Macca

Captains and/or coaches live and die by wins. They either get credit for the wins or their position often comes into question if the losses are sustained. That's just how it works. Lehmann and Clarke should both be getting credit for our team's turnaround. However, having sustained losses doesn't always mean a coach or a captain loses his position ... there are numerous examples of that not always being the case. Border and Simpson's positions weren't called into question even though we didn't become a winning 'Test' outfit until '89. Winning the World cup in '87 bought some time but that's just me speculating. Anyway, I like Clarkey's style. He's a bit different to how a few of our previous captains have been but that's ok. He's just won the toss and we're batting ... well done 'Pup'

Clarke is a fine, tactically aware captain and Boof is a fine coach. I believe we've got an ideal set-up right now and support both men wholeheartedly. What does seems obvious is that Clarke is not well liked by quite a few of the fans ... but who cares? He's not there to be liked. He's there to captain his country well and make runs. As far as I'm concerned he does both jobs very well. He's having a rough trot with the bat lately but he's got plenty of brownie points. Clarke has just come off winning 6 Tests in a row and we're in with a show of winning a series in South Africa. He should be getting more credit but isn't.

Clisby, Dunn, Georgiou, Hogan and our new midfielders (Tyson, Michie, Cross and Vince) were the standouts. We look a completely different team. Watts didn't seem to waste a possession and Roos is using him very intelligently - Jack will only get better. Spencer has a nice leap on him in the ruck and if he can get his timing right, he'll be another plus. Toumpas was another who showed a bit. Our ratio of turnovers in relation to our disposal count has already gotten a lot better (in the past 2 seasons it was often 1 disposal = 1 turnover) A new game plan takes time to learn and the game plan we're learning is a big departure from what's happened previously. Roos would have known that we'd have to make some mistakes along the way and in the 2nd half, we kept up our style of play and most importantly, we ran out the game and didn't give up. We can't be expecting a really low turnover rate just yet ... that will come when we're more proficient at the game plan ... and, coupled with that, an influx of players in the team who are better with their decision making and/or disposal skills. Overall, very pleasing and a lot to look forward to. The Hawks kicking skills will test our blokes next Saturday so we'll need to come to play. It's a good thing to be playing these better sides in the lead up to the season - we need to be tested.

A lot to be pleased about. The positives far outweigh the negatives. 2 games in with a whole new game plan, we just need a lot more game time to practice it. Most of us would have taken that final scoreline pre-game. We ran hard all night and didn't give up. They were the better team but we took it right up to them. Our disposal count has to be seen as a real plus.

We've at times made them chase tail and they've been guilty of not manning up on a number of occasions . The reality is that they're not that good and it's really only a matter of self belief on our part. The teamwork has been excellent and even though we've made a few errors, that has to be somewhat expected when you consider we're trying to master a whole new game plan. Toumpas will be fine ... he's still just a kid. Judge him in a few years. He's learning on the job. What is more important is the overall team performance ... great signs, good run, reasonable pressure, switching of play is refreshing. We're playing as a team.

From all reports Watto is going to bat at no.6. Your way would mean the batting order would largely be kept intact and is possibly the more sensible solution (more particularly for this specific Test) Batsmen tend to like to make a batting spot their own and being shunted about often doesn't help them or the team. Got a feeling that Marsh will make way for Watson but I'm only speculating. ... Watson accepts all-round role From the man himself ...

With the benefit of hindsight and perhaps for those who have shown a bit of foresight, Watson should have, at some time in the last couple of years, been moved to the traditional all rounders spot of no.6 in the batting order. The issue is that when he hasn't played, (which is roughly half the time when counting his entire career) the major part of our batting line-up often has needed to be looked at, addressed or changed. It would have been a far easier exercise to just replace him with another all rounder (or a new batsman) in the same batting spot (no.6) if he'd batted there in last couple of years. The latest news is that Watson* will come into the side and bat at no.6 (replacing Doolan or Marsh) This will mean that at least one other batsmen will need to move from their batting spot. In actuality, it's more than likely that up to 3 batsmen will be moved from their batting spots if Doolan is dropped. Marsh would probably move to no.3 with both Clarke & Smith moving up a spot - or Smith might be moved to no.4 thus leaving 'Pup' at no.5. However, Doolan was originally next in line before Marsh and Hughes so it might be Marsh who is the unlucky one to be dropped (Doolan was on standby for the 5th Ashes Test in Sydney) A settled batting line-up would have been the preferred option going into this vital match and it's entirely possible that we'll have 4 batsmen batting in different spots (including Watto himself at no.6) despite only making one change to the top 6. Not ideal. *Obviously, Watson doesn't get to pick where he wants to bat. He gets told where he is batting in the order (unless there's been a dramatic change in protocol)

Harris looked done in this last Test but before that he's looked fine. The policy has been that if a bowler is ready to go, they play him. Match conditions is far different to training form though. The Cape Town wicket has suited seam bowling previously (Philander picked up 8 wickets the last time we played them there) so if Harris passes a fitness test, he'll probably still play. The pleasing thing is we should have 2 'ready to go' back-ups to come in if need be. Bird hits the seam nicely and Patto will be keen to impress. The toss could be important and it should be noted that they won the toss and sent us in the last time we played them at Cape Town. They won the game by 8 wickets although the match only lasted 3 days. It's going to be interesting to see what sort of track is prepared. The other thing that is interesting is our batting order. If, as is being speculated, Watson plays, do Clarke and Smith move up a notch so that Shane can bat at no.6? Or does Watson slot into the no.3 or no.4 spot depending on whoever out of Doolan or Marsh makes way? Or could Smith leapfrog Clarke and bat at no.4? What is most probably true is that we'll need to be at our best to win as the South African's will be buoyant after their emphatic 2nd Test win. Dale Steyn looks like he's found his form and he might be the difference. For us, we probably need a big game from Johnno.

Rotation policy hey? That old chestnut! I reckon they've got it right now in all seriousness ... play 'em until they don't come up but make sure there are ready made replacements. Bird and Pattinson should be rarin' to go if needed. Perhaps they could have taken 6 fast bowlers in all (to have one more option) but we should be able to put a good enough attack together for the decider. It's looking like Watson will come in (his reverse swing might be needed if the pitch is an abrasive one) Doolan or Marsh will count themselves unlucky if either of them make room but by the sounds of it, they definitely want that option of a 5th bowler who can be more than just a part timer. Watto took 5-17 in the 1st innings of the corresponding Test match from just over 2 years ago ... scorecard Let's hope we get a result ... 1-1 is an acceptable result for us but the Aussie way is to play to win. This upcoming Test should be a beauty.

If he's fit, Clark. His foot will need to hold up no matter what position he plays. Hogan, Dawes and Fitzpatrick could be used in a rotating* fashion in the forward line (FF, FP & CHF or perhaps 2 talls across half forward) Any of those 3 could do the ruckwork in the forward line and Fitzy could give Clark a chop out in the ruck for short periods of time. If it's not Clark in the ruck, we may end up using any of our other choices until one of them makes the position his own. Regardless of whether Clark rucks or not, I believe Roos will possibly rotate our talls around our forward line. *Jack Clarke used Blethyn, Noonan and Fordham in a rotating fashion with the Bomber's forward line in the late 60's. It's not hard to envisage history repeating itself with our bevy of tall forwards.

Well, it didn't quite work out the way we wanted it to but ... if we play well tonight and the bad weather comes into play on day 5, we can get out of this with draw - a win is a real long shot at this stage. They're a bowler down (Parnell) and that helps. Regardless of what we're chasing, we need a very good start when we bat again. If we can get to 1-100 or better still, 0-100, then we'll be well on our way to saving the game. If we get a start like that, then a win isn't out of the question (however, day 5's weather forecast might put paid to a win) Occupation of the crease is of paramount importance and the track is still good enough for any of the recognised batsmen to make runs on. The best thing that could happen from South Africa's point of view is if they are bowled out with about 30-40 minutes left in the first session. Or they declare early. As it stands, unless we can bowl them out, I'd expect Smith to bat on until at least the lunch break. May be wrong on that though. Smith couldn't help but be keeping an eye on the weather that's being forecast for day 5 (they're predicting around about 50mm of rain to fall throughout the day) We need to hang in there and win the 4th day (all 3 sessions)

If we can bat a fair bit past the tea break, we're back in the game. However, the slow wicket may not suit our batsmen to come who at times, like to hit the ball on the up. A few batsmen have been caught out in front of the wicket (Clarke and de Villiers come to mind but there's been a couple of others) Morkel seemed the most dangerous bowler for them although Parnell (the leftie) also bowled well. You're right about the weather forecast for Monday but we can't have a repeat of what happened yesterday. The situation is tailor made for Haddin - let's hope he can get amongst them again but he'll need to be a bit more patient on this deck. Johnson might be needed to chime in with a good contribution as well. I'm expecting the Aussies to fight back hard but the South Africans definitely hold the advantage right now.

Going to be tough for the Aussies to save this one. Their bowlers have got more out of this deck than our blokes so their advantage is fully deserved. A draw is our best chance from here but we'll need at least a couple of our batsmen to make big scores for that to happen. Still 311 behind with only 6 wickets in hand, we're also going to need some luck. Parnell has bowled well on debut for them. Cape Town for the decider looks odds on unless we can somehow bat out the whole day tonight. If, for instance, we can only bat 2 sessions, we'll probably still be at least 100 runs behind on 1st innings with a full session and 2 days to go - certainly enough time for South Africa to push for victory. However, batting 2 sessions might be a stretch anyway. We'll probably need Warner, Smith and Haddin to all make decent contributions when play resumes. Perhaps Johnson as well. ps ... both Warner and Lyon should be out. de Villiers dropped a soda off Warner and Lyon (the nightwatchman) nicked one down the leg side off Steyn which was given not out (the South Africans decided not to review it)

Yep, 'True Detective' and 'Rectify' are extremely good shows. Both quite "dark' in their own way. Thanks for the recommendations, chaps. The chemistry between McConaughey and Harrelson really makes the show (True Detective) Rectify has that brooding quality about it and the lead (Aden Young) is perfectly cast. Sundance TV made Rectify and they're owned by AMC. A few other quality drama shows made by AMC are/were 'Rubicon' (ceased production after 13 episodes but was quite a good show if you like that kind of genre), 'The Killing' (a remake of the hit Danish series) and 'Hell on Wheels' (a Western series set back at the time of the construction of the first Transcontinental railway in the States) AMC are probably more well known for making Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Walking Dead. And from the UK ... Series 3 of 'Luther' and series 4 of 'Mad Dogs' came out late last year. As is typical of these type of shows, they need to be viewed from the start. Idris Elba stars as Luther and plays his part exceptionally well. Mad Dogs is very entertaining and is a little offbeat.

I agree with 'Monoccular' ... "The team" is where we'll hopefully see the greatest improvement (and in particular, our style of play) Nathan Jones might take it up to another level or 2 (he's our best player but you can always get better) For dramatic improvement, it could be any number of players ... Watts, Trengove, Toumpas, Viney, Frawley, Grimes and McDonald could all get a lot better. Hopefully Frawley can recapture his 2010 form. Garland is another one who can take it to another level. There's quite a number in all reality. The upside is that there aren't many of our players who can't improve their own game quite substantially (leaving aside all our new players, where it's difficult to make a judgement) Roos should be able to get the best out of the better players and also, get the most out of the rest. We'll need 6 players to have 'A' grade years if we're going to march up the ladder (or close to 'A' grade years - in other words, 6 players need to have very good season's)... it's entirely possible. The other vital position where we need to get a lot better is our main Ruckman/Follower. Someone has to make that position his own without any fear of his spot being questioned. If all our tall timber are fit it might be Clark (if he's fit) Otherwise, one of our ruckmen has to put his hand up and start having a real influence.

Excellent catches weren't they, 'dc'. "Boon like" ... handy debut by Alex! Here's an excellent summary of the Test (and the last day) from 'Cricinfo' ... Johnson's 12 wickets destroy South Africa

There was something wrong - we may never find out but there were rumours it was OP or was it his foot (?) Trengove showed enough in his first 2 seasons to indicate that he'll be a good player for us. How good? That's up to Jack. I agree with you on his positioning within the team. He's like a whole new prospect all over again. Other players are also in that category if Friday's game is taken into account. Bail was good and so was Dunn. All of our new players showed a bit (think there was 8 new players if Barry is included) It wasn't a game for 4 points but I'm reasonably confident that we'll be replicating what we saw on Friday night in the season proper. It's more a matter of how good we can get at it (the new game plan) Sydney played "'tempo" footy under Roos and there were glimpses of that style the other night. We held the ball up well - often getting a man free in the process and also, we were quite direct on many occasions and attacked the goals hard.

That's 6 wins in a row for the Aussies. What a turnaround! Apart from taking 12/127 for the match and inflicting numerous blows on the South Africans, Johnno took time out to break Philander's bat! Who can stop this man? We've just completely outplayed them. 3 centurions and we win by 281 runs (we also declared at 4 down in our 2nd innings) Great win!

Re Trengove ... he's got very good vision and he can find the ball a lot. He's a great kick and a more than excellent mark for his size. He can also bring his teammates into the game like many can't. Class is something that can't be measured and Jack is a classy player. His best position is as a half forward or as a high half forward although considering there's all different types of midfielders these days, Roos could also find a role for him in there either a fair bit of the time or fleetingly. I thought he set up a number of our plays on Friday night with his creativity. 13 marks indicates that he ran well to position and space. He was our best player within a terrific team effort. Roos will allow him to play his natural game and then we'll see him blossom.

Yep, this new game plan will take a bit of time before it becomes 2nd nature. Practice makes perfect. However, the players must know how the modern game should be played just by watching other games. It shouldn't be too hard. Bringing in Vince and Cross could turn out to be inspired moves. What was also pleasing was how we constantly looked like scoring even though we were without Dawes, Clark and Hogan. I know there's a cloud over Clark but we remain hopeful. Any 2 of those 3 are needed but if we go on last night, Roos looks like he's got a decent plan without having a host of tall forwards. There might be a few there next Thursday, 'od'

What stood out was our adherence to the fundamentals (as highlighted by many previous posters) We looked and played like a proper AFL footy team ... and we looked self assured in the process. Nothing startling if compared to how other clubs go about it but when compared to our previous years in the doldrums, last night's performance was more than heartening. Now we have to back it up - again and again. Just having Roos at the helm creates a natural motivation for the players. They won't want to let him down. Not only is Roos an excellent tactician with a message that would be easy to understand, he'd only have to walk into a room in order to motivate the players. With Clark, Watts, Hogan, Viney and Garland to come into the side, we can only get better. There's a few others that will press for selection as well. Things are looking good. Having 2 weeks off until our next match (against the Cats) might be a good thing as well ... it gives the group some extra training sessions to work on our new game plan.

The shock of the new? Johnson's short ball could be hard to pick as well. Maybe the batsmen just don't see it coming - usually there's a "tell" but with Mitch, there possibly isn't. Also, his short one is extremely accurate and is designed for one purpose. Being a leftie helps and when he goes around the wicket against the left hand batsmen, he looks just as dangerous. All the best fast bowlers have usually had a great short ball but it seems that Johnson has taken it to a new level. Thommo and Andy Roberts were lethal with their short ball as well (when they were in their prime) At the moment, Mitch is an unstoppable force. As long as he maintains his pace and accuracy, he'll continue to get the wickets. The better batsmen should be able fight back though - de Villiers looked reasonably comfortable against him (he got out to him with a mishit aggressive drive) You'd half expect the South Africans to fight back hard with the calibre of players that they have. However, their batsmen will need to wear a few. Are they up for it? This track has a few tricks in it as well - there's a bit of variable bounce about. It won't be easy.

Doolan looks a nice player. Good, solid technique with an even temperament. There's something about the way he looks at the crease - comfortable, not flustered and a touch of elegance. An impressive debut against a world class attack. Warner gets another century. He's played a number of crunching shots as usual and has given a few chances. That's the way he plays though - there's always a chance he'll get out in an awkward way. It's pleasing that he's starting to turn his half centuries into centuries. Dave is a matchwinner in terms of how quickly he scores - by him scoring so quickly it effectively ends up creating more time to get the opposition out. As for Johnson - his turnaround continues to astound. 4 months ago he wasn't even playing Test cricket and now he's arguably the best cricketer in the world. He destroyed their batting with 7-68. There might be another knockout blow when he gets at them again in the 2nd innings.

You beauty!

Cricket on the radio is great. I can't think of another sport where one can paint a better picture when listening in. I've been watching the cricket and the Olympics and having the radio broadcast of the cricket handy is therefore a must. However, the footy wins tonight! Our Demons are doing alright. ABC Grandstand are also broadcasting the cricket from South Africa ... click here for the broadcast (it's the same radio broadcast as the 'tunein' one)