First it was West Indies, then crown was transferred to Australia and now its South Africa. I have not came to this conclusion merely based on SA beating Australia.  Here is the reason why I believe SA will dominate the world cricket in the years to come -


1. SA have not lost a single series in last 2 years. Pretenders like India already have lost 2 series in 2008 and drawing one series.


2. SA beat Australia in Australia. First time Australia have lost the series in Australia after 1992. Thats well over 16 years now. Australia were beaten by the then number one team westindies.

3. 5 South African batsman has made over 1000 runs this year. A testimony to their batting strength. Without a shadow of doubt the best batting line up in the world. Smith made over 1600 runs in a year. Which is third in over all record behind Mohammad yousuf and Viv Richards.

4. SA won 11 test in 2008 . 11 test win in a year is also a world record

5. SA won most test this year chasing fourth innings total. Again a testimony to their strength of character to bat in the pressure.

6. Unlike India , Australia and England SA don't play their best team in the test matches because of the quota system.  They don't select players on the basis of merit. They have strict rule to select players from ethnic minority because of which a deserving players sometimes miss out. Remember how a average black player like Justin Ontong got chance to play for SA just because of Quota. Even then they are producing result and great performances.........And south African Board have said they will remove quota system from 2010 which will only make their team stronger.

7. With Dale Steyn they have the best fast bowler in the world. Steyn , Ntini and Morkel makes the formidable line up.

8. SA drew series in India in a turning pitch , won in England and Australia  purely because of their fast bowling strength.

9. There is a strong possibility that SA might whitewash series in Australia. If they do this will be the first time series against Australia will be whitewashed . Last time it happened was 120 years earlier somewhere around 1883.

10. The average age of South African Players is very young. India still have a very aging middle order, Australia have aging batting line up.  There is every possibility that SA will continue to dominate with these players.

11. With Jaques Kallis they have the best all rounder in the world along with Danial Vettori of New Zealand. Kallis is one of the all time best batsman.

12. JP duminy in his first 2 test played two match winning innings in the most pressure situation. People are already comparing him to Lara and Sobers. He is a true star.


The world is of now South Africa. Lets Salute and crown the new world champion.

I like SA cricket and I am happy that they beat the Aussies; however I am not entirely sure if they will dominate all forms of cricket in the days to come. They are a tough side to beat and will probably remain the same days ahead; but will they dominate and kick ass like what Aussies have done recently? I doubt.

We know they defeated Aussies and are unbeaten for 2 years and 4 of their batters have 1000 plus runs in 2008, all in test cricket.

But then again, they hosted the T20 world cup and couldn't qualify for the knock-out stages. They lost 4-0 to England in ODI series. They might have won 11 matches in 2008; but let me tell you that 4 of them were against Bangladesh.

Let us comapre  2008 Test match calender for SA against IND.

IND played Aus in Aus. IND played SA in IND. IND played SRI in SRI. IND played AUS in IND. IND played Eng in IND.

SA played WI in SA; SA played BANG in BANG; SA played IND in IND; SA played ENG in ENG; SA played BANG in BANG; SA played AUS in AUS

Who had tougher opponent?

Going by no_quiero's standard of judging the best and closing out an argument, let's see who will be a better team Ind or SA. International Cricket has 3 forms Tests, ODIs, now T20s.

Tests: For arguement's sake, SA are top. 1-0 SA

ODI: IND beat ENG 5-0 in IND ENG bt SA 4-0 in ENG so IND win the bout. 1-1 tie

T-20: IND are T20 champs while SA did not make to the second round despite hosting the tournament

The score 2-1 to IND.

See how ridiculous it get's one starts analyzing sports that way?

The bottom line is SA and IND are both contenders. Any one of the two could come on top.

I see a number of u are bring age, that IND have an OLD middle order. We are talking about Tendulkar, Dravid and Lax. Tendulakar and VVS have score 1000 plus in 2008, and guess what they weren't playing Bangladesh. They are contibuting in winning matches. Dravid is out of sorts depite the ton in the last test match. We know Dravid can because Dravid has. Even if he hangs up his boots, India have good players lined up. The age argument is over blown. Two years back when Aus were winning, ok dominating, they had McGrath, Warne, Langer, Hayden and none of them were spring chicken. Yet they were dominating.

Let's see if SA wins ODIs and T-20s. In 2009, we will know who is the best. SA or IND or Aus or SRI.  

 

I know Aussie wont be the dominant force in cricket like they were, it would be a three horse race for the top spot. SA, India and Australia all are able to win matches home and away against any team. I still think Aussie will comeback strong in couple of years given their structure of domstic cricket and infrastructure.

India needs to fine genuine pace bowler to help the cause and SA needs a genuine spinner too.

Polly, I understand Duminy deserved to be in SA side. But what helped his selection was injury to Ashwell prince who is a black player. And he was an obvious choice. I am not saying he don't deserved but probably he wouldn't have been selected so early.

And livewire, you tell me 2 series India played overseas they lost. Who much credibility  does that leave to their claim. Over the years even sri Lanka have been dominating in their home ground. For India to be the greatest India have to win constantly overseas and not based on the home performance.


Tell me which is greater,

Winning  Against Australia in India ( Which india have been doing all the time for last 40 years except one series) or   Winning series in Australia by South Africa....................which has never happened in last 16 years for any team.  And if South Africa wins last test it will be something that has never happened in last 120 years.

Winning against England in India or winning against England in England.  And if you have watched the sereis against England, England deserved to win the first test in  India. First test match which India won the real man of the match should be Daryll harper and billy bowden. Hardly we have seeen such a one sided  umpiring. Credit to england they took it on chin..... India chased by 387..........but who contributed in that chase..........shewag who set the tone for chasing and was man of the match should have been out twice before he made 30 runs ( contribution from bowden)...................Gambhir who made 70 runs but he should be out  twice (catch and lbw)  before he made 20 .......................contribution from Yuvraj singh who got life even before he made 10 runs.  Not to forget collingwood who made 100 runs in second innings got raw deal in first when the ball was nine inches far from the bat.     


Thirdly, on the head to head between SA vs India itself...............SA drew in India........India lost in SA..........now how can you still claim india to be number 1. If India can claim to be nubmer 1 beating Australia in India than even Sri Lanka can claim to be number 1 beating India in Sri lanka.


Fortly,  you said Australia won with Ageing players but it is wrong to compare with Indian aging players. Auistralia even with that aging players won all over the world. But in case of India even with ageing players like Sachin, Laxman and Dravid has not won the series all over the world. ....so when the aging players from India leaves so the chances for them to win all over the world.


Lastly, I don't think Australia is finished. Never write off Aussies. You have to remember Australia were playing with several injured players. When Jaques, Symonds, Lee, Watson, Clark and shaun tait returns it will only make Australia stronger.

In the current ICC ranking, Australia are nubmer 1 , SA (with the virtue of winnig series in Australia ) are number 2, India are number 3.  If SA win the last test they will be number 1............If not in Australia they can win the next series in SA and become number 1...................so to say India are top team is still wrong because they are not even number 2 they are number 3............................Ranking are there for a reason...............team earn number 1 spot by playing great cricket over the length of time...........Indian loss in Australia, SA, and sri lanka have greatly hampered their chances of being number 1 team in the world.  

Nepal pani dhoti desh huni bhayo, everybody loving cricket

Guys we should play baseball and disregard cricket

Bernard Bro once said cricket is the game watched by fool

xsam wat a moron... if u dont like the game, jus shut ur mouth up, this thread is for those who love cricket.. so if u dont like it, keep urself out from this...  get some life and let others live..

the attached pic is from cricinfo.. jus luved it...and thought its worth sharing.. 

hey where is nepal placed anyway. lots of talk about other team. where is our country. does our country even have associate ranking??? nepal is playing well rite now. i heard our under 19 superstar kanishk chaugain is in Maryland somewhere.

no_quiero,

for arguement's sake I have said that okay, SA scores over IND in test matches. that is 1-0 to SA. SA's test record recently is unsurpassed. After the Sydney fiasco, I have stopped crying over umpiring decisions. There too, a year before the SA conquest, IND could have (probably should have) handed the Aussies their first home series defeat in 12 years. So, for you to cry foul over petty umpiring decisions, which could have gone either way, and then to proclaim that the errors somehow affected the series outcome (ENG vs IND) is an obivious overstatement.

And yes the year SA beat IND 2-1 in SA, SA went down 3-0 to Aussies in SA. Times have changed buddy. Both teams' fortunes have changed since. For you to compare the two based on those results is not very smart. IND in SA would be some contest so I say bring it on. But that won't happen.

The earliest the two teams shall meet will probably be in Eng for the T20s.

But I'd still say, currently SA is on top. But for how long? I see the Indian juggernaught over taking them in the nearest future.    

But you claim "Cricket- Get ready for South African Domination. "

Cricket has 2 other forms as well. You have correctly shown us SA's Test prowess. Can u shed some light on their ODIs and T20s? How are they going to dominate on ODIs and T20s? If you are to use the same yard stick to predict the future (by looking at their past record (recent)), there should be serious questions regarding their ODI and T20 teams. Please don't dig up numbers as a chuck of the ODI victories have come again, aginst, Bangladesh and Kenya.

You cry out loud that sheeps can be lions on home turf. IND bt Aus in Aus in ODIs. They won the T20 World Cup in SA. On top of that bt ENG 5-0 in ODI at home. The same ENG have bt SA 4-0 in ENG. IND won the series in SRILANKA. They were the finalist in the remaining two triangular tournaments held that year. By your standard, IND is the next ODI team to beat.

They are the current T20 world champs, and since T20 is still finding its feet and not many internationals are being played in the format, suffice for me to say that until dethrowned, IND has to be numero uno, what say you?

So SA No.1 Test Team

IND No 1 ODI and T20 team. So, who is the overall top Team? India 2-1.

But who will be the future's top team? IND or AUS? or SA? Only time can tell. Let the teams play and we will know for sure. Right now let us play the analysts, the pundits, but do we really know?

 

 

 

First of all ,

the whole thing of being number 1 team always comes after some test performance. History has always suggested that. Be it westindies before 1995 (based on their unbeatean run of test series  overseas for 16 year and in west indies for 25 years, during this time westindies lost number of ODI series but nobody cared) or Austarlia with a superb 10 years of cricket. Now when they lost the test series in Australia after 16 years this thing has come to light.  So test cricket will always be a litmus test to judge the best team. Probably because there is separate world cup in place for One day matches.  When Australia beat westindies 2-1 in westindies (which never happened in 20-25 years ) in 1995 , you knew the new world leader has  arrived. Mind you the Aussie still lost the ODI series 4-1.

T-20 T20 will by no means decide the better team in the world. Because since it is only 20 overs, the upset and luck are very likely to happen.


And we all know test cricket requires greater skills and ability. It very rarely happens that you are a good test player and a bad ODI player. But it is more common that you can be good enough ODI player but not so good at test matches. So I beg to write off South Africa as a one day out fit. If you don't remember against England is the only ODIs tournament against any good test side by SA played in whole year. So their indifferent ODI performance can also be attributed to the fact that they were playing after a very very long time. And of course one ODI series is no way to judge that team is good or bad.

Lastly, the credibility of India becoming number 1 is much based on the their performance in India. If India wins overseas regularly than their claim will get more importance. South Africa is on a quest of achieving something that has not been achieved in 120 years. That itself gives a huge credibility of them being number 1 team.


So the best thing is lets wait and watch. For India it will be difficult to achieve too much in 2009. Money oriented BCCI don't have much test this year. Only New Zealand series for a long time. So India's race to number 1 will hamper even more. So in next year or so if Sachin, dravid and Laxman retires, india's search for number 1 will end even before it gets any momentum.

As Ian chappel said, believe it or not England have very good chance to become number one team next year. They have a series in West Indies coming up, followed by Westindies series again in England . Then they have Ashes. If they win these three series with a good margin their is every likelihood they will be number 1.

After reading all the debates and discussions, I do not want to repeat myself...but I would like to say something. IMO, in the next year or two, the number one ranking will be changing hands between SA, Australia, India, and possibly England. I do not see any of the teams dominating the world cricket like Australia did in the last decade, at least for another 2 years. Australia has a transitioning team and in a year or two, it will come back. India will be competitive for another year or two until their veterans retire. Although SA is a team on top, only time will tell if they are going to be dominating the world cricket for a long period of time.

TEST
SA will have to fight hard and long to stay on the top as India and Australia are also more than capable to being in the top seat. England is another team looking stronger under KP.

ONE DAY & T20
India may gain the top seat if they keep playing as they are playing now. SA,  Australia are also capable but MS Dhoni is having a good time with the young boys. SL is another team to look.

I think it is too early to come into the conclusion.But I feel that South Africa will be the best test side for at least a year or so mostly due to the fact that Australia are not the same Australia when they had McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist. I mean it is really hard to replace those players..Too bad for Australia that they retired around same time. Basically, Australia is trying to rebuild their team and they are going to loose games in the process .Talking about South Africa, their young players seem to be performing beyond expectations and I can't see any other team stopping them. However, in ODIs, I think Australia are arguably the strongest side. I am  really looking forward to the ODI series between SA and AUS.I am not sure why England is being talked about for the best ODI side after loosing 5-0 to India.

Australia retains number one ........Shows Aussie Got talent

Before I start let me salute...Greame Smith (not for winning series in Australia) but for unseen bravery every in the cricket field. He came out to bat injured at 11 , literally playing with one hand and nearly save the test.

So Australia wins last test, and that should settle the argument for some month as Australia still are number 1. Had Australia not lost those key moments in the series they would have been 3-0 up. But this is still a younger Australian team and much more and in time they will start winning again.

It should be taken in mind the Australian pace attack has been one of the best bowler in Stuart Clark for sometime. Brett lee is also injured. We all know Micheal Jhonson has been one of the top bowlers in the world. Shaun Tait probably fastest man on the earth will be back soon. But then they have unearthed another gem of the fast bowler in Peter Siddle.  Only in his 4th test match he looked a daunting prospect with the moving ball.

Another bowler who may not have done much but he will certainly do a lot more is Doug Bollinger. Boy is he fast? Not to forget Andrew McDonald who can be a handy all rounder.

I never wrote off Aussies by saying South Africa will be number 1 for a very long long time, but what I didn't expected is the back up cricketer that Australia had. And with what I have seen they are pretty much capable of  dominating again. Credit to Aussies Superb infrastructure they will very soon find all the replacement.  I believe now next sereis starting soon in South Africa , Between Australia and SA will be even better to watch. Probably that will decide the number 1 team in the world. Till then fingers crossed. Fascinating contest awaits.

By the way England in Turmoil. Both england coach morries and Captain Kavin Peterson resigns.

--South Africa grab No. 1 ranking--

S Africa 4-1Australia

Yeah....I guess the difference between two sides was JP Duminy. He was a force behind South Africa victory. He really surprised Australia in test and ODI series. South Africa well and truely number 1. They won the series without Smith, Nitini and few other main players.  Trouble for Aussie in One day format.

congratulations SA fans.. dat includes myself... .. jus a perfect beginning to my weekend... 

ODI Series: SA 4 - Aus 1
ODI Rankings:
South Africa 1
Aus 2
...

"South Africa are officially now the team to beat."- cricinfo
 bring it on!!!

way to go folksssss!!! yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Having said that, Australia can reclaim number 1 spot by beating New Zealand in the first ODI next week.

Here we go again!!

Don't count Australia out yet. Look at their resurgence in the first two days of 1st test in SA.
Lower middle order played extremely well.

Aus 466 1st Innings

SA 85/3  Stumps Day 2.

Looking forward to Day 3.

Australia defeated SA in the First Test by 162 runs.

So I don't think SA are really up there as the Australians in the last decade

True Australia won the first test and rather comfortably. Having said that South Africa have habit of losing first test in the series in South Africa. They have lost first test of last 3 series played in south africa including the west Indies. So we must wait till the completion of next two tests.

Cricket is really weird nowadays. Litreally anybody can beat anybody. I am rather enjoying resurgence of west indies.

Australia defeated South Africa in the second test by 175 runs and reclaimed the No.1 spot.

I agree with no_quiero that cricket is becoming more interesting these days with not a single team dominant as it used to. But something about this Australian team makes them a little higher than any team in the cricket world.