Yeah I couldn't believe it! I was out last night and I watched the last twenty overs of the first innings in the pub, and I thought there would be no way that the Saffricans could chase down 434... I woke up with a hangover and turned on the TV to see that they had done exactly that, and I wished I had watched the rest of the match!
The pitch must have been quite a flat track, but for two teams to make 430+ in one match is unbelieveable... Both sides obviously bowled very poorly, but I think the lack of McGrath was evident for Australia - Aus need to find themselves a precise bowler capable of drying up the run rate when needed. I feel very sorry for Mick Lewis - if ever there was a match in which you wouldn't want to bowl bad, it would have been last night... I can't see him being an option for Australia anymore, he doesn't bring anything special at all to the pace attack.
I can't believe that Aus opted for a pace attack rather than spin - Hogg should have been playing as another spin option, although I don't think the pitch was offering much turn at all. Bracken bowled great at 5/67, and hopefully he can become quite useful for Australia, as he's showing a bit of potential. Gibbs and Ponting both batted brilliantly, Gibbs perhaps more so because of the intense pressure he must have felt chasing down such a massive total.
Both teams batted brilliantly and bowled poorly, but I'm sure the crowd had no qualms about the bowling, especially after being treated to such a batting display. While it was a great match for both teams, evidently Saffrica is going to walk away from this with the most, gaining the confidence and momentum that might carry through into the Test matches, altough tests are completely different. Australia needs to pick a consistent and capable team, and quickly. With batting Aus has great talent right down the order, but the bowling is lacking in consistency and some reliable talent to carry them through (McGrath). While it's boviously going to take a long time to fill the gap left by McGrath, it needs to be attended to quickly. Aus has a batting order capable of winning the next World Cup, but seems to be lacking the bowling talent that can hold it's own.
Saffrica, if it keeps working hard is more than capable of winning the next World Cup, and at the moment I rather think they will.
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