Proteas of the future. ICC 2013 should aim greater accuracy.

[Graham_5000]

I see that Philander has signed for Kent for the next 5 weeks! They don't have a strong squad so this is great for them. Is it too late to implement this in the upcoming game?

[Graham_5000]

Agree. I think Faf is lucky to be considered an allrounder. He is a batter who can occasionally turn the arm over. Duminy, on the other hand, is asked to do a job with the ball in nearly every game he plays.

I would suggest the developers of the game consider making Duminy an all-rounder and turning du Plessis into a batsman (he can turn his arm occasionally but rarely bowls in any form). I know these debates are debatable (LOL), but from my viewpoint the two are the wrong way around in terms of all-rounder status.

[badgercd]

He got a semi-pro contract with KZN province and tore his quad muscle a couple of years back - haven't heard of him since. Personally I would omit all players who haven't played for a franchise, unless they are one of the top amateurs.

To be fair to Keagan he did get one game for the Dolphins 2 years ago, but looking at the team sheet there must have been many injuries.

There are lots of amateurs like Keagan (on pay as you play provincial contracts) who have decent stats at that level but make it no further... Perhaps this is why various pundits are arguing for a 7th or even an 8th franchise?

Agree. If you look at the current franchise squads there are many players to fill a database. It is true that there will be some hidden gems not considered if this is done, but no one can critisize the developers for not having crystal balls. Besides, this can be dealt with in terms of patches once squads are finalised and even once the season starts if necessary.

[badgercd]

I think that there is a case to classify Duminy as an allrounder. He is a better bowler than du Plessis who is classified as one for a start.

Duminy is more than handy bowling in T20s and 50 over games - even at international level. He has a great ecnomy rate and in 4/5 day matches he can tie down and end for a while and even pick up the odd wicket. Players like Suppiah are listed as all-rounders but I think I would rather have Duminy bowling for me. What do you all think?

Agree. I think Faf is lucky to be considered an allrounder. He is a batter who can occasionally turn the arm over. Duminy, on the other hand, is asked to do a job with the ball in nearly every game he plays.

[badgercd]

There are clearly a number of South Africans who love their cricket and love this game. Can I suggest to Sureshot that we put together a small volunteer research team to work on the SA players and teams. I can volunteer a few hours for research (at night once the wife and kids are asleep!). It would be really awesome if we could see the South African franchises coming into the next version as a first prize, but I'm sure we'd all settle for greater accuracy in the current crop of cricket professionals in the country.

Generally though, the same issue we face with player abilities being reflected incorrectly because of their first class and list A averages comes up with Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi players regularly in the game. Is there a way that the game engine can assign strengths to the leagues that players perform in? This would obviously require more in-depth statistics analysis and recording in the game (for example, when drilling down into a players stats you could see for which team they performed in). An example using Heino Kuhn's List A record for batting and fielding. http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Pl...g_by_Team.html. In this example we clearly know that the toughest team to perform in will be the Titans which play franchise cricket. Even South Africa A records can be inflated because of the number of games against weak touring teams.

[Graham_5000]

I think that there is a case to classify Duminy as an allrounder. He is a better bowler than du Plessis who is classified as one for a start.

Duminy is more than handy bowling in T20s and 50 over games - even at international level. He has a great ecnomy rate and in 4/5 day matches he can tie down and end for a while and even pick up the odd wicket. Players like Suppiah are listed as all-rounders but I think I would rather have Duminy bowling for me. What do you all think?

[Graham_5000]

Is Keagan Eccles still playing? No game for 20 months.

He got a semi-pro contract with KZN province and tore his quad muscle a couple of years back - haven't heard of him since. Personally I would omit all players who haven't played for a franchise, unless they are one of the top amateurs.

To be fair to Keagan he did get one game for the Dolphins 2 years ago, but looking at the team sheet there must have been many injuries.

There are lots of amateurs like Keagan (on pay as you play provincial contracts) who have decent stats at that level but make it no further... Perhaps this is why various pundits are arguing for a 7th or even an 8th franchise?

[Sureshot]

Absolutely, Graham. Today will be spent mostly on SA,

Remember, we'll only implement retirements for players who haven't played since 1st April 2013, though that's unlikely to apply in most cases.

Is Keagan Eccles still playing? No game for 20 months.

[Graham_5000]

Monde Zondeki's persistent back problems have unfortunately got the better of him as he announced his retirement from all cricket today. Hope all the info on retirements, transfers etc is useful for you?

[ThandiPienaar]

Most of the signings will happen now, so it should be easy to get them right for the new game and update any other changes in a patch. Tsotsobe has had 3 clubs in as many years now, which is unusual!

I am hoping Morris will make it as a test bowler but I am not sure if he has what it takes, compared with Viljoen, Gqamane, Abbott, even Savage! He is indeed a little like McLaren with better batting!

[Graham_5000]

Tsotsobe has signed for the Lions franchise.

[Graham_5000]

Ryan Bailey has moved from the Knights to the Warriors.

[Graham_5000]

What do you think of my SA A side for first class matches? I am not including McLaren, Tsotsobe and Kleinveldt as they already play a bit of T20/ODI.

1 de Kock (wk)
2 Rossouw
3 van Zyl
4 Elgar (He has been keeping Duminy's boots warm in the test team - I think he still has work to do to get into the test team).
5 Rudolph (captain - still has some years ahead of him, and an A side needs one or two experienced players)
6 Ingram/Miller
7 Morris
8 Maharaj
9 Gqamane / Savage
10 Abbott
11 B Hendricks / L Williams

[Graham_5000]

Tshabalala is no longer around is he, no real game in over 2 years?

He plays in a local league in Gauteng, so I doubt he will return; he is also doing good work coaching youngsters in schools though.

[Sureshot]

Tshabalala is no longer around is he, no real game in over 2 years?