Posts tagged ‘jp duminy’
South Africa All Out, Referrals Not Convincing
England dismissed South Africa for 418 in their first innings of the first Test at Centurion, in what is warming into a nicely balanced contest.
The tourists will be fairly happy with their display. The bowlers worked hard for their ten wickets, Graeme Swann the pick of the bunch with 5 for 110.
For the hosts, Jacques Kallis stroked a chanceless hundred and there were decent contributions from Ashwell Prince, JP Duminy and Mark Boucher – but none made enough runs to take the game away from England.
The one contentious issue has been the new referral system. On day one it worked splendidly, giving reprieve to Prince and AB De Villiers.
But, on day two, Graeme Swann trapped Morne Morkel on the crease and everyone – umpire Steve Davies included – thought it was a straight forward decision.
Hawkeye, however, disagreed and Morkel was given another life. From every angle I saw, it looked as plum as an lbw can be.
If the system is there to make Test cricket better – and it needs something given the terrible crowd at Supersport Park – I’m not sure this system is it.
Watching Morkel, a hulk of a man, prod around for an extra half hour, blocking and nudging, is not going to turn anyone’s eye from Twenty20.
As if batsmen need any more help in this day and age; bigger bats and smaller boundries, now coupled with some extra lives, spells a dark era for the world’s bowlers.
Twenty20 Betting: South Africa Hot Favourites for Opening T20
England start today’s Twenty20 against South Africa as firm underdogs.
Coral and Ladbrokes both have England at 6/4 to win the match, with South Africa the clear favourites at 1/2.
In terms of batting, Jonathan Trott looks a good bet to be England’s top batsman at a best-priced 9/2 with Coral and Eoin Morgan’s form at the Champion’s Trophy makes him a decent shout at 13/2.
JP Duminy, a master in this form of the game, represents value as South Africa’s top batsman at 4/1 with Ladbrokes.
With rain predicted for the weekend in Centurion – where the two teams meet for the 2nd Twenty20 on Sunday – an England series victory could represent value with Ladbrokes at 9/2. Sneaking a win tonight for the tourists and a weather-ruined weekend would spell a good start to the tour.
