South Africa v Sri Lanka test series
 

Lankans bat up against a very unfamiliar South African bowling unit.

Ngidi, debutant Sipamla, Nortje, all-rounder Mulder and Maharaj. Just 35 wickets from 12 matches combined from the quicks.

Garbage first hour. Terrible batting and bowling, Nortje aside, as the Lankans reach 54/3.

South Africa, on paper, still look a very solid side. How are they so bad?

Other than fulfilling a quota, I have no idea what Sipamla is doing in this side. I'm not sure he'd be in an average Div 2 County team.

Who's he keeping out though, Pretiorious? Who's as equally gentle. edit, I see Hendricks is in the squad. Odd omission.

I think they look terrible on paper. Unsurprisingly, someone has picked on the African Sipamla, but there's plenty of white trash in the side too.

Their batting is garbage and has got progressively worse over the last five years or so. They have some quick bowling talent although Rabada being injured is a blow for them. Perhaps with the end of Kolpak they will stop losing some good players to county cricket.

What's happened to Rabada?

Unfortunate injury for Dhananjaya with him well set for a century.

I seem to remember him getting injured against England and said he would be out til the new year.

Akram & Elgar could/should be the best opening pair in test cricket, and there are worse middle orders than Faf, QDK & Bavuma, who are all at least experienced. It's 7 down where it starts to break/have a genuine unknown quantity about it.

Hmm. Markram has done the square root of **** all since the Sandpaper Series. I have a lot of respect for Elgar but suspect he's now past his peak, while Faf is almost at the bottom of his decent. Bavuma averages 30 in test cricket while van de Dussen is so bad at playing spin that watching him face Joe Root brought back memories of Cullinan against Warne. De Kock is class, but like almost all keeper batsmen, he can't be the mainstay of a batting lineup.

Anyhow, first test wicket for Sipamla.

Maybe they need to play De Kock as a batsman and give the gloves to someone else.

Do like Bavuma, doesn't make most of what starts he gets and made 13 fifties but only made one hundred (102) - so basically makes a fifty every 5th or so innings, but only a hundred every 67.

He did have a purple patch in the current middle of his career, started with 7 innings, 145 runs @ 20.71 in 2014 and 2015, then made 1409 runs @ 37.08 between 2016 and 2018, before reverting to more modest scoring with 291 runs @ 19.40 in the past two years....

Most certainly doesn't like playing India or Sri Lanka, 56 runs @ 14.00 last time Sri Lanka toured and 21 @ 4.20 the previous time...., India maybe less surprising lack of runs in India

I have looked at Zimbabwe's bowlers in the past wondering how many of them play(ed) regularly, simple answer is a lack of anything better in their case although can't imagine South Africa are that bereft of options.

A pretty tepid purple patch.

Sri Lanka end on 396/9, with the injured Dhananjaya out for the series. Apparent club bowler Sipamla finishes as pick of the bowlers with 4/76.

The best opening duo in Tests will put Sri Lanka to the sword here.

:) Quadruple hundred opening stand coming up

Tbh, any international batsman should lick their lips up against this attack playing outside Asia.

He was the only bowler who got his length right.

Did you watch any of it? His first 8 overs were abysmal and went for over 50 (could easily have been more). However, credit to him in coming back well and cleaning up the tail.

Looks like the key moment in the match was the injury to Dhananjaya.