What is wrong with SA Cricket

I know the Big Bash isn't a full SA team, but we supporters almost expected the batting collapse last night, once a couple of wickets fell.

It's not talent, they've all often done well, but surely their tactical understanding and mental ability needs to be looked at.

Tasmania score 364, their highest score of the season, on the friendly Glenelg track.

SA 1/0, 2/0, 3/2

Now 5/102. Wicket fell at 102.

Honestly, Houston, we have a problem.

Bizarre.

They seem to regularly snatch defeat from any position, no matter how commanding.

There doesn't seem to be any form of mental toughness at all.

Add to this the amount of talent that has left South Australia in the last few years for other states and there definitely has to be something on the nose down there.

i don't know any of the story behind the Botha & perhaps Berry (apart from the personal leave etc but that could be a throw away line), so whether this has impacted on the team or not i don't know but the basic same team has thrown away golden opportunities to make the shield final in the last couple of seasons which indicates mental toughness is a problem, i wonder how is team unity is atm..................


if the SACA are fair dinkum on improving the Redbacks' then the first thing that should happen (BUT IT WONT) is to reduce the number of district cricket teams, which in turn makes that level a lot stronger competition & in turn creates better players when under pressure at state level

SA in theory should never be better than NSW or VIC
Those Eastern states have BIGger populations, BIGger pools of players

A convenient excuse Scrappy. Even Tasmania has been more successful than us in recent years.

Agreed, that would also mean India should always beat Australia and New Zealand should never beat anyone.

They have problems.

Representative sides are only as good as the competitions feeding them.

Grade cricket needs an over haul, it's been discussed and discussed and never gets anywhere. While I understand and appreciate all clubs, especially some as old as they are, don't wish to dissolve or merge, for the greater good, they simply must.

SA has 13 grade sides. NSW, by comparison, has 20. Victoria has 18.

There simply must be a reduction of sides to have the most elite talent playing each other.

Adelaide Oval / Glenelg Oval. While Test matches over the years at Adelaide Oval have returned thrilling 5th day results and more often than not a result in any form, the Shield competitions 4 day structure makes outright results difficult in SA.

So, the likes of Ryan Harris, Peter George, Dan Christian, Nathan Lyon, etc etc leave for greener pastures ( and to be closer to Sydney/Brisbane for the times they are off duty ).

On the flip side, you would think we could produce run machines on our decks. Bar the huge seasons Klinger, Cosgrove and Ferguson have had over the last 4-6 years our top order has struggled. Perhaps, no, not perhaps, because of our grade structure.

The Big Bash isn't cricket, it's entertainment with a side full of international and interstate talent, completely discount anything the Strikers have achieved as being part of SA cricket. It's simply not.

Populations as at June 2014
In millions

NS 7.5
VI 5.8
QL 4.7
WA 2.5
SA 1.6
TA .051

% Of matches won by each state in the Sheffield Shield up to March 2012
NS 42.49
VI 38.42
WA 34.64
QL 30.38
SA 27.59
TA 23.86

Those stats will show that in this country the States with the highest populations have the highest win ratios as well [except WA + QLD]

Gingernuts wrote:A convenient excuse Scrappy. Even Tasmania has been more successful than us in recent years.

Correct
Using my population theory SA should be superior to TA but have not been this century
In my opinion the calibre of players from both states is arguably similar in ability

So why has Tasmania been more successful ?
This is what I think , and it looks like Booney thinks the same, I know Bayman does as well
Pitch conditions ?

SA have flatish decks at Glenelg and Adelaide Ovals 
TA have resultish pitches, particularly Bellerive
In essence there is a greater probability of outright in TA home games compared to SA home games


Plenty of reasons why SA cricket is under achieving
Population and pitches are just disadvantages

The problem runs much deeper than outright results alone.

Our talent pool has hardly produced any Australian cricket mainstays for years. Bar Ryan Harris, a local lad, I can't think of many who have been SA born and bred and made it at the top level in the last 30 years! Gillespie comes to mind, not many others. ( And he was born in Sydney!! )

We've been as fickle as fickle gets when push comes to shove, and that's about every 5-6 years. More often than not, we're simply poor.

Inconsistent is frustrating enough, continually poor is worse.

your right Mr Booney but i think Ferguson should have been given a better chance at national level, perhaps the year he did his knee squashed his chances

Ferguson is an example of our problems.

Very good player, very inconsistent over the years and too many 'in-between' scores.

Booney wrote:Representative sides are only as good as the competitions feeding them.

Grade cricket needs an over haul, it's been discussed and discussed and never gets anywhere. While I understand and appreciate all clubs, especially some as old as they are, don't wish to dissolve or merge, for the greater good, they simply must.

SA has 13 grade sides. NSW, by comparison, has 20. Victoria has 18.

There simply must be a reduction of sides to have the most elite talent playing each other.

Adelaide Oval / Glenelg Oval. While Test matches over the years at Adelaide Oval have returned thrilling 5th day results and more often than not a result in any form, the Shield competitions 4 day structure makes outright results difficult in SA.

So, the likes of Ryan Harris, Peter George, Dan Christian, Nathan Lyon, etc etc leave for greener pastures ( and to be closer to Sydney/Brisbane for the times they are off duty ).

On the flip side, you would think we could produce run machines on our decks. Bar the huge seasons Klinger, Cosgrove and Ferguson have had over the last 4-6 years our top order has struggled. Perhaps, no, not perhaps, because of our grade structure.

The Big Bash isn't cricket, it's entertainment with a side full of international and interstate talent, completely discount anything the Strikers have achieved as being part of SA cricket. It's simply not.

Agree with you Booney and I have thought this for many years, the fact that we have 13 sides in the District cricket comp. is far too many.
District cricket is the highest you can play in this state other than playing for SA and there are many players that shouldn't be there, they are not up to the standard required to take the next level.
It has been an ongoing discussion for many years but those in charge won't bite the bullet and reduce the number of teams at district level.

As for the BIG Bash it is hit and run cricket and has nothing to do with the four day cricket that is Sheffield Shield.

LEE, you are a motivating genius, if Rubbers' reads this thread, he'll be looking over his shoulder, or at least asking for your guidance

Just what is going in here?

Chuck Berry has come back into his job and publically slammed all the decisions that were made while he was on family leave.

What a rabble, plain and simple.

Booney wrote:Representative sides are only as good as the competitions feeding them.

Grade cricket needs an over haul, it's been discussed and discussed and never gets anywhere. While I understand and appreciate all clubs, especially some as old as they are, don't wish to dissolve or merge, for the greater good, they simply must.

SA has 13 grade sides. NSW, by comparison, has 20. Victoria has 18.

There simply must be a reduction of sides to have the most elite talent playing each other.

Adelaide Oval / Glenelg Oval. While Test matches over the years at Adelaide Oval have returned thrilling 5th day results and more often than not a result in any form, the Shield competitions 4 day structure makes outright results difficult in SA.

So, the likes of Ryan Harris, Peter George, Dan Christian, Nathan Lyon, etc etc leave for greener pastures ( and to be closer to Sydney/Brisbane for the times they are off duty ).

On the flip side, you would think we could produce run machines on our decks. Bar the huge seasons Klinger, Cosgrove and Ferguson have had over the last 4-6 years our top order has struggled. Perhaps, no, not perhaps, because of our grade structure.

The Big Bash isn't cricket, it's entertainment with a side full of international and interstate talent, completely discount anything the Strikers have achieved as being part of SA cricket. It's simply not.

Booney has mentioned in his post about the possibility of mergers , earlier this year
3 District clubs have advised to merge with another club , or they might get the dont come saturdays treatment
The clubs in question are
West Torrens
Woodville
Port Adelaide

Would be some irony if another sport has a Woodville/West Torrens merger

In theory less sides might = more depth = better cricketers
The problem is that clubs like West Torrens lose some sort of identity
West Torrens the oldest club in Adelaide was established in 1857
They have been around almost as long as Adelaide as a city has exsisted