Proteas 1st T20 vs Pakistan

Wait... now he took a good catch.

Lets keep him in for a bit.

Malan with 42 off 24.

Good start.

Yes.. our middle order looked like they came out of a zoo!

A donkey called Miller

A deer called Snyman

And a overweight horse with a huge backside

Snyman has good domestic numbers. I'd like to see him given a fair chance.

Cut that out the real deer is de Ock, nobody does it better.

That spinner that was was confusing Snyman looks pretty good. 

What I don't understand is why we let that guy slow us up.

It was plain as day that neither Malan(edi t) or Snyman were picking him.

...so if that is the case and we still had plenty wickets in hand...slog sweep was the answer. Even if you only get a few boundaries. One boundary was the difference in the end.

Also, he was giving it good flight and there was consistent bounce. 

Instead, they tried to play straight bat shots from the crease without knowing which way the ball was turning. And both got out with the ball getting past the bat. 

Very stupid and cost us the game.

Interesting actually.

Exactly how much risk is a slog-sweep?

Seems like a shot that is never the right choice.

However, the context is possible important. 

A slog sweep is less risky, in terms of winning the game, when you need 2 runs to win and have 9 wickets in-hand. In a game where 16 runs is 10% of a winning total, it's less risky than when you're chasing 500 in a test and looking to score big.

In yesterday's game, we had 10 wickets in hand and were sailing along, when suddenly Malan couldn't pick the spinner. He was seeing it well and was on a nice run, but then tried to fend off the spinner despite knowing that he was not picking him and that it was only a matter of time before he got done. If you can't pick a spinner the ball WILL pass your bat and you'll get out.

So what's the remedy in that game situation and when you know that you're doomed??

Using your feet is the first and only, semi-safe, port-of-call. Kick away, smother the deviation...whatever it takes.

Failing that you have to trust the bounce and play cross-bat shots to get as many runs as you can before the inevitable occurs. Ideally, using your feet to force him to bowl shorter and then scoring when he does drop it short. 

When Malan got out, his bat was just about perfectly vertical as the ball passed it, with him looking to block. This was after he'd already been beaten with the ball passing his bat.

In the context of the game, with 10 wickets in hand and only just over 110 to get, the slog-sweep was the right option. Not just in terms of game risk but also in that if it came off it may have thrown the spinner off of his line and/or length.

Everything, excluding that he was new to the crease, was true for Snyman as well. 

Snyman's shot was a weird loft to long-on that looked a bit like a slog-sweep from some angles, but ultimately his bat was at about 10-15 degrees when the ball passed it and he was not playing across the line but rather to hit back down the ground. He missed the ball by about 10-15cm haha

Those two poor decisions cost us the game. It's not easy if you can't pick a spinner and you're always going to be choosing between the better of two evils, but you DO have some recourse when you can trust the bounce, which they could.

For reference:

Have a look at what happened in the 10th over when Hendricks slog-sweeped Usman . 

Usman went wide and full, with Hendricks then getting the virtually risk-free opportunity to drive him over cover.

Time Stamp 08:55

We will; see tomorrow what happens in th3 next game

Snyman, Dala and Miller did not do their part and Klaasen was not hot either,    At least Dala and Snyman should be replaced     

Yes Plum, cricket is a game of averages...a good captain or coach should exploit the odds a bit better...sometimes it's prudent to gamble some.

Ps I don't blame them for not picking him. There's hardly any difference between his deliveries.