Willem alberts
Pieter-Steph du Toit
Springboks Pieter-Steph du Toit and Willem Alberts are back training with the Sharks after long injury layoffs.
Lock Du Toit missed much of last season with a serious knee injury, while loose forward Alberts was laid low after a back operation last July.
The duo are back in training as the Sharks start their preparations for this year’s Super Rugby competition. Both have been training well and showed no discomfort from the injuries.
There was however less good news for lock Stephan Lewies, who will reportedly remain sidelined with injury for an extended period.
Sport24
With Director of Rugby Gary Gold still tied up with commitments in Japan, former coach Brendan Venter has taken charge of training in the interim, along with the rest of the coaching team of Brad MacLeod-Henderson, Sean Everitt and Paul Anthony.
The Sharks will start their pre-season with a training game against a team made up of various Durban clubs in two weeks, before heading overseas to face the French and European champions, Toulon on 5 February.
They start their Super Rugby campaign at home against the Cheetahs on 14 February.
South Africa have only 3 world class players in any format of the game … Steyn, Amla and de Villiers.
In the absence of all 3 the team is like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
Players such as Parnell, Rabada and Wiese are so out of their league it is laughable.
I shudder to think how Tahir would have celebrated scoring a goal if he was a footballer.
robzim wrote:
robzim wrote:
LOL imagine him and Robbie P together.
Good on the WI, they needed a boost. Should make the rest of the series a little more exciting
robzim wrote:
You are right about Parnell, wiese and Rabada but I think you are not being generous enough towards Morkel, Vernon, and Faf and possibly even a couple of others IMO
De Kock
Amla
Faf
AB
Miller
Roussouw
JP Duminy
Philander
Steyn
Morkel
Tahir
Will give us a good chance at taking it IMO
@ Stormersboy:
Vernon started his test career like a bat out of hell but it seems the opposition has now worked him out… on unhelpful pitches he is pretty ordinary imo.
Morkel can be very good on his day but imo he is too inconsistent to be truly world class.
I have never rated Faf ..he is more guts than true talent imo.
Hopefully they prove me wrong during the WC..
@ Stormersboy:
7 batsmen…4 bowlers?
They have to find a decent all rounder in the place of the best cricketer SA ever produced.
Stormersboy wrote:
I imagine something like this?
robzim wrote:
Vern is still rated as one of the top odi all rounders so his form cant be all that bad, but its true that some can be inconsistent, as you say.
On the Aussie pitches I think our seamers will fire.
I hope.
I would have taken De Lange and maybe Harmer personally, but I guess we all have our favourites
2 Paris-massacre suspects killed by Special Forces.
Number 1 would like to know if that means that the lights of the Eifel Tower have been switched back on?
68 @ robzim:
Now-now…saying something like that about Faf! Wait till Gunther sees this.
You’re only saying this because he’s a Bull/Titan, don’t you?
Protea Fire, or Candle in the wind?
The latter methinks, and well and truly extinguished by Mr Gayle.
Are SA’s cricketers EVER going to get it right in the shorter formats?
@ Nama:
I think faf was the only one except rilee to show some guts yesterday… Which in my opinion makes him more respectable.
Robzim…. Name a current side that has more than 3 ‘world class’ players?
Don’t know what happened to Vern in his earlier career…. selection-wise.
Been given a very late start/ comeback.
His stats in 1st class cricket are very comparable to Steyn’s…
Since the beginning of them starting to play, until now.
T20’s are a dogshow.
One performance can take away the game from the opposite side. or probably give it to them too.
ODI also bit iffy, but somewhat better. Even in the 438 game.. SA had the chance to come back and make a game into it.
in t20…. what a gamble. There is basically no way to be a consistent winner.
I will watch because its better than the other crap on Tv. Which is not saying much.
Would be good if we had someone to choose instead of Parnell or Mclaren..
Mclaren lost his chance because of his performances in Aus with the last 4-1 series there. His so-called batting is decidedly average, if not worse. And his bowling, for all the depth bowling nous he’s supposed to have,, has never won us a game when it mattered. In fact.. he is wayyy average in bowling and batting.
Parnell at least is a hero or villain. For what that’s worth.
“never rated Faf”… 😆 😆 😆
Ok. If you say so.
shooter wrote:
The point i tried to make was that SA only has 3 world class players (imo) over ALL formats of the game and if none of them are playing ( like last night) the team is very ordinary.
I did not compare it to the number of world class players other teams might have.
But to answer your question i would say that Australia has probably more world class players over all formats of the game. Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin (as a test wc) are all world class players while Shane Watson is probably also world class and most certainly better than any all rounder playing for SA at the moment.
shooter wrote:
Faf has a test batting average of just over 50 but it must be taken into consideration that he has only played 20 tests so the jury is still out.
Interesting that his first class average over 98 games is only 40. IMO it is a bit low for a real world class player. AB and Hashim both have first class averages of over 50 to add to their 50+ test averages.
robzim wrote:
oh please
Faf has played a few innings that will go down in SA cricket folklore. Yes his FC average is low than AB and Amla, but so is all our current cricket players.
Secondly, even though Fafs test average should stabilize at about the 40-45 mark, he has done everything to prove himself worthy at this stage.
but alas its your prerogative to rate any player you choose.
I just think the reason you gave is ludicrous.
@ Nama:
That’s probably true in his case.
😀
81 @ robzim:
83 @ MacroBull:
okay… have to agree with RobZim… and, I’m sure, upset quite a few protea fans at the same time…
i also don’t rate Faf… I used to… but not any more…
whatever talent he does have is way overshadowed by one heckuva massive ego…
Faf talks a heckuva good game… but seldom backs his talk up with results on the field… sure he’s had a few good knocks… but then so have many others who couldn’t perform consistently… case in point for one of ‘legend’ status… is/was Richard Levi and his record 117… so a legendary innings or two does not make a cricketer world class…
to me Faf is an okay first class player… and a maybe international player… but what Faf does better than any cricketer anywhere just about… is market and promote himself… the press and commentators all seem to love him… and… make no mistake… he is very erudite, intelligent and charming… and I believe that as much as… if not more than… his cricketing ability… keeps him in the team and got him his captaincy in the T20…
Faf tries and says and does anything and everything he can to convince the world he is a great batsman… the only thing he doesn’t do is produce the truly world class results on a consistent basis…
he has this ‘thing’ about taking over the mantle and legacy of Jacques Kallis and ‘becoming’ the Proteas new and regular ‘Number 3’… and that is where all the hassles with the various protea’s line-ups begin and end…
wiser people than us and ex-interntaional cricketers will tell us… “your best batsman should bat at number 3”… AB is not only our best batsman… but… currently… the world’s best batsman… so why do we not play him at number 3…?
because Faf Du Plessis keeps telling whoever will listen that he wants to “make the number 3 slot my own”… across all formats of the game… why is Faf the only player who seems to feature in all three formats… all at number 3…?
AB, Hash, Quinton, Dean, David, whoever… all say they will play wherever they are asked to play… as long as they can play because it is a privilege to play for the Proteas…
Faf says… I want to bat at number 3… I want to make it my own… period…
and because of Faf’s expressed obsession with number 3… and being the moody character he appears to be… everyone pussy-foots around him and the batting order… the coaches, selectors, captains and teammates… and our best batsman plays wherever a spot can be found for him batting around Faf Du Plessis…? wtf…?
now if Faf WAS that good… if his stats proved he was that good… if his real-time results during games proved it by consistently dominating bowlers and pulling the team through and keeping his wicket while all around him were losing their’s my son… he would indeed be a batsman of world class… and justify his anchoring the number 3 birth…
but he is not…
and AB is…
but how many times has AB sat in the change room twiddling his thumbs while Faf does all he can to build a glorious legacy of which he seems simply incapable… while the team struggles… and while he basically decides for himself where and when and how and what he does within the team context… the team suffers because it never fires on all the six or seven batting cylinders it should be…
if anyone doubts my assertion that Faf has a massive ego… ask yourself why the proteas where these ridiculously tight shirts that make them look like school boys wearing girls blouses…?
the answer is because Faf likes them that way because they show of his/their chest…! Seriously… the tight shirts are Faf’s biggest contribution to the Proteas…
to summarise… AB, Hash, Quinton… and the rest… are team players who do whatever is asked of them…
on the other hand darren… Faf is a Faf-man… and does whatever Faf wants to make Faf look good… even to the detriment of the team…
AB should be a number 3… in all formats of the game…
Hash and Quentin (when he’s not injured)… should open the batting… in all formats of the game…
Far should fight it out for his position with the rest… based on results and form…
it is such a pity that with AB, Hash, Dale and the rest… we could and should be the best team in the world in all formats… and could and should be one of the sports all-time great teams… but that potential will never be realised… unless some honest self-interrogation is made by the coaches, selectors and players… and the team is shaped around AB and Hash… instead of Faf…
but until Faf’s ego is reigned in… the team will continue on it’s inconsistent way with ho-hum results…
*the views expressed above are purely my layman’s opinion… 😉
86 @ ufo:
Some bigg asserions and assumptions you make about Faf!
But I cannot get past feeling or describing it as “peppered and ingrained with a clear dislike of the person… and maybe even very, very tainted bias…”
Reading through your comment, it looks like you make an emotional case in stead of a case established by fact and reason – and that’s the problem I have with it.
You are of course absolutely entitled to your opinion, please don’t see this as an attempt to deny you YOUR opinion… rather see it as me asking for more explanation why it is so and asking to put some substance to the assertions… I will definately be open to agree then.
Have you got proof for some of your assertions and assuptions, apart from a general gut feel?
I mean, you say he has ego problems, but you do not document people referring to his ego issues or even exact episodes which allude to that.
You say he’s not a team player, but do not back it up with examples of that at work or witness by people who also say so.
Surely his documented Domestic, International (Test, ODI & T20) stats and form and run averages (tangible facts & proof)… are crisper, clearer proof of his actual worth?
Please note – I’m not writing this because I might be huge Faf fan… because in fact I’m not a Faf fan, neither am I a massive Titans stalwart or supporter (rugby takes most if not almost all my support)… in fact I like AB, Hashim & Dale Steyn much more… just from watching them do what they do and having formed my opinion as a result.
Now hopefully you see this as an avenue for debate, and not as an attack on you… I’d like it to be the former, an avenue for debate!
@ ufo:
Very good post ufo.
Though i dont knowbif i agree with you that AB bats at 5 because faf blocks the nr 3 spot. It is abs decision to bat at number 5 as i understand ut as he wants to finish games and this role will change across all the formats where he mifht go in at 5 in the odi team but 3 or 4 in the t20 team.
As far as yesterday’s game. It was un general a limp performance by our batsmen that was extremely underwhelming and rilee anchored the innings and faf was actively trying to score runs and did a very good job.
Comparing FAF to levi us harsh. 4 test hundreds and 7 fifties into his test career, nothing will make up for losing 2 all time great batsmen over a short period in time and every on that replaces them will pale in comparison unless you can name domestic players that do?
Not sure faf is behind the tight shirts either 😆 . Its been there. when botha was captain wasnt it?
Faf also has a high average in t20 cricket above
Gayle
Sangakkara
Rohit sharma
Cameron white
Jayawardene
Suresh raina
Marlon samuals
The only current sa player above him at this stage is our best t20 batsman duminy.
@ ufo:
Hi pal.So who would you replace Faf.with?
Kind regards.Rye
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