Pre Bangla tour discussion.

[jamthala]

guys name your team for this tour.

[sloandog]

I love these threads, it's the only time i get to see Keegan Meth in the starting line up

1. B.Taylor
2. H.Mazakadza
3. S.Williams
4. T.Taibu (Cpt/Wkt)
5. G.Flower
6. C.Ervine
7. E.Chigumbura
8. K.Meth
9. P.Utsea
10. G.Cremer
11. R.Price

12th man: Greg Lamb

13. C.Chibahba
14. T.Panyangara
15.S.Mazakadza


All out spin, with Meth providing the control. Simple. Our batting can take care of itself i think

[clikcspeed]

I love these threads, it's the only time i get to see Keegan Meth in the starting line up

LOL!!!! I think Utseya should open the batting...

1. Taylor
2. Masakadza
3. Williams
4. Taibu
5. Flower
6. Chigumbura
7. Utseya
8. Cremer
9. Price
10. Masakadza
11. Rainsford

12. Lamb
13. Chibhabha
14. Ervine/Coventry
15. Panyangarara

Unlike you Sloandog, I've gone for some pace (yes I know its madness) but from the facts, the pacemen have had a fair share of wickets in the subcontinent - Bangladesh in particular, follow link below for the stats:

http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/sta ... pe=bowling

Even though it is more practical to field 4 or 5 spinners in our team at the moment, I think it is HIGHLY unlikely that will happen for the WC and our return to Test cricket next year. The pacemen have been exposed, and I think they need more exposure.

A few notes on some of the players:

Hamilton and Taibu: These guys have been around for a while and HIGH HIGH time they give us something to show for their experience. In SA, we had a few glimmers but need to be more consistent, yes sometimes you do get that odd, awkward ball sometimes but throwing away wickets is not on. If we are going to reap anything with the bat, BRT needs some decent support from these experienced blokes.

Chigumbura: I think everything has already been said, precisely. Chigs can be a very good allrounder - but not with the pressure of being skipper. He has bowled very well in Bangladesh and I'm sure we'd all love it to see him continue that form.

Utseya: Had a good performance in SA... I'd like to see him continue that, he has proved that he can add 20+ runs to an innings which is a priceless bonus to any team when those runs are coming down the order. Together with Cremer these two can slowwwww an innings in an admirable way and if they can take wickets it will not be so hard looking into our future as a Test team.

[jamthala]

here is my team

h masa
chibabha
sibanda
taylor
tabu
utseya
price
chigumbara
lamb
cremor
rainsford
mopfu
ervine
williams
flower

[andybligz]

meth must be tried, we keep turning to mpofu and rainsford and even nicolson . the world cup is not to far away and we need to see who is the best option with the new ball. mpofu is definately a NO , rainsford at times (seems unfit or carrying a niggle atm) s.masakadza looks decent and needs to be given time, nicolson is not ready just yet in time i believe he will be a decent international bowler BUT SERIOUSLY meth needs a 3 games or more to show what he can do, the lad can swing the bowl at around 125 to 135 clicks and can smash a bowl , so you can get 10 overs outa him yet also some lower order hitting. surely he will be no worse than nicolson or mpofu ? we will never know until he is given a shot. i beg the selectors to give him a chance because with our pacce attack atm come the world cup we will get slaughtered by the higher nations. on another note bring back lamb he does the job (not the crowds favourite to watch but gets the job done).dabengwa must be chopped the guy has been great to zim cricket but on a harsh note he clearly cannot make it at international level. mpofu needs to go back and work on his bowling and get some anger in his belly , he is way to scared and tiimid at international level. overall the batting is fine i really rate our top 6 so leave it the same pretty much. one thing that is worrying me is the captain........ he has not made many runs lately and his bowling is gone completely , I seriously dont know what to say but the guy needs to do somehting quick because we need him and so does his teamates. he should chuck himself up the order to maybe 5 or 6 to allow time to settle and then clear the ropes later on . overall i am confident with a few changes we can win this tour and find some form. this would be my starting lineup .

bat
1.H.Masakadza
2.B.Taylor
3.T.Taibu (wk)
4.S.Williams
5.G.Lamb
6.E.Chigumbura (c) FLOATING ROLE
7.C.Ervine
8.K.Meth
9.S.Masakadza
10.P.Utesya
11.R.Price

i could not find room for cremer atm because lamb is the 3rd spin option and i feel meth and masakdza will do a solid job with the new ball then bring on all 3 spinners to control things . cremer is one of my favourites but i could not drop utesya after south africa and ray price well i dont need to say anything.... hes our best bowler by far.
i put ervine at 7 because he can hit a ball yet also build a innings and steer the ship. him and lamb nxt to each other is not a great idea that why i put chigs at 6 to smash at one end the u have lamb or ervine at the other to flick the singles and rotate the strike. i have utesya batting at 10 which shows the batting depth and masakadza jr has proven he can smash a ball . i feel this is the best team possible for bangladesh.

[sloandog]

In my opinion the top 6 selects itself.

1. Taylor
2. Mazakadza
3. Williams
4. Taibu
5. Ervine
6. Flower
7. Chigumbura

But I think it's the last four places that are tough to select. Lets see the players who'd fill them (Possibly)
Price
Lamb
Cremer
Mazakadza
Utsea
Meth
Nicolson (Possibly)
Panyangara (Possibly)

I'm now struggling to choose what my team would be. Price and Utsea have to be in, and i rate cremer above all the legspinners in world cricket. But it's tough ....

[andybligz]

agreed sloandog. price and utseya are definate starters and i think lamb suits the conditions in bangaldesh. the pace is a worry do we go one paceman and 4 spinners with (lamb being the 4th option) then u have chigs who i suppose can bowl a few overs but could be risky.if oventry is selected or even dabengwa i will be greatly disapointed. over all i feel it should be meth and masakadza with the new ball then lamb price and utesya. this might sounnd stupi but i actually rate hammy masakadza with the bowl he keeps it tight and does a better job than chigumbura , he also tends to brake partnerships and i think him skidding onto the bat could be handy over there.

[eugene]

The 'Meth Express' should definately be selected for the Bangladesh tour.

[Nilesh23]

Can anybody provide the schedule for Bangladesh Tour? I searched all over .It shows no schedule for Zimbabwe uptil WC 2011. Not on cric info.

Thanks. Well as far as team is concerned I feel Taibu must be Captain. Chingumbura must be dropped since if he cannot bowl he is not good enough just to be as a batsman. His bowling is too bad.

[Dr_Situ(ZimFanatic)]

Can anybody provide the schedule for Bangladesh Tour? I searched all over .It shows no schedule for Zimbabwe uptil WC 2011. Not on cric info.

Thanks. Well as far as team is concerned I feel Taibu must be Captain. Chingumbura must be dropped since if he cannot bowl he is not good enough just to be as a batsman. His bowling is too bad.

December