Keith Dabengwa...

[eugene]

Stats can be misleading - which is why I looked at scorecards of every match he played in. Almost all of his decent scores with the bat have come in losing causes when the result is beyond doubt. Hitting a quickfire 20 from number 8 or 9 in a losing cause against part time bowlers doesn't make him a quality batsman. His average is also driven up from the number of not outs due to his position low in the order.

Dabengwa adds nothing to the team. If he is going to bat at 8 or lower he needs to bowl 10 overs, otherwise he seriously inbalances the side. The fact is he isnt good enough to bowl ten overs and instead bowls 4 overs and occasionally picks up a few late wickets that are inconsequential to the final outcome.

I haven't just used stats in forming my opinion of Dabengwa - I have factored in how much of a game changer he is and if he has contributed to victories. The answer is he hasn't contributed. I would much rather take younger players on tour who have the potential to be good, instead of a guy in his 30s who will never be good. If his experience is really that valuable take him as some sort of advisor or analyst.

[Conant]

Dabengwa averages 32 in Bang against Bang, Sean 28 despite scoring back to back 50s the other series. Statisticaly he averages better than Hamilton in Bang so he deserves to be in the squad.

I hate to be against the world but we cant take a team full of inexperienced guys Meth, Butterworth, Chakabva, Mutizwas and expect to win in a country Australia almost lost a test match in.

I dont like Dabengwa but i feel yo arguments are not based on facts. Unless if we risk loosing this series to allow some other new guys to gain experience for the world cup. Look at every1s record against Bang in Bang, thats more important than all these other stats

Which is why, rather that dogmatically focus on one player, which inevitably implies a hate thread (I do find it odd that one readily admits 'a hate thread' planned for one, which is a pity eugene because your analysis could be quite good if you didn't try to force points through - "only match winning performance was 3/15 against Bangladesh, however pitch was a landmine" - but that is a moral question left for another day), we could have discussed several other players too, their merits and demerits, such as Ervine, Chigumbura, Chibhabha, Williams, his replacement Regis Chakabva. Look at their records against these teams, their records in the subcontinent.

The players who are going to make it are the ones that can work the ball around. Dabengwa is one of them. At this stage I would go far as to suggest he is a better prospect for this tour than Craig Ervine.

In any case it is not ingenious to compare and ask Dabengwa to be replaced by, say, Greg Lamb. To what effect in the scheme of things? As much as Lamb has proved useful, where is the scope in picking FOUR spinners for one tour. Utseya can't be dropped, Price can't be dropped, Cremer has the X-factor, somebody had to miss out. Its a pity that it had to be Lamb, and it is to our credit that a small country such as ours can produce, four, five quality spinners simultaneously

[sloandog]

Okay i'll have to back Eugene up here as i think some of those ponts you've just made conant are slightly odd...

we could have discussed several other players too, their merits and demerits, such as Ervine, Chigumbura, Chibhabha, Williams, his replacement Regis Chakabva. Look at their records against these teams, their records in the subcontinent.

Mate, all the players you've just named have 10 times the potential than Dabengwa. He's now hit 30 too, and all the guys you've listed are 25 or younger...

At this stage I would go far as to suggest he is a better prospect for this tour than Craig Ervine.

Now no offence, but i find that possibly the most outrages comment i've heard on the forum...
How in gods name does Dabengwa have more potential that Ervine. Ervine has a good technique, not an Andy Flower technique by any means, but a solid one. He has an array of shots. okay he could work a bit harder against the spinners, perhaps like Dabengwa could work against quick bowlers.
Do you honestly see Dabengwa being a part of the Zimbabwean Cricket future.....
If you do mate then there's serious probolems.

[Dr_Situ(ZimFanatic)]

At this stage I would go far as to suggest he is a better prospect for this tour than Craig Ervine.

Now no offence, but i find that possibly the most outrages comment i've heard on the forum...
How in gods name does Dabengwa have more potential that Ervine. Ervine has a good technique, not an Andy Flower technique by any means, but a solid one. He has an array of shots. okay he could work a bit harder against the spinners, perhaps like Dabengwa could work against quick bowlers.

Ervine is susceptible against spinners as we have seen in the past and in Bangladesh he will get not one or two but 3-4 spinners. In the subcontinent pitches both Waller or Coventry would have been a better choice than Craig. In fairness to lamb he deserves a chance in comparison to Dabengwa (much better bowler than Keith)

[brmtaylor.com admin]

It's mystifying that's for sure... Bangladesh even have a lot of left handers which would strengthen the case for an offspinner like Lamb. Now we've got three bowlers spinning it from off to leg to the left handers (Cremer, Price and Dabengwa). I think Taylor might be bowling a few overs in this series.

[jamthala]

It's mystifying that's for sure... Bangladesh even have a lot of left handers which would strengthen the case for an offspinner like Lamb. Now we've got three bowlers spinning it from off to leg to the left handers (Cremer, Price and Dabengwa). I think Taylor might be bowling a few overs in this series.

agree BRM there is need of a left hand spinner for zim.

[ZIMDOGGY]

this should be the team in batting order


1 hamilton M
2 brendan ross murray taylor
3 taibu
4 chibhabha
5 ervine
6 elton C-Bomb
7 butterworth
8 meth
9 prosper
10 price
11 ?

[Tinashce Ruswa]

jassuss people actually sit down to write this..I mean whether he deserves to be there or not is up for debate but he there for now so lets hope he does something worthwhile..yo all need to stop selecting and offer supportive criticisms I think coz for those who play or have played know peeps are of different ability but in the end if they are representing me and wearing the national team colors i got their back....100!

[eugene]

It would be a rather pointless forum if we just sat around typing 'go team' all the time.

[Tinashce Ruswa]

It would be a rather pointless forum if we just sat around typing 'go team' all the time.

I didn't say go team I said constructive criticism......We are all allowed our own opinions just that this forum at times degenerates into a farce..It is after all a forum where different opinions r encouraged..you can't in my opinion keep flogging a dead horse