Plum....I'll ask this nicely.
Tell me, how can a player be "World Class" when he only has a world ranking in one format of the game that being T20 and that ranking is by the proverbial mile a distant 21?
No ducking or nose diving.....the floor as your Master says is yours.
Claiming that de Kock was the best ever keeper/batsman for SA is an overstatement and an insult to the greats such as :
Waite,
Jennings,
Lindsay,
Richardson and
BOUCHER.
Not forgetting AB.
How soon we forget.
As for batters how about
Richards,
Pollock,
McGlew,
AB,
Smith.
Richards was the most gifted batsman I have seen with Smith, Pollock and AB to follow.
Sure they are from the OLD DAY's but greats in many ways.
AJH
Smith came on the seen playing like a house on fire especially in tests. However he was a technically deficient batsman and when opposing bowlers found a way t deal with him he started going back-wards in performances and unfortunately that became a problem and he really fizzled out after the 2011 WC, Would not call him a really top class batsman like Pollock
There is technique and then there’s reflexes. Markram is close to technically perfect….with a superb score on the bowled/lbw index. But he fails. Why. Because his hand/eye coordination let’s him down. The opposite is true of Ock who is fatally flawed but rescued in many instances by quick reflexes.
Truly great batsmen tend to have great reflexes and superb technique…Kohli and Barry Richards are examples.
Mozart
All my statements in the past about hand-eye co-ordination has finally hit home - after you went bananas when I raised that in the past. You are really improving in that regard - but I would like to know does it not go hand-in-hand with aging of players as well?
As opposed to eye-in eye? Certainly one would think so, in their early sixties some players might experience a slight slowness to stimuli.
As far as numbers go, QDK is our best since readmission...if you exclude AB. His glovework is sublime and often taken for granted because he so rarely fails. One would probably take AB over QDK though.
I can't think of any keeper, local or abroad, since I've been alive, that I'd select over AB. So you kind of have to exclude him, i dunno, the curse of talent haha...leaving QDK as the clear winner.
QDK has a test average of 38 and an ODI average of 45.6. Boucher averaged 30 in tests and 28 in ODIs. Dhoni averaged 38 in tests and 50 in ODIs.
While Smith was captain, we had the best top six in the world for a good long while. So Quintie was less relied on...which suited his mindset and ability.
As the big guns retired, and Quintie's load increased, we saw him fail in big moments more regularly.
What most don't know is that QDK had a bit of a babe ruth reputation about him on the JHB baseball scene. My partner's family have long baseball history in JHB and her brother recounted to me how a young QDK would be doing endless laps at baseball practice. And also that he was hitting adult-size home runs at 12 years of age.
He was a baseball player before he was a cricketer.
And now you know why he doesn't respect the gate.
Since you guys are talking about reflexes...my prediction is that, with Quintie no longer playing tests, he won't make a fuss about wanting to play straighter...Gayle, anyone?
There's just no incentive for him to change much and it's not made better by the fact that he already hits well down the ground. This is where he differs from Amla. Amla had to force himself to play straighter because his twirly bat lost 5% its speed as he got older and those flashy shots through the off worked less regularly.
Anyway, I think our new keeper could match QDK over time. He showed some good maturity and to be honest, I say Verreynne looks like a good option for captain going forward.
The current batting line-up needs to go through. Elgar has had his run and overseen an extremely poor batting period that has lasted years. Bavuma isn't test quality. The "older" new recruits aren't paying dividends either.
We'll see but it looks to me like the Proteas are at a crossroads.
My hope is that we bring in the new ABs and Smiths and trust their talent.
Malan and Rickelton immediately spring to mind, with Verreynne...now you have three spots to fill before you account for Brevis. Then there's Stubbs.
Malan
Rickelton
Stubbs
Brevis
Verryeynne
...not a bad platform.
Anyway, QDK will be a hired gun and raking in a good wad of cash for a few more years. And good on him! If we pick politics over merit then I'd be glad to see all the guys on my list above go where they're appreciated...and rewarded.
Hopefully de Kock will still delight us in the shorter game while at the same time filling his pockets.
He has earned and deserves it all.
Says Pompous Piles who as we all know failed to pinpoint QDK's "yawning Gap" flaw in the 3 videos I provided.
However, it's Fool steam ahead from him with this pearler.......
Markram is close to technically perfect….with a superb score on the bowled/lbw index
What is wrong with Aiden Markram's technique - Darryl Cullinan
https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=32986145
but wait there's more this from another expert......
His first season’s performance not only ticked all the statistical boxes (more than 1,000 runs at an average of 47.47 and four centuries) but his big innings against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Australia showed much more: elegance, power, confidence and great timing.
The most notable shot in his armoury was the forceful drive off the back foot through the covers. This is a shot that only the best players can do well. It requires perfect timing to meet the ball at the top of its bounce and outstanding coordination to get the hands high enough to keep the ball down.
Markram’s particular superpower was his ability to play this shot from an open position; in other words, with his feet pointing down the wicket and his chest open.
This should not be possible. Conventional coaching dictates that batters point their right foot (back foot for a right-hander) towards the point fielder (or parallel with the batting crease).
This allows the batter to get their eyes in line with the ball so they can make last-minute decisions about whether to play the ball or leave it alone.
Keegan Petersen’s “side-on” technique is key to understanding his success at Test level. Former Indian great Ravi Shastri was so impressed by Petersen against India’s pace attack that he compared him to the legendary Gundappa Viswanath.
With his head over middle stump and the ball on or outside off-stump, Markram is effectively guessing the line of the ball.
In limited-overs cricket or against bowlers below the highest class this doesn’t matter so much. But with three slips and a gully in place for extended periods in the Test-match format and the world’s best bowlers consistently delivering high-pace deliveries in the “corridor of uncertainty”, he has to hope that his eye will save him.
Open to error
Markram is also more open now than he was when he lashed the Australians to all corners of Kingsmead in 2017. Or when his astonishing 169 off 129 balls (with seven sixes) at Newlands for the Titans showed he was on quite a different level from other players in domestic cricket. A long career in all forms of international cricket seemed assured.
Not only was he less open in those innings, he also played the ball later then, which is always a good thing.
The mention of Australia brings to mind the great run-scorer Steve Smith. I have been told that Smith is an example of another player who plays “open”. He does not.
Smith puts his right foot in the conventional position parallel to the crease initially against shorter balls on the offside. Smith’s trick is to leave his left leg dangling over the leg stump (making him look like he’s open). He then pivots to that left leg with amazing speed if he spots that the ball can be played through the leg side.
Markram’s open method requires everything else to be in perfect working order.
When his timing or coordination or perception or footwork or anything else is not at 100%, he will nick the ball to third slip or gully. International bowlers know this by now. It’s not form or confidence that is holding Markram back from his early promise in the Test arena: it’s where he puts his right foot.
One can only hope that he’s able to make the adjustment because he’s a massive asset to South African cricket. Apart from his magnificent fielding, he’s a leader (he captained a World Cup-winning SA Under-19 team), he’s articulate and, based on the evidence of something I saw after a day’s play in New Zealand, he’s a nice guy. When all the players turned for the dressing room after a hard day in the field, Markram stayed on the pitch to have an encouraging word with young Lutho Sipamla.
The Protea selectors would do well to have a few words of their own with the coaching staff before they next have a chance to select Aiden Markram. Markram with his superpower restored would be a great boost for the Test team.
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The egg continues to flow !
Bwhahahahahaha
Continue reading
Dentsie, still has to cut and paste articles because he's too afraid to have an opinion of his own.
New year, same little girl.
Actually my favourite cut and paste is your Reeza "World Class" Hendriks's stats.......suck it up...."Coach"
Allow me to cut and past my own response, of me previously responding to you...because remember when you decided to make a fuss last time? Your timing was so bad that you literally made your post on the same day that Rossouw was quoted as hailing Reeza World Class. And while Reeza was on a 70+ average since returning . LOLzzzzzzz
For the record, there is newer and better talent now to replace Reeza but I'd still back him for a season.
"Dentsie
I don’t think you understand what should and should not embarrass a person.
The guy that i picked, has the best ODI and T20 average in the Proteas since I selected him.
A numbers game you say? I guess those numbers don’t count?
Funny stuff.
And now we have one of the best limited-overs bats in SA completely agreeing with me.
What’s truly amazing is how you chose to make your post on the exact day that the article on Rossouw’s comments is released.
If cricket is a numbers game then you should be begging me for my next tip because i longed a player that hardly anyone was looking at and he outperformed literally everyone.
Embarrassing for you indeed."
Plum you sound desperate, almost like you're trying to rescue yourself from drowning.
Doesn't matter what anyone says you've glorified a quota.
Deal with it old buddy........it won't be the last time your fat lip runs away with itself.
My advice....just fess up that you've made a goose of yourself.
Huh?
How did this thread go from cricket to girls and boys.
Wierdo.
No-one knows what you mean....how many times do you have to be told not to speak in tonques.
And I don't post for your interest, matter of fact I couldn't give a flea's nipple if you don't read my posts.
But here's the thingo you weird Doppie seeing as that I can't think of anyone better to explain....
According to Mike's list of SAFFA's your wonder boy didn't get a bid which leaves him out in the cold.
Tell us why........why would everyone of those franchises deep six your "World Class" quota?
Aah, the "Me no understandi"defence!
A cowardly classic.
Let's try again...
Copy and paste one of your previous posts that show even a slight knowledge of the technicals of the game. IE your own analysis.
Not gonna happen, huh?
Please don’t speak in ‘tonques’(sic)….Comrade September gets upset. I love the Cullinan analysis….clearly he dislikes non square stances, but that’s a choice and many top batsmen do it. What’s really hilarious is he then admonishes Markram about getting bowled, not even bothering to check the stats, which show none of our top bats for for the last 20 years are bowled less often in tests than Markram.
Which actually supports the point you make. Comrade pastes these things as if they are the 10 Commandments,,..truth handed down to mortals. But half of the time it’s bs, which is the risk if you have no opinions of your own.
Lol Moz...
Indeed, the way you know that you're on to something, like with QDK's technique, is you notice that there is a flaw in his technique, without ever having looked at the actual stats. You then look up the stats and you find them in support of your argument.
I'm quite sure Dentsie never watches the game because anyone that has watched Markram play will tell you that he is technically sound but succumbs to brain farts. With KP, this was a given because he would take the game on, so when he got out to something weird and unnecessary, one accepted it as part and parcel of the man, safe in the knowledge that he was averaging close to 50...so he beat the demons a lot of the time and often when it counted most.
With Markram, it's always been very clear that he does his best to play within himself and responsibly, but at some point he either over-focuses or just gets a brain zap and finds himself walking back to the pavilion with everyone wondering what the hell just happened. The tell-tale sign being that he hardly ever gets out to good balls.
This was why most of us, you included as I recall, thought he should be tried down the order...and we said this before he was actually tried down the order believing that with less pressure the brain farts could be diminished.
All of this is to say that Dentsie never finds himself in the position of having made any sort of call that turns out to be either true or heavily supported by statists.
Hence the deep dives and silly deflective posts.
A funny girl indeed.
He/she desperately wants something from the posting community, but we are failing him/her.
Pssssttt Pompous Piles.....down here.....a moment please
Seems like you're still confused......let me help.
I haven't agreed or disagreed with your claim that Markram is close to perfect in technique.
The ones who are disagreeing with you are the "dumbasses" who have professionally played the game.....what would they know Huh?
Besides the two I've quoted there are others who have said the same thing i.e. Shaun Pollock and Vernon Philander and I quote
Another former Proteas allrounder - Vernon Philander - suggested that Markram may need time away from the national setup to work on his game.
“When you’re struggling at that level it’s very difficult to pick yourself up, especially still being in the setup,” said Philander.
“There has to be an acknowledgement of the struggle with your technique. It’s probably [about] taking him out of that setup to go work on his technique and go and work on eliminating certain dismissal modes. He’s probably going to play for South Africa for a very long time and I’d much rather they address those issues now.”
Geeez that makes it four who've said exactly the same thing! Still I digress, what would they know Huh? Afterall we all know that you're never wrong.
I'd rather believe you our resident World Authority who learnt cricket playing for the navy than those dumbasses who've spent a decade or more centre stage world wide playing for their counties.
Ja Piles, as always you're right and the experts are stupid.
PS
Cullinan - Markram been a walking lbw this series | ESPNcricinfo.com
The one was a reporter, the other was Cullinan who berated Markram for getting bowled too often when he in fact is bowled least often among our best players. He may be a test cricketer but he is totally befuddled and dare I say he has a pet peeve he was exercising.
And I didn’t learn my cricket in the navy…I batted number 3 for my school and opened the bowling. It wasn’t a cricket mecca, but we had some decent players.