanth, and Pathan could do little.

Does this make Dale Steyn an outstanding bowler?

Probably, but he is defnitely the most exciting fast bowler around these days. I remember the 4 wickets in 2 overs that he took in a 20-20 match against the Windies. What a display of fast bowling that was. I haven't seen such good yorkers consistently since the days of Waqar Younis.

So, how good is Dale Steyn?

• He has taken 117 wickets in 22 tests at an average of 21.41. That includes 8 5WI and 2 10WM.


• 75 of those wickets have come in his last 11 tests since October 2007. Both the 10 wicket hauls and 6 of the 5 wicket hauls have come in this period.


• His average of 21.41 is the best average among current test bowlers. Better than Bond, Brett Lee, and Mohammad Asif. Even better than the retired Glenn McGrath, Alan Donald, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis. Among contemporary cricketers only Curtley Ambrose betters that average.
  
• His strike rate is 35.6 which is 2nd on the all time list of best strike rates! Higher than Shane Bond, higher than Brett Lee, higher than Waqar Younis! Even higher than the Barnes and Tyson one frequently hears of when strike rates are mentioned. Only George Lohmann betters him.

I believe that makes him very very good. Probaby even the best fast bowler this season - I will be surprised if anyone else has more than his 75 wickets in 11 tests this season.

The question though is - can he continue in the same vein?

Despite my dislike for South Africans, I hope he can. He is one of the more exciting players to come from that part of the world. There's little better than watching a fast bowler in full flow knocking stumps over and it doesn't matter who he is playing for.

How good do you think he is?

He's only 24. Provided he can stay injury free he can play for another 8-10 years. 500 test wicket potential? Probably. Another fast bowling great? Possibly. Best South African fast bowler? Definitely.

(Pic Source: Getty Images, UK Telegraph)

One of the great modern day all-rounders has quit the game. Shaun Pollock will definitely go down as one of the best all-rounders in the game ever and is definitely right up there at the top as far as modern day all-rounders go.

Pollock was chaired from the field in his final test by captain Smith and Nel. That picture of the great leaving the field will be long remembered. Pollock was an intelligent cricketer and one of the most consistent ones the game has known.

I personally never liked Pollock. But the primary reason for that was because he was such a competitor, an in your face one and would always perform well against Pakistan. But now that he has retired I can look back and say most of it was just his competitiveness that I hated so much. He was a fierce competitor but generally respected in the cricketing world. Most cricketers did not have anything bad to say about him.

For me Pollock was hope in the cricketing world for the diminishing class of all-rounders - he truly was a genuine one. He was heavily criticized for his captaincy, but handled being axed with tremendous class and grace. I think the label of chokers will stay with the South African team in the Pollock era. I do think as a team they underacheived since they had 3 genuine all-rounders in Pollock, Kallis and Klusener.

Pollock was an exceptional cricketer and will be remembered both for his ability, grit and will to win. Pollock played 108 tests and took 421 wickets at an average of 23.11; he also scored 3781 runs at an average of 32.31. Pollock also played 299 ODIs and took 388 wickets at an average of 24.53; he also scored 3476 runs at an average of 26.33.

The cricketing world says goodbye to one of the best all-rounders in the game. The South African team and the cricketing world will miss him.

JH Kallis - the best all rounder in the game today, well ahead of anybody else - is in super form these days in cricket. After scoring quite a few centuries in South Africa's tour of Pakistan, Kallis has continued his prime form in the home series against New Zealand.

Kallis did not score in the first innings of the first test match, but in the second innings he scored 186 off just 262 in a swash-buckling innings, a very unlike Kallis innings. This should silence those critics who say he scores too slowly. The truth is that Kallis, more often than not, gets the job done with both the bat and the ball and is no doubt the best all-rounder in the game today. Kallis hit 25 4's and 3 6's scoring his century with an amazing strike rate of about 71.

In the second test match Kallis has continued his awesome form and has scored yet another century leading the home side to a score of 272/3 in reply to New Zealand's modest total of 188 in the first innings. Again Kallis scored his runs at a rapid pace seeming to play more against his critics than the New Zealand bowling attack. Kallis scored 131 off 177 deliveries at a rate of 74 runs per 100 balls. Amazing stuff from an amazing cricketer. Amla has provided the solid support in both of Kallis's centuries in the series. In this innings he is still there at 89 as him and Kallis resurrected the South African innings after they had been reduced to 31/2.

There was a time when the cricketing world was overflowing with all-rounders of the likes of Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Ian Botham, Steve Waugh, Kapil Dev, etc..in today's cricketing world there are a lot of bits and pieces players but few players who can merit a place in the team for any one skill it is refreshing to have the likes of Kallis. One hopes his recent form will silence his critics as the South Africa team's balance and strength owes a lot to having a certain Kallis in their team.