1st Test: South Africa vs Pakistan at Centurion
First game started a few minutes ago with the much awaited return of Mohammed Asif from his drugs (non) suspension. No Akhtar yet but he shall return in the future I suspect. South Africa come off a come from behind series win against India, they showed great from in the last two tests with Shaun Pollock having a marked influence on the series with both bat and ball. It also saw a return to form of some sorts for Graeme Smith who had some valuble time in the middle during the third test.
This is game is very significant for Mark Boucher, it is his 100th test.
Pakistan come into this series surrounded by controversy. After having let Akhtar and Asif off the hook regarding their drugs breaches, the PCB has been under intense pressure and scrutniy over their decision. We'll see if that has any impact on the team. Mohammad Yousuf has been in awesome form and will be the real danger man for South Africa.
This series will be crucial for both sides, especially with the World Cup only two months away. Get set for a great series.
South Africa XI: GC Smith, AB de Villiers, HM Amla, JH Kallis, HH Gibbs, AG Prince, MV Boucher, SM Pollock, AJ Hall, A Nel, M Ntini
Pakistan XI: Mohammad Nafeez, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Nazir, Naved-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif
Umpires: SA Bucknor and BR Doctrove
3rd Umpire: KH Hurter
Weather:
(All Temperatures in Degrees Celcius)
Thursday: Partly Cloudy, 26
Friday: Partly Cloudy, 27
Saturday: Cloudy, 23
Sunday: Sunny, 26
Monday: Partly Cloudy, 26
Game has already commenced.
First game started a few minutes ago with the much awaited return of Mohammed Asif from his drugs (non) suspension. No Akhtar yet but he shall return in the future I suspect. South Africa come off a come from behind series win against India, they showed great from in the last two tests with Shaun Pollock having a marked influence on the series with both bat and ball. It also saw a return to form of some sorts for Graeme Smith who had some valuble time in the middle during the third test.
This is game is very significant for Mark Boucher, it is his 100th test.
Pakistan come into this series surrounded by controversy. After having let Akhtar and Asif off the hook regarding their drugs breaches, the PCB has been under intense pressure and scrutniy over their decision. We'll see if that has any impact on the team. Mohammad Yousuf has been in awesome form and will be the real danger man for South Africa.
This series will be crucial for both sides, especially with the World Cup only two months away. Get set for a great series.
South Africa XI: GC Smith, AB de Villiers, HM Amla, JH Kallis, HH Gibbs, AG Prince, MV Boucher, SM Pollock, AJ Hall, A Nel, M Ntini
Pakistan XI: Mohammad Nafeez, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Nazir, Naved-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif
Umpires: SA Bucknor and BR Doctrove
3rd Umpire: KH Hurter
Weather:
(All Temperatures in Degrees Celcius)
Thursday: Partly Cloudy, 26
Friday: Partly Cloudy, 27
Saturday: Cloudy, 23
Sunday: Sunny, 26
Monday: Partly Cloudy, 26
Game has already commenced.