Win the toss....bat first

After 5 games where the Proteas  came from behind,  this incredible blunder now ranks with the one RooiAAS came up with last year. What was that you ask....well the one where he told us with White and Frans out of the way the Sharks were set for a great run....only for them to lose 6 in a row.

The thing about the AAS that has to impress is the fact that he can turn these mistaken prognostications into long runs....he doesn't just get embarrassed once, but 5 or 6 times in a row. Funny stuff, from a nasty fellow.

 Disagree about the magnitude of his latest blunder. It has to be recognized that the little strip in the middle is a phenomenal factor in the outcome of matches. If you don't believe me then ask the Indians.....they are smart enough to maximize it's value. Cricket followers understand and accept it's value.
Everything in cricket is wicket dependent and his latest  ignorance is monstrous when he blusters nonsense about a "Golden Rule".....  something no-one has ever heard.
Say Moz, we've booked the trip for the last week in August trusting the weather to be a bit cooler then.....also spending 2 weeks in Mexico on our return.

Well I think it also depends on the confidence of the team. clearly this team has become more and more confident in their ability to chase....Faf said as much in the pre match interview. If that's the case you chase, you don't stick by some school boy rule.
Hope the trip is fun Denny. Mexico has some fabulous archeological sites. I used to go to Mexico City quite often....the campus containing the pyramids of the Sun an d the Moon is  very impressive....vast/massive.

Haha Moz.

Batting first is the way to go in my opinion too. Especially in tests. Even if you are going to bat on an overcast first morning. For me, unless there are blatant reasons to stick the other team in.

Although, here is an article heading which totally disproves the above...

"Since the beginning of 2000, teams batting first have won 217 Tests but lost 250, which goes against the bat-first philosophy that has always existed in cricket." :/

T20. Yeah, i'd rather bet on hamster races than make any predictions or conclusions as to that format.

Indeed Plum. It's only the complete cricket noobs who don't understand how the golden rule becomes less relevant the more you water the game down.

No-one is disputing that batting first is less critical in ODIs and even less important when it comes to the rather silly "Swish-Klunk" T20 nonsense . . . but let the little airheads have their giggle and their snigger . . . they don't get many opportunities.

 Nobody ever disputes the fact of batting first in tests - Klintoff  said that unless the pitch grass is knee-high you must always bat first if winning the toss.  
However, in the shorter versions of the game that rule becomes irrelevant since the pitch does not really deteriorate markedly in such games.   
I always admire the true cricket nobs who say test cricket is all that counts.  Unfortunately the cash cow of cricket is the ODI's and T20's - without those two components the game would have died already.   In the fast-moving world of today - nobody wants a game to last 5 days - often enough ending in a draw (ie no result) and watch players blocking out balls - batting at a rate of 2 runs per over.  It is like watching paint dry. 
So lets accept that test cricket is primary - but without the secondary components - the game will fade out more and more.        

One thing I think we all can agree on is that cricket sucks big smelly donkey balls when compared to greatest game ever played.......RUGBY!!!

" Nobody ever disputes the fact of batting first in tests"... Really?

I like cricket Plum...but rugby will forever be BOSS!!

 And the 'win the toss, bat first' utterance by the Board's worst predictor was in reference to ODIs....not tests. Obviously in a test the condition of the pitch plays a big role which generally suggests batting first.

Another attempt to dive behind cover blows up on the AAS.

 Did you notice how he only made an appearance once the cavalry arrived? But look closely at one of the post's, it doesn't support him even though he claims it does. Voeitog, let's leave him alone, the blustering Buffoon is close to tears.

Captain Calamity in mid season form.

Agreed one hundred and ten times over Blue! Haha i just posted a reply to this thread on the other thread. Anyway Mike. You are right, though as i get older I care less and less for the shorter formats. Maybe it's true that one becomes more boring the older you get. Haha...all you grandpas on here make me feel like a spring chicken! Who is the oldest member on this board? And...where the FK is Wardad!!!???

 I pluck spring chickens and roast them over an open flame....most of you young snot noses are in lala land.

 Haha Moz...ok now, no need to be bitter. You still have at least ten years for them to figure out how to reverse telomere degeneration. 

By the way, w ould you be willing to give a spring chicken some business input? Might distract you from arguing with Mike for one morning.

 plum
As you might have seen Mozart and I made peace and it is all quiet on that front now.  We still differ - but not in the way we did in the past.
Incidentally I am the oldest member of this site and I do not hide it.  I do not let my age get into my vision of what is expected from players and can see when the old has to go and the young brought in.  Keep up with the times is my motto.