Macca

Yep, I agree on the timeline 'od'. ... and if he plays well if he gets into the side, they'll then have to monitor how many games they want him to play or how much game time he may get. In principle, I agree with Roos' stance on young players so he may well be held back for a lot longer. He could start off as the sub for a while and then as a loose man off half back. Maybe as the final link player when considering his kicking skills. He is an excellent kick and hopefully, he can bring that skill to the team. We could do with a few players who can kick the footy well to position However, decision making at the top level can sort a few out and of course, he'll need to win his own ball as well if he's going to be a good player for us. Time will tell.

I voted for Salem but I've been a bit liberal with the interpretation of the thread title. In 3 or 4 years time, we may look back at 2014 and say that Salem was the find of that year. I don't expect him to play a lot this year but he might force his way in if others picked before him aren't doing much. Christian may get in the team and then stay in. The same applies for JKH although he may get into the side earlier than Salem. Hogan is another who is a first year player and should be on the list I believe. I would have voted for Hogan if he was on the list as I believe his value in years to come could be immense. I guess we might be treating him as if he's already "arrived" but Jesse still needs to do it.

I was genuinely surprised with the Trott stuff (if true) Not sure what to make of it to be perfectly honest. There may be more to come out for all we know. With Clarke, no surprises there. The value he puts on his wicket once he's set, is Steve Waugh/Allan Border like. Opposition teams know they have to get him early. Just hope his back can hold up. Yep, spot on. All the players seem to know their roles and they just get on with the business. Most people that I speak to comment that Clarke often seems to be ahead of the game. Bowling changes and field placements are done with a minimum of fuss and the opposition batsmen seem to be constantly faced with a fresh challenge. Lehmann needs to take a fair bit of credit of course and I reckon he and Clarke compliment each other very well. They are different characters but that might be a good thing. Where they come together is their knowledge of the game.

Couple of items of interest ... Clarke played Test with fractured shoulder ... from Michael Vaughan Players will look at Trott and think he did a runner

Couple from guitarist Jeff Beck (with Jan Hammer on Synthesizer) ... the 2nd track is actually called "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"

Also ... the South Africans are back here in November for 5 x ODI's and 3 x t20's (just prior to the Tests against India) No tests against the Proteas until October 2016 though (which is a pity) As well as that, we fight another Ashes battle in less than 15 months (in England) ... Future Tours

Managed to track down all the songs from the UK comedy series ... "Lead Balloon" ... I'll post up all 11 songs eventually, but here's the first few ... "Lazy Days in Dixie" & "Shaken not Stirred" by Danny Baker (tracks 15 &17 on this link) and ... "Prenez Ma Main" by Chris Marshall .

Wow, what a finish! Well fought out South Africa ... a mighty effort. We certainly earned that win. A great series with some outstounding individual performances from quite a few players on both sides. 'tis a pity we have to wait so long before we play them again.

A clear fine day is forecast ... we've effectively got 7 hours of cricket as a maximum. An early wicket would be ideal and at least 3 wickets in the first session (150 minutes) will make things a little less uneasy. They're renowned for not giving up so victory may well be hard earned. The new ball will be due not long after lunch (another 39 overs) so the South Africans will have a few hurdles to overcome.

3-15 Johnson has now racked up 58 wickets @ 14.05 in less than 3 and a half months (8 Tests) Surely that's some sort of record.

We'll either want 30 or 40 minutes at them before tea or it might be a 500 lead we're looking for. At this rate, we might achieve both goals. Declaration at around about 11.20pm our time at a guess.

Relax, we've got this ... 1-153 in that session. There's a stack of time left. We'll have this match wrapped up before the tea break tomorrow. Doolan has done quite well if a run a minute for the session was the goal. He's scored his last 32 runs off 53 balls. We can't be expected a relative newcomer to score at a run a ball. They could have sent Watson or Smith in but chose not to. Patience.

Yep, good point. Swann probably should have waited until the end of the series. It wasn't a good look regardless of whether he thought he was done or not. Warner batting has become phenomenal. It should be noted that he made 70 and 66 as part of a losing cause in the 2nd Test.

Adding further to your points H_T ... here's my take on things, not necessarily a strong view on my part ... Kallis - played his last game in a winning series against India and made a century in his last knock. Good note to go out on and he may well have made his decision to retire beforehand anyway. Smith - the timing seems odd but what if he was always going to retire after this current series anyway? The view could be that at least he hasn't retired after or during an easier series. As for England, Swann has since stated that he'd been contemplating retirement for quite some time and Trott had a debilitating illness and has since made inroads towards making a comeback. Others like Prior simply lost form and was dropped and if Pietersen had a choice in things, he'd still be able to play for England. I agree that the way the Australians have played may have confirmed those retirements but I'm doubtful that we've been the cause of those retirements like some may think. What is also of note is that South Africa only play 5 Tests in the next 15 months (2 against Zimbabwe and 3 at home against the West Indies)

The Smith retirement comes as bit of a surprise. If he had it in mind to retire at the end of this series then I'm not sure how he can get the timing right unless his team were to go out with a series win (that may still happen but it's a long shot) As for his own form, he's struggled, but we have bowled very well to him. Going out on top may have been his original goal. It seems as if the last 2 sides we've met (England and South Africa) are/were in the process of a transition period (but we weren't to know that) Whether our team has been a contributing factor to both team's transition period's is debatable. Smith has been a terrific batsman and leader and has had a fine career. They'll still be no.1 in the world (technically) regardless of the result of this current match so in many ways, it may be a good time for him to retire.

Agree with a few of the above posters ... If we have a lead of around about 450 by tea, we'll then have 4 sessions at them. 3 of those sessions will most probably be 2 and a half hours long. That is, in effect, almost an extra session. Ample time to press for victory. We're in the box seat and the weather forecast is for fine weather.

I feel sorry for you - in fact, the only reason I ever spoke to you previously was because no one else would. Seek help

Yep, du Plessis again. He knows how to dig in. They should fight hard, they are the no.1 team ... not sure we bowled that well in the last hour before tea. About another 38 overs can be bowled from now until stumps (maximum of 2 and a half hours) and the new ball is due in 20 overs.

Self belief and confidence can take you a long way in sport. A lot of it is above the shoulders. The Aussies have well and truly got their mojo back. Now for the footy club to do the same! 8-10 wins this season for starters! (at least)

The ball is doing a bit - it's more a matter of just getting one wicket. They've been playing their shots so that can increase our opportunities. ... and there it is! Johnno again!

We're well on top Smithy. Would have taken 2 wickets in that session. 3 wickets was a win. 2 more wickets and we're into their tail.

Go away and bother someone else with your inane ramblings.

Great bowling from Harris. Might have had 2 in that over! Both Harris and Patto are getting a bit of reverse swing by the looks of it. 4 wickets before lunch - excellent result.

Patto has bowled some good deliveries but not enough dot balls. He's just starting back again of course so he gets a bit of grace. Still looks a good batting wicket - 3 wickets per session today and we can push for victory on the last 2 days (both the last 2 days have been extended by at least half an hour*) *Another half an hour can also be added to the end of each day if insufficient overs have been bowled - makes for a possible 2 x 7 hour days of actual play. There's another one - Johnno!

I reckon Marsh was the victim of the unwritten rule of last in, first out. Lehmann mentioned that the batting order in this particular Test was the originally preferred order for the 1st Test (Watson obviously didn't play in the 1st Test so that put paid to those plans) Remembering that Doolan seemed to be next in line for a spot (he was put on standby for the 5th Ashes Test in Sydney) I might have kept Marsh as well but I can understand the selectors thinking. I also remember reading somewhere that they were going to try and give Doolan a decent run at it. We can at least say that a new player has been given a decent chance. The reasoning behind Siddle being dropped was that he'd dropped his pace (once again, according to Lehmann) However, I reckon he dropped a yard of pace quite some time ago. He's still managed to fill the 3rd seamers role more than adequately so it could be that Pattinson's training form got him over the line. Lets hope Patto does bowl well as we're almost certainly going to need him to. Meanwhile, Clarke is now 149 not out. He sure knows how to convert 3 figures into something a lot bigger. A great knock - memorable, in fact.