Mitch, you must be thrilled with Michael Owen coming to the Red Devils? Injury prone and cheap labour, good deal for you guys replacing Ronaldo and Tevez. What happened to Owen Hargreaves? Where are all the Ronaldo millions??

Heartbreaking to see Murray lose like that to Roddick. I wanted him to go up against Fed in the Final on Sunday as I think he would have given us a match of a higher quality than Roddick. Roddick always lose to Fed is straight sets whereas Murray has beaten Fed 4 times since the US Open at Flashing Meadows. All Roddick will do all day long is sending down Aces, what a bore! Even Leyton Hewitt would have been better than Roddick against Fed for Tennis's sake. Go Bokke Go!

Don't read too much into Mitch J struggling today, he knows he's in the team to start the test, unlike Lee who's fighting for a place. Mitch J will always pick himself up when it matters most, with both ball & bat. Strauss is a far better captain than Punter, Mitch, but Punter has better resources to work with than Strauss. I still think Poms will do just fine against Oz in the Ashes though, especially if that Shrink who hypnotised Pakis for the T20 WC could hypnotise them too.

How refreshing to hear the great Jeff "the slinger" Thomson saying everyone in OZ think Punter is "excrement". I've been saying that for 6 months now, at least a Great Ozzie agrees with me. Rhago, Punter did score a 100 at the MCG after being dropped by Mac, he also was dimissed on 99 in the same test. In the ODIs, he's not scored 70 or more since Feb 08, his average is less than 25 in the last 20 games. The less said about his "excrement" captaincy, the better for all.

Saman, its appalling double standards by the IRB. Nothing was done to Umaga & Mealamu when they hit BOD in the 05 NZ tour by the CUBS. The Botha ban is a joke but I expect the IRB to reverse it on appeal Thurs. Sheridan did worse to Bekker, BOD did worse to Rossouw and O'Gara did worse to Habana. Just watch these 2 Botha's hits and see how silly the ban was : youtube.com/watch?v=VJ0_L9EjdCk (he won a penalty for SA in 07 WC) & youtube.com/watch?v=M5FV7GDD--w (he was banned for a 2 weeks). Silly IRB!

Saman. According to the British & Irish CUBS tour director, they have on average, less that 11 000 fans for each game, thats less than 33 000 for all 3 games. He says they could not sell thousands of their allocated tickets due to the recession, tickets which SARU has confirmed recently, remain unsold.

Whats wrong with Arthur? He's told Poms that they used Freddie negatively when SA played them last year and that SA fear Freddie when he plays a more attacking role like Anderson with Broad playing a containing role. Has he forgotten that we play Poms end of year or is it mind games already?

You've got it Rhago! Thanx Beecher, I knew you would get me the answer, I'm not amazed that it has not happened more, great knock by the skipper who misread the pitch. I hope he's not going the Punter's way of batting first regardless, at least India managed 188 unlike OZ who were bundled out for 131 having won the toss and batted first as well vs SA. Nice compliment Proph, thanx!

Apologies guys, I notice that I said the Rugby Citing Officer was a Pom, I meant he was a Kiwi. Thats why he didnt cite the Lions players because they are of no interests to his country, unlike Saffers who will be playing the TriNations against the Kiwis soon.

Saman, Beecher and Ed (our inhouse stats men), how many times has it happened that a batsman score more than half of his team's runs with the team being bowled out as Dhoni has done vs the Windies today? What bowling and fielding by Windies, what keeping by Ramdin. Can the umpires play it fair?

Mitch, Schalk deserve to be cited and banned for his thuggery behaviour. But Botha should be treated the same as BOD for his tackle on Rossouw and Sheridan for his hit against Bekker. Sadly, the Citing Officer is a Pom, so I'm not surprised that he didnt see anything wrong with both BOD's and Sheridan's crimes.

3 Ozzie Rugby Union players were fighting each other over food in their hotel Saturday. Remember the other two boys who ply their trade at the SCG, Clarke and Katich, strangling life out of each other over a song?

Saman, no doubt about it. It was by far the best test match of rugby since the moment of individual brilliance by Ricky January to inflict Pain on the Kiwis at the House of Pain. I'm also glad that Ruan missed all those points so as to set up the heartbreaking finish that was to come thanx to the Bokke legend in the making, Morne Steyn. John Smit's leadership was outstanding under immense pressure. Now for the whitewash!

BOKKE! BOKKE! BOKKE! BOKKE! SOUTH AFRICA!

lancelot49, the Bravo dismissal was so wrong, even Rohit had a shy at the stumps after catching the ball as he thought it would be called a NO ball. Add Morton's dismissal, who was given out to a ball that had gone off the thigh pad down legside and see that Windies, in losing by 20runs, may have won that game if only 1 of those 2 decisions had been correct.

What an innings by Yuvraj! India are set for a very high score!

Karma, I'm glad to see Ford coming back to KZN, maybe he'll take us back to our glory days, the last time we won a double, he was our coach. I'm glad to see Loots over there and I Khan taking over as a new skipper. Mitch, you are right, there's something wrong about Dbn, The Sharks choked to hand the Supa14 cup to Bulle in 07. The Bokke nearly lost to the Lions last week and the Proteas always mess it up over there in the ICC tourneys.

Mitch, Beecher and Rhago, I respect your opinions but I differ with you. Just because there are more draws in the I/P series doesnt mean that series has less rivarly than the Ashes, infact, it shows just how high the rivarly is. I would rather have that many draws leading to a 2-1 series win in a tighly contested series than watch 5-0 whitewash after another. The point here is the I/P series are more competitive and less predictable, unlike the Ashes which the Poms have won once in decades. The I/P series has more fans passionately following it than the Ashes where most of us are not as emotionally involved as the hundreds of millions of subcontinental fans where cricket is almost like religion if not more than that.

whowhatwhen2004 : "SA will always be chokers until they win something big" Nobody is arguing with you there, you are ssoo right. "Champions Trophy is in SA so they should win it" Don't count on it, they've already hosted 2 WCs and messed them both up in Dbn. I wonder why Dbn is so bad for SA? Their only chance is if they stay away from playing in Dbn.

whowhatwhen2004, we respect your opinions and we agree with you that the India/Paki series is bigger than the Ashes, but to say the Ashes have NO followers outside OZ and UK is untrue, there are geniune cricket fans who love the Ashes even though they are not from those Nations. Do you have contact details of that Shrink that hypnotised your Paki to win the WC? If not, can you get me those details please, I want to give them to the Poms on time for the Ashe, will you??.

whowhatwhen2004, Pakistan did well indeed to win the WC and deserved to have their day in the sun. We mocked them for claiming to have been hypnotised to win the cup, which they eventually won, so we are sorry. Pakistan/India series are bigger than the Ashes in the subcontinet if not in the whole cricket world as they have more passionate followers than the Ashes' Nations. Just don't call 51_all_out a Saffer please, he is a POM, okay?

Petervz, obviously that term is reserved only for SA, even though SL won the toss, chose to bat, were 2/2 before being humiliated by 8 wickets, nobody will ever call them that, they aint saffers after all. Rhagonath, CA is following up on the ECB's initiative, they were the 1st one to suggest that, they even have a date in mind as to when to start the D/N Tests, May 2010 against Banglers at Lords, they even want players to wear real pyjamas for that (I'm sure that will thrill Pom). Go Pakistan!

saman you are right, Spies should play on but defense has never been his strength and against a BL team that has the best centre pairing in the world, the 8th man is key. J Fourie may be as weak as Adi on defense but he weighs more than him which may help him withstand the line breaking Roberts instead of Adi who was being steamrolled, he's more of an asset when going forward. I expect Smit to stand his own vs Sheridan and Bokke will play better. AB missing their stars was thanx to their arrogance, not the frogs' fault.

Congrats to Pakistan, well done to them for shutting our mouths up as we mocked them when they told us they were hypnotised to win the cup. Great to see they kept their word by honouring Woolmer too. Now they should refer SA to the shrink who helped them, so that Snape can go help the Poms beat OZ. Mitch, sad to see Rafa out but Fed has a great chance now, I hope he takes it.

Its good to see the two teams in the Final given the Lahore horror back in March. Having them both contesting the Final is the triumph of cricket over extremism. It also shows we cannt isolate Paki just because of those extreme elements that want to ruin it for everyone. Here is to hoping that Paki win, to lift up the spirits of their miliions of fans who have been starved of any cricket of late. Pakistan - Zindabad!

saman, the frogs did well vs NZ, they almost won the series. SA's biggest challenge are the BL centres. Schalk will help keep the ball away from them BUT we also need Fourie in tandem with JdV to counter the BL attack thru the middle. Spies need to lift his defensive game up big time as he was too flat footed in defense and left Ruan with too much to do in defending the Channel. We cannt take him out as Kanko is as weak in defense, unless we play Rossouw at 8.

saman, will you be at Fotress Loftus to see Bokke win the series? PDV nearly cost us the game but SA did well to win. I'm glad Schalk will be back, but Brussow did not let the team down, I hope the Sharks have already "signed" him for next year before Bulle do, seeing Plumtree worked with him at the camp and he spent the last 10 days in Dbn.

How wrong was I in tipping both SA and Windies to contest the Finals on Sunday, well done to both Pakistan and SL for making it thru, I don't know who will pull it off but I hope Pakistan, after kicking SA out, will win it. Like the Windies people, Pakistan people's spirits will be lifted up greatly after all their Nation has been thru, so I hope they rise to the occasion one more time to bring smiles to their millions. Finally, SA did choke once again, whether we like it or not, they peaked too early and their game plan was too predictable.

Well done to Pakistan, they outplayed SA totally! All the best for the Finals!

I said : "However, I doubt Pakistan can score 150 vs SA batting 1st." Well Pakistan didnt get to 150 so I was right. I also asked for the batting Afridi of old and he sure came back to torment us, I hope he's not to torture us with the ball as well. SA fielding was below par today though, but not to concede a boundary in the last 32 balls was outstanding. Good score by Pakistan though!

If SA had lost 2 games in a row like OZ vs Windies & SL, if SA had lost to the Dutch like Poms, if SA had scored 110 batting 1st after winning the toss like Poms vs SA, if SA had been dismissed for 99 & 109 like NZ, if SA had been dismissed for 118 chasing 130 like India, if SA had lost by 3 runs like India vs Poms, if SA had lost by 1 run as NZ did vs SA; we would have already heard it a million times on this forum : CHOKERS! Go SA Go!

tahababa and iqbal, you both are right that if Pakistan were to win the toss, their best option is to bat first. SA has only chased once in the tourney, the 111 by Poms and that was not convincing at all. Thats not to say they cannt chase a BIG score, they can, just ask OZ. However, I doubt Pakistan can score even 150 vs SA batting 1st. Remember, the TB pitch for the semi is the one where these two teams played their warm up game which SA won by 59 runs.

Rhagonath, "its clear to see how excruciatingly long the IPL was", to think that the SA version was a week short, can you imagine how long it would have been had it gone for the whole six weeks?

Dhoni's downfall today was trying to prove people wrong by going in with the same line up that lost to the Poms hoping if they beat SA, they'll prove him right, instead of going in with horses for courses like Ojha. Pakistan will be in their element @ TB as they have great spin bowlers to go with Gul's yorkers. But I tip SA to go thru as they are good in setting BIG totals and in defending small ones. 7 wins in a row now, Go SA Go!

Ravi2009, SA took your complaint seriously and did away the "negative" tactics of bowling short by bowling spin but still India lost. So India cannt play pace and cannt play spin, what can they play? I had tipped them to beat SA today but am so glad I was wrong as SA now stretch their unbeaten world record to 7 matches. SA defended such a low score again to prove it was NO fluke vs NZ @ Lords. Now for the Hypnotised!

OZ, NZ, Poms and India women teams are all thru to the semis, showing their men teams (who all bombed out) how its done. While, the men teams that are thru to the semis, will show their women teams how it is done as none of them made it thru.

ki123 and OzUkman, you both have good points, it does seem as though it was a bit skewed against Poms. D/L always seem to favour the team batting 2nd in innings that are reduced before a ball is bowled as it does not take the number of wickets down into account. Unlike when the 2nd inning is already under way, in that case, D/L takes the number of wickets down into account. Its always been like that, it didnt change during the Pom game. Even more the reason why Colly should have batted 2nd!

Realist, I get your point about Morne, it makes lots of sense. Maybe SA has Lords' in mind as well in case we make it to the Final against an Asian Team. Given the bounce there, he could be handy if Windies fall by the wayside, thats if he justifies his inclusion today with a BIG performance, Tuesday is counting on it.

Mitch, Ireland did very well, their opening bowler, Rankin, could play for any of the teams on show. They held their own against very good teams and did your Nation proud. As for Pom calling me to account, you would have realised that each time he does that, I do account, after which he has nothing to say having opened his mouth prematurely. I don't mind accounting for my words but I do mind him using hate speech against fellow Saffers. If I had any sense? You are right there, I don't have any, do I?

yoyoma, thats what my gut feeling says. Of course it would be better for cricket in general if NZ beat SL so that we will have as many cricketing regions represented in the semis as possible. SA for Africa, Paki for Asia, Windies for the Americas and NZ for Australisia. The only region to miss out will be Europe thanx to the Poms (Regional Big Brother) choking on Monday. However, NZ's win will diminish SA's chances of winning the cup by a third as it is easier to bounce Asian teams out than it is to do it to Windies and NZ, thats why I hope SL wins.

yoyoma: "Madzu, is the finals going to be SAvsSL ??? You seem to be accurate so far. Those are the 2 unbeaten teams so far." Thanx for the subtle compliment there, at least someone recognises my 8th ball works (sometimes) unlike Kenobee's (just kidding). I tip SL to beat NZ and go thru. SA meets Pakistan in the semi @ TB while SL plays Windies @ Oval. TB is a bit on the low and slow side so Pakistan will be in their element BUT I tip SA to sneak thru. Windies will play their 4th game @ Oval, though it will be a close game, I tip Windies to sneak thru. SA vs Windies @ Lords, hard to call, my heart says SA BUT my head says Windies.

Dunc: "madzulu, why do you dislike England so much?" I love England lots BUT I dislike losers. I had NO issue with England, infact I even posted comments here, praising England, untill Pom happened. Go back to my old posts and see my initial comments on England. I even tried to get more guys to forgive KP and to back Poms for Ashes. Then POM happened, that man dislikes SA, have you ever asked him why? He's always fabricating myths about SA, thats why I delight in his own Nation's losses. Unlike him though, I never stoop as low as he does by making racial comments about you guys and by fabricating myths.

Poms won the toss and chose to bat, even though they knew that D/L may come into play later with rain predicted. Nasser even asked Colly about it, but in true Pom style of wishing things away and never planning for them, he just brushed it aside. Its great to see that they've NO excuse as their own mud island weather dealt them a BIG blow, kicking them out of the tourney. Its as BIG a blunder as Dyson's when Poms won a match vs Windies thru the same D/L, so I expect NO excuses from Poms. I cann't wait for the Pom media to tear them apart in days to come.

POM, I tipped Poms to beat India and they did, I tipped Windies to knock Poms out and they did. I told a Windies fan : "You will beat Poms - just let SA win." Not only did SA win vs Windies but Windies knocked Poms out. I said : "no hope for Poms." I meant it, NO HOPE FOR POMS! I also said : "Poms win 1 out of every 2, since they already won Sunday, they'll win their next T20 match vs OZ." They are yet to win 2 in a row and the tourney is already over. They are consistently inconsistent! Pom, what were you saying again?

peekay200 : "Madzu, the Poms may just go through? against a team they have repeatedly beaten in all forms of the game recently.......your crystal ball is second to none, no it really is." You've got my attention, what was that again? Really? Thats the problem with you lot, living in past glories. There's nothing wrong with my 8th ball, how is yours? Don't use the D/L as an excuse, when Poms beat Windies thru it earlier in the year, I didn't hear any complains. Besides, Colly won th toss and should have thought about it.

Well Poms, the cricket gods are with you. The one bowler who has tormented you all along is out injured. To make it worse, he just got injured before the toss, so Sammy, his sub, is a real shock inclusion. You've also won the toss so things are looking up for you, without Castro, Poms may just go thru.

As you can see there Pom that I predicted Poms' win over India, almost FOUR hours before even a ball was bowled, not with 3 overs left as you fabricate. I even gave reasons why Poms will win and they won thanx to them doing exactly what I predicted. So much for a boy who knows nothing about cricket. Its true that I like T20, but it is mostly because SA are ssoo good at it. Why do you love Test Cricket so much? Surely it can't be for the way Poms play it, is it? Go Windies Go!

Pom : "when you told an Indian forum member "You will beat Poms - just let SA win OK"" That was not to an Indian fan BUT a Windies fan. I was saying Windies should let us thru as they will go thru Poms' expense. Windies did let us thru and they will go thru at Poms' expense. I did expect India to go thru BUT I also said in the same post you quote : "though Windies may go thru instead of either." Which they will do soon instead of India. "No hope for Poms", I meant just that : No hope for Poms going thru to the semis as Windies will beat them. How did you miss my 13:41 comment posted Sunday saying : "If recent form and tactics are anything to go by; then expect Poms to beat India IF : 1) they bowl short stuff @ a bouncy Lords pitch like Windies and 2) Poms keep winning 1 of every 2 matches."

Kallis is out for tomorrow's game as he is nursing an injury. Morne comes in for him and everyone else goes up 1 place in the batting order. Why Morne instead of Abdulla? Even Robin would have been a better pick than Morne, especially bearing in mind we play at Trent Bridge where the pitch is on the low and slow side, plus he did well opening the batting vs OZ, he could have just went in as an opener in place of Kallis. I expect Tuesday to be back in the next 2 days as Morne gets game time. Pakistan! Zindabad!

While SA have done well, it does not guarantee us the Cup as any of the remaining teams can beat us. The 1 team I didn't fear was India as I think the time they spent in SA for the IPL meant we knew all about them (of course they also knew all about us). Pakistan will go thru today for sure, what a turn around? If SL lose to NZ, they are out of it. I would rather we play SL @ Lords for the Final as they struggle with short stuff and have a long tail even though they boast the most dangerous top order and the most destructive bolwers.

edgie_sa, I really tip the Windies to beat the Poms, much as I tipped the Poms to beat India even before a ball was bowled. Windies are playing their 3rd match @ Oval, they know exactly where to place their fielders, what lines and lengths to bowl and what shots to play. Besides, Poms win 1 out of every 2, since they already did Sunday, they'll win their next T20 match vs OZ. Poms are the team I fear most right now in case we play them in the Final, remember how they strangled us chasing a small score?

Pooch, don't you regret backing Poms the other day? If Pakistan had won, Poms would have been out and you would have played the Dutch instead. The Pakistan you mocked are still in the tourney and the Poms you backed have kicked you out. All Pakistan need is to beat Ireland and they are thru due to their superior run rate. Whoever wins the other match on Tuesday between NZ & SL will join Pakistan to the semis as SL's runrate is lower than NZ's. Windies should go thru at the expense of Poms today.

Pooch, so Poms beat both Pakistan & India but eliminate you while Pakistanis are still in with a chance to go thru. The same team that you cheered for vs Pakistan has sent you packing. I know you were with Dunc that day, I'm not sure he's sharing in your pain right about now. Infact, he enjoyed that win over the ex Champs as it means Poms live to die tomorrow as I expect Windies to win & go thru. Congrats to SA for being the 1st team to reach the semis. Kenobee, SA are thru and India are out, didn't you have it the other way round?

POOCH : "I wish England wins today, with backs to the wall and nothing to lose, I think they might pull it off today. Come on, England! This team seems to be better balanced with some firepower and on paper, can give a scare to the bowling attack. Go England!" Yep, they just did but they've sent your India out in the process. "Collingwood is my fav player and this time England got its team right!" I hope Colly is still your fav player after dumping your Champs out.

What took India so long to bowl the highest wicket taker of the IPL? He's already rewarded them with a wicket. If Poms set another 163 as they did vs the Dutch, it may be enough on this pitch seeing they have Ryan to try and bounce India out, I cannt wait for KP vs Yuvraj and Yuvraj vs Broad. Will Poms bring joy to the Pakistani people?

Prophet : "I cannot see India making the semis. Dhoni is turning out to be a major liability in this tournament." Not for his captaincy and bowling/fielding tactics, but for getting himself too early when batting and then taking foreva to get going, even worse, then getting out before he gets going, having waisted so many balls and lost momentum. He did it in the IPL, waisting Albie by going ahead of him but he never leant, I thought he would. His captaincy though is still really good.

If recent form and tactics are anything to go by; then expect Poms to beat India IF : 1) they bowl short stuff @ a bouncy Lords pitch like Windies and 2) Poms keep winning 1 of every 2 matches. Also expect Windies to beat Poms @ Oval tomorrow bcos : 1) its Windies 3rd match there so they know all about it and 2) Poms would have won their match today and they don't win 2 in a row. Expect India to beat SA Tuesday @ Trent Bridge as : 1) that pitch is slow and low, tailor made for Ojha and Indian batsmen and 2) India will be playing for pride with nothing to lose while SA will be taking it easy, having already gone thru. Kenobee, there's NO India/Poms in my 8th ball, SA/Windies go thru. Pooch, to make it worse, Paki goes thru with SL.

Thats the Afridi I was looking for and thats the Pakistan of old; cold today, hot tomorrow. SA should learn from them how to chase a small target to up a run rate after their go slow vs England. NZ players are getting injured daily, will there be enough to play the semis and the final if they go thru? The NZ/SL game will be BIG! All Pakistani people deserve that win after all they've been thru. England can even make it better for them by beating India tomorrow.

Take a bow Umar Gul for being the 1st bowler ever to take 5 wickets in a T20 match. 5 wickets for only 6 runs, wow! Will it ever be bettered? Who will sign him for the IPL? Great comeback game for Abdul Razzaq too, taking 2 early wickets to set the Kiwis on the back foot. Pakis have bowled and fielded like a Team Hypnotised to win this tourney. I hope they bat like that too, to spice the other group up and bring joy to their people back home, its been long overdue.

Nick Faldo to be knighted, hello to Sir Nick Faldo.

4 Tosses lost and 4 Matches won, Great Play Mzantsi. Congrats to SA for being the 1st team ever to win 6 T20 matches in a row, well led by the most impressive skipper in world cricket, Smith. What a bowler Parnell is turning out to be, surely the most impressive teenage cricketer in the world right now. I hope Raja sign him for the IPL. Poms have 2 tricky matches in the next 2 days, will they win them both? Kenobee, still no SA in your 8th ball for the semis??

Puffudder, you are welcome bru. Great fielding by the Windies taking all their catches, unusual. So Kenobee, who will go thru with NZ? SL or Paki?

Losing 4 wickets for only 28 runs in the last 4 overs may come back to haunt us, we looked good for 200 but then lost our way. The key will now be to take a couple of wickets in the 1st 6 overs, especially Gayle. Thats a competitive score but not a safe one at all.

Kenobee, you are still missing the point, only 2 teams can go thru from 1 group. So, you cann't have India, Windies and Poms going thru from 1 group, only 2 of them can go thru and NZ can not be the only team to go thru from the other group, another team will go thru with them (SL??). Do you get it?

Bad Omen for Smith losing his 4th toss in 4 matches. In the 3 T20 matches between Windies and SA, the team batting 2nd has won all of them with SA winning 2 and Windies 1. Add to that the form Windies have shown in chasing BIG scores already and see that only a score of about 200 will be competitive for SA, anything less is risky, especially at the Oval. SA should bat really well, especially in the 1st 6 overs.

Windies have scored 155+ in all their 3 games in the tourney so far and are yet to be bowled out batting 2nd in all of them. So I hope SA wins the toss and put them in to bat so as to mess up the Windies Chasing Machine which is so well oiled. Maybe if Windies bat 1st, their game plan will be tested if not messed up altogether. If SA bats 1st, we'll need Windies to field as bad as they did vs OZ & SL and SA will have to be as close to 200 as possible.

Bajansat, you are spot on. The Windies are a different kettle of fish in the ICC Tourneys, not just this one. Bravo remaining in the IPL and the Windies playing in Pom conditions before the tourney started have come in handy too. They are not relying on Gayle anymore with Bravo on fire with 2 50s already. You'll beat Poms, just let SA win, ok?

Whatever Yuvraj can do, Bravo can do even better. That Bravo act is the best all round performance I've seen in the T20 format, including the IPL, 66 runs and 4 wickets, wow. Windies prove to doubting thomases they are NO one man team. In Bravo, they may have the best player of the tourney. So India fail their 1st real test of the tourney. After the grief Indians gave to Pakistan on the ground earlier on, they have come home to roost. Can the Poms shock the Indians Sunday?

Wow, Pakistan gave away 20 extras and lost by 19 runs! What happened to the Afridi of old? Even though I like the new one with the ball, I would rather have the old one with the bat.

Great fight back by the Hypnotised, SL were 80/0 after 8 but Paki restricted them to 70 runs off 72 balls (less than a run a ball for 12 overs) losing 7 wickets. I still think that 151 may be too much against Murali, Malinga and Mendis though.

Sindee, thanx! Kenobee, is something wrong with your crystal ball? Don't you have 3 teams from 1 group and 1 team from the other group? NZ, India, Windies and Poms to go thru to the semis? Only 2 of India, Windies and Poms can go thru, infact only 1 of them will go thru with SA. I really expect SL to join NZ in the other group. Their top order is on fire, their spinners are magical, their pace bowlers are masters of the slow ball. Their only weaknesses are fielding and the long tail. I expect India to join SA, though Windies may go thru instead of either. NO hope 4 Poms! Trouble for SA is we play Windies at Oval where Gayle destroyed Lee, there's NO sideway movement there so Gayle can just hit thru the line.

3 Tosses lost, 3 Matches won. Well done Mzantsi! Now for the Carribean Boys!

I meant Poms lost 7 for 33 runs (not 23)!

Poms scored only 23 runs for the loss of their last 7 wickets, OUTSTANDING!

111 ALL OUT on the same pitch where NZ scored 192 and SL scored 198 batting first. Realy IMPRESSIVE having won the toss and did a Punter, to score their lowest T20 total ever.

What captaincy by Smith tossing the ball to VdMerwe after conceding 17 runs the over before. What an over by VdMerwe taking 2 wickets in that same over. Outstanding! Shah remains a threat though!

That 25/3 is the lowest score after 6 overs by any team in the tourney; YES, thats including the Dutch, the Scots and the Irish. That wicket maiden over by Albie, is the 1st maiden over of the tourney too. Great going so far for the team that won the toss and did a Punter.

Rhagonath, thanx for standing up for me. Penny, I hope you don't include Tuesday and ArrogantOZ there, but hey, they were Aussies who said exactly the same as me but it was against Saffers so that makes it okay, right? Sorry for so many posts in a row, I had to respond but I'm done for now, enjoy the games today guys.

Leather_Jacket : "Is it possible for MZB to get his own blog or possibly a user filter? I respect everyone's opinion, but do we really have to suffer his ramblings?" Don't worry, I'm cutting down, all I'll do now is answer what other forum users are saying, no more ramblings, I promise, okay? Penny : I can and will do it, get your apology ready, of course I'll respond to all that is directed to me as I'm doing now.

Crimson : "Let me just get this straight, I might have said MZB talk alot and by this I mean he gets over excited. I am not calling him a wombat or any names.He gets very worked up about a sport he loves and there is nothing wrong with that." The truth is I made a decision to counter Tuesday's rants against SA by undermining OZ in the same way that she does SA. My fault has been that even now that she's gone, I've continued, thats wrong of me as I have so much to contribute towards cricket as a whole than this Punter witch hunt. Add to that my keeping an eye on Pom and his racist attitude.

Penny : "Now you're just playing favourites MZB ... when fellow Saffas do it you pat them on the back ... if calling you a wally makes one 'highly reputable', then we all are - especially me and Pom ... You can't do it MZB, I know you can't" You and Pom are the least qualified to call me to order : You, because you are yet to call your very own Tuesday out, you instead praise/defend her, so you lack the moral Capital to do it.

Pom : " ...(godspeed)... " I know you cannt wait to see your dream come true given how you led choruses of the "Ed ban MZB" choir earlier on, now that Tuesday has cut down, you are the main reason I remain here, to match your stupidity and immaturity, the sooner you cut down, the sooner I do the same.

OzUkman, I'm a "King James" Fan and I think even though Lebron has NO championship yet, he's on his way to greatness, so I wanted Cavaliers to win but they are out so I'm with the Magic underdog though I expect Lakers to win it.

mspr1nt, thanx! Good chasing by the Windies without the Gayle-force to prove all the doubting thomases wrong. They are a handful in these ICC tourneys, Gayle may have had a valid point in as far as they are concerned. SA be warned : the Carribean Boys are on your way to the semis after the Stanford Gang.

Crimson, MasterG and Petervz are all credit to South Africa, all having called another Saffer (me) to order, albeit in a very subtley way. I get your point guys, I admit to being guilty of that and I'm changing starting today. Some have tried but there was NO way I could stop at their beseeching given their ulterior motives and their own moral bankruptcy on the forum. While you 3 men are highly reputable, I know you have the best interests of the forum at heart. There's a lesson there for users from other countries, call your own when out of order like Pom and Tuesday, my go-slow will be till Pom and Tuesday go mad again.

Penny, SA did very well to defend that total and to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat unlike your OZ who would have given the ghost up as soon as Punter got out cheaply having batted first. Thats not to take away from SA's pathetic batting. VdMerwe as a batter didn't deliver, the MOM award was for his bowling. Scoring at less than a run a ball is pathetic in T20, especially with wickets in hand. I did say that SA will be well served by their pathetic display as we approach the business end of the tourney as it dealt with complacency.

SA has gotten more out of this game than their 3 previous games put together. 1) VdMerwe wins Man Of The Match Awards for bowling not batting, 2) our frontline bowlers are slowly but surely getting their death bowling right, just on time for the business end of the tourney, 3) we can defend low totals and not crack under pressure and 4) in Smith we have a captain who's got a bag full of tricks than a face full of rubber. Now for the Poms on Thur.

Take that Punter, a lesson in the Art of Captaincy. Your job description does not end with batting first and getting out cheaply, you are also expected to come up with innovative, inspirational and spot on tactics to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, what captaincy from Smith. A great game with amazing bowling discipline as there were NO free hits from both teams. Sorry Tuesday, you'll have to postpone your come back by at least another 2 days, till we play the Stanford Gang, I hope SA turn down their Leather Jackets.

Pathetic batting by SA scoring only 81 runs off the last 86 balls losing 7 wickets, thats less a run ball in a T20 match, unacceptable. Great bowling by NZ, the 1st T20 match I've ever seen where not even 1 free hit was given away, amazing. The VdMerw experiment didn't work, they should put it away. This match though has done more for SA than it now seems, they do have a habit of complacency every now and then, so given the knock out stages starting Thur, this may well be a blessing in disguise.

Pom : "Murali bends it 4.11 degrees in the 'lab nets' and then 'chucks' it when he is in the middle. That's why no-one will ever take his stats seriously ..." The way the tests work is such that you are required to bowl all those suspect deliveries at the same speed as you do when you are in the middle. Its impossible to fake the bent and still deliver the ball at an exact speed as you do in the middle, thats why Murali has been cleared. Is it not about time we celebrated a man who was born with a defect, who has made a career out of cricket? Is it his fault that he's like that? Do other Sports not celebrate others like him? Stop your holier than thou attitude you Attention Seeker!

Lara400 : "the windies of today can be compared to the french rugby team, absolutely brilliant one day and absolutely rubbish the other day!" And the Pakistan of old! Petervz : "Rhaganoth - You may be right re Malinga's action. All we need to do is wait til they play the Aussies and I am SURE it will come up..." But they just did, so that means we have to await the next ICC press statement to hear if the umpires have "noticed" anything untoward about his action already.

Prophet : "But your captain did say that this time around they were very well prepared - by sitting on their haunches for a month." While SA, India, NZ, SL, Windies and even the Poms allowed their players to go to the IPL in the build up to the T20 WC; OZ in their wisdom decided to stay home. All they sent were over the hill, has beens in Haydo, Gilly and Warney who retired a while ago. To add salt to the self inflicted wound, OZ then expelled the only OZ player who really played well even winning the IPL Cup in Symmo.

Heboric : "Prophet, When South Africa lose again (hopefully not soon of course) Tuesday will be back. Or maybe when Australia start winning again." I expect her to be back sooner than that. As soon as Smith does what Punter always do, get out for a single digit score or even better a Duck, she'll be back to tell us about Indictments. But the one thing that will get her back even sooner than that is Morne playing. She's been waiting for him to come home with his "stumps" for a while, remember?

First up for SA is Poms on Thursday, Windies on Saturday and India on Tuesday. Hard as it is, SA will have to win both the 1st two matches before meeting India if they are to proceed to the semis. If they do get to the India game with their destiny in their own hands, then try to pick NZ over SL for the semis so as to try and delay the Magical Mendis as much as possible. Of course that is easier said than done, with Leather Jackets and the Gayle-force on our way. Kenobee, who replaces Bangla/OZ for the semis now, SA/SL?

Oldnick : "Look out for Pakistanis in new leather jackets." You are right, Pom got there on time and came back as soon as they accepted them to pretend he had been fishing for the whole weekend, we know he had gone over there to hand them over to the Pakis so that they throw that match away. I hope SA don't do the same when we play Poms as we did when they beat us 4-0 bowling us out for 88 in one of the games. Crimson : "Listen here, I am a Saffer but I say Ausralia will win the T20 world cup." You have our attention, what were you saying again? Really?

Supa8 Group reads India, SA, Poms and Windies. Any of those 4 can go thru to the semis, it is now the group of death. SL, NZ, Ireland and Paki/Dutch in the easier group; I expect NZ and SL to come thru but one never knows. My biggest fear in our group is Poms, given their 4-0 drubbing of us the last time we were there, bowling us for 88 in one of the games, I am really worried. Add to that the Leather Jackets on offer and the unavailability of Stanford's Dirty Money (which normally demotivates Poms) and see SA are in trouble indeed.

Punter said they were all laughing when Poms lost to the Dutch and Dussey said they were all "pretty happy" with that too. Now OZ will go rot in Leicester for the next fortnight as per Punter's words. The same mouth that they laughed with at the Poms, is the same one they are crying with now, who's laughing now Punter? Poms are thru and you are out! The only 3 regrets I have are : 1) SA won't get a chance to milk more 6s off Lee , 2) With Punter gone, his expressions will be greatly missed and 3) Smith won't have a chance to show him the Art of Captaincy like Gayle and Sanga did.

Is there a more clueless team against spin like OZ? Is there a more clueless skipper than Punter? He thinks his job ends with calling at the toss and batting first. Imaginative, pro-active, innovative and inspirational captaincy? Not part of his job description. After batting first and getting out cheaply, all he does is hope for the best. He wait for things to happen instead of making them happen but he ends up watching them happen against his team. He's led his team to 4 T20 losses in a row, a world record for all Test playing Teams.

Mendis The Magician is quite a handful, 14 wickets in only 4 T20 matches is no mean feat at all, especially bearing in mind that 80% of his scalps are either bowled or lbws. He may be the best reason why SL may go on to reach the Final if they win today, Mitch has shown NO respect for Murali at all! Anyone knows why is Kulasekara not playing? Why would they leave the ICC ranked no. 1 bowler out for a debutant in Udana? The tail may be the difference between the two sides, OZ's tail has done really well, SL's is too long. Will OZ defend 160? They failed to defend 170 the other day but then there was a Gayle-force.

Is there a more disliked batsman like Punter? I know KP is close but Punter is miles ahead. In Kenobee's words : It was Ponting's leg stump being uprooted, a dull thud and the tumultuous roar from the crowds. Ah Yes, Ponting being sent back for 25 has its own magic doesn't it? Mendis has 2/2 in his 2nd over, bloodbath? SL may have gotten their team balance wrong with a very long tail.

Mitch, you may have a long wait as there are slim chances that Rafa may miss SW19 due to a knee injury, it will be a shame really if he does not get a chance to defend his Wimbledon Title. If the Dutch shock the Hypnotised, they will go thru to the Supa8 Group that will have you, NZ and SL/Windies, fancy your chances of making the semis? SL bowls first, bad decision seeing they have two spinners, bowling last would make more sense. It also plays to OZ's hands as they always bat first. Oz has no excuses though as Punter says he would have batted first anyway, so predictable.

Kenobee, do you want to check your crystal ball again? Ireland have just kicked Banglers out of the tourney and they now are thru to the Supa8 with NZ; SL may join them later today, with either Paki or the Dutch the other team in that easy Supa8 Group. Do you want to change your predictions yet? Mitch, well done to you for proving that the '07 win over Banglers was NO fluke. Where is Albie?

Mitch, great start by Ireland vs Banglers with first the ball and now with the bat, they have 65/2 after 10 overs, needing only 73 more from 60 balls to win, with 8 wickets, they have a chance to get there and to the easier Supa8 Group. Heboric, teams carry absolutely nothing, be it points or run rate, to the Supa8, they use the final standings at the '07 WC in SA to determine Supa8 groups. Thats why SA, India, Poms and OZ will end up on the same Supa8 group if they all go thru, its ICC madness. I cann't wait for OZ vs SL!

Puffudder, great to see some Zulu Lingo on the Forum, you are welcome. I don't know why you didn't get it but even now its working, keep trying. Pom, moving forward, I'll ask you for the sake of peace, to curb your enthusiasm for racism. While you may never have said anything racially untoward to me, your tendency to incite other people based on race is disturbing, be they Indians or Boere. I'm from Natal which is in SA, and both those groups are an integral part of the Rainbow Nation and of our great history and heritage, hands off.

OZ should shut up and play the game of cricket wherever their host wants them to play it. Punter complaining about the 1st test being moved to Cardiff with Lord's only hosting the 2nd match is uncalled for. Lord's has hosted the 1st Ashes Test only once in the last 4 series in '05. In '93 the 1st test was in Manchester, in '97 and in '01 it was in Birmingham. I hope Monty and Swann spin Poms to a shock victory while bamboozling OZ.

Sehwag reckons IPL is tougher than International Cricket. I wonder what do the purists think about that? But he should know better than them, he plays it while they watch it, mostly on tv. Miandad reckons there is a match fixing smell coming from the IPL, given the collapses in the last week or so, I would not bet against it. Will the Rain Save the Windies in the North East?

It seems like the PCB has fined Ajmal for the accusations he made against Watson because he gave an interview without the consent of his manager. I wonder how much money would KP have lost by now if the POMs were not as morally bankrupt as they are, given the degrading comments he has made recently against the "overweight" Patel and the "selfish" Chanderpaul. Or could it be the POMs are so devoid of any morals and ethics that the manager actually did aprove those statements?

4 some strange reason, no matter what Biff does, its never enough 4 Saffers 2 honour him as a multi talented Skipper better than Hansie Cronje. Listening to Sewhag saying how Hayden was a specail opening batsman who had scored 20 centuries in 8 years, I could not help but think : Here we are as SA having an Opening Batsman that has scored 18 Centuries in 6 years, yet there r no ULULATIONS about him in SA. He'll surely surpass Hayden's 20 b4 his 7th year is up & by the end of the 8th he would be well over 20, yet he has no praisesingers in his own land. Add 2 that the extra burden he has : Captaining the Test side 2 go unbeaten in over 18 months. Then u c that he has been deprived of all the recognition he deserves, no wonder Arthur said : Hayden & Biff have the most presence on the crease.