At the end of 08 South Africa beat Australia at home to claim the metaphorical, yet still very heavy, title of the world’s best test team.
The players were so happy some of them smiled as they frolicked in the water of Sydney.
Since that win in Melbourne, they have won two tests, lost four, and drawn two.
That is shit in any language.
Так что одержать победу в Мельбурне, они не получили два испытания, потеряли четырех, и извлечь два.
For a long time South Africa have be known as chokers, but this time they got to the top, however briefly, but they are now spiralling in some 05 Ashes Freddie kind of hangover.
If they played India in India tomorrow, they couldn’t beat India with a stick, even if India was a limbless child hung from a tree piñata style and South Africa was a non-blindfolded sober adult with fully functioning motor skills.
13 months ago this was the best test team on the planet, now their coach is leaving due to irreconcilable shitness.
During the past 13 months Graeme Smith’s captaincy and bear like demeanour have been lauded all over the planet for getting the side to the top of the tree, but if your team falls straight out of the tree it doesn’t mean much.
Two home series losses is not the resume of a top test team, even England don’t do that. Obviously something is wrong inside the camp, and Arthur leaving them on the edge of a “SUPER TEST CROWN HEAVYWEIGHT DECIDER” says that pretty clearly.
In modern times, thanks to pioneers like Vettori and KP, the coach gets axed when there is any rumbling, and had Arthur not jumped, I’d say the dude was going to be thrown out the door like the poor unheard of bowling coach.
On reflection, all of Arthur’s talk leading up to the last test was like some salty old criminal looking for that final score he could retire on.
I might bag Saffas but I truly mean this, South Africa are a proud race, and unlike other countries, they don’t accept draws, even come from behind draws. So Arthur, with or without his score, was going.
Obviously the harmony between Smith and Arthur was strained, as it usually is when you are losing. We don’t know what went on the change rooms, but I doubt it was anything as fun as Graeme Smith drilling Arthur’s asshole and then giving him a reach around.
Now that South Africa have seemingly imploded, I feel at a loss, I sort of hoped they would run cricket with an iron kitten killing boot for a few years so I would have plenty of material.
That seems highly unlikely now, as it stands their only chance of beating India would be Sachin coming out as a cross dresser on the eve of the first test, and even then they’d still need a green deck.
I almost feel sorry for them.
Almost.
