Zimbabwe tour to australia july/august

[Robin]

'A' and Under 19 tours are going to be very important. I think it's fair to say that if S.Ervine, Compton and Ballance all commit to Zim that Zimbabwe would then have the deepest pool of talent since it's introduction into Test Cricket. However, developing the next tier of players must involve more than just the logan cup.

Assuming a test squad of; Ballance, Mawayo, Compton, H.Masakadza, Taylor, Sibanda, Chigumbura, S.Ervine, Taibu, Cremer, Price, Utseya, Mpofu, S.Maskadza, Chitara, Nicholson.

An 'A' Team squad could look like this:-

Duffin (capt), Marillier, Mutizwa, S.Williams, C.Ervine, M.Waller, J.Chibhabha, K.Dabengwa, R.Chakabva, T.Maruma, N.Mushangwe, K.Jarvis, T.Muzarabani, K.Meth, T.Panyangara, N.Ncube.

These squad is stronger than some of the teams that represented Zim during 06-08 and the strength in depth is shown by the absence from either squad of players such as Kasteni, Ewing, Butterworth, Coventry, Vermeulen, Lamb, Masvaure, N.Waller(although he is still qualified for the U19's), Mutombodzi, Garwe, Chinouya, Rainsford

[cock]

How fast was Streak in his Prime...

i remember him bowling 140 a few times but other than that 132 to 137 on avg . he wasnt brutal pace but quick enough to trouble batsman on a good lenght. if only we had another streak type player

The big problem here are the selectors are looking for out and out pace and forgetting about control and swing

[Boundary]

'A' and Under 19 tours are going to be very important. I think it's fair to say that if S.Ervine, Compton and Ballance all commit to Zim that Zimbabwe would then have the deepest pool of talent since it's introduction into Test Cricket. However, developing the next tier of players must involve more than just the logan cup.

Assuming a test squad of; Ballance, Mawayo, Compton, H.Masakadza, Taylor, Sibanda, Chigumbura, S.Ervine, Taibu, Cremer, Price, Utseya, Mpofu, S.Maskadza, Chitara, Nicholson.

An 'A' Team squad could look like this:-

Duffin (capt), Marillier, Mutizwa, S.Williams, C.Ervine, M.Waller, J.Chibhabha, K.Dabengwa, R.Chakabva, T.Maruma, N.Mushangwe, K.Jarvis, T.Muzarabani, K.Meth, T.Panyangara, N.Ncube.

These squad is stronger than some of the teams that represented Zim during 06-08 and the strength in depth is shown by the absence from either squad of players such as Kasteni, Ewing, Butterworth, Coventry, Vermeulen, Lamb, Masvaure, N.Waller(although he is still qualified for the U19's), Mutombodzi, Garwe, Chinouya, Rainsford

I like the pool of players we have but the step between the Logan Cup and Test cricket is still higher than, say, South Africa's equivalent. What's the answer, wait it out because standards will rise in time?

[sloandog]

How fast was Streak in his Prime...

i remember him bowling 140 a few times but other than that 132 to 137 on avg . he wasnt brutal pace but quick enough to trouble batsman on a good lenght. if only we had another streak type player

The big problem here are the selectors are looking for out and out pace and forgetting about control and swing

Who are you regerring to though mate.
Mupariwa....Nkala ?? Both have such a lack of pace that they'd get tatered. I don't think there's any genuine swingers of the ball in our domestic scene

[andy24]

i remember him bowling 140 a few times but other than that 132 to 137 on avg . he wasnt brutal pace but quick enough to trouble batsman on a good lenght. if only we had another streak type player

The big problem here are the selectors are looking for out and out pace and forgetting about control and swing

Who are you regerring to though mate.
Mupariwa....Nkala ?? Both have such a lack of pace that they'd get tatered. I don't think there's any genuine swingers of the ball in our domestic scene

i think its great to have swing bowlers but they must have to be able to do something when the swing is gone from the ball. So i think thats mupariwa's downfall he to slow as soon as the ball stops swinging.

[cock]

The swing bowlers from U/19 such as N.Waller and C.Price were the two leading wicket takers on the U/19 world cup tour but it is Chitara that has been pushed through because of his pace.

[Robin]

i think its great to have swing bowlers but they must have to be able to do something when the swing is gone from the ball. So i think thats mupariwa's downfall he to slow as soon as the ball stops swinging.

Mupariwa has been a victim of increasing standards and greater depth in the available players rather than selctorial bias/error.

Since the start of the 2009/10 season Mupariwa has taken 37 1st class wickets at 35.08 compared to 115 at 27.82 prior to that. However, he is a good honest cricketer who is still only 25 and has much to offer the Tuskers and the 1st Class cricket in Zimbabwe. I doubt, though, that he will ever return to National team colours.

[Robin]

The swing bowlers from U/19 such as N.Waller and C.Price were the two leading wicket takers on the U/19 world cup tour but it is Chitara that has been pushed through because of his pace.

Waller has been fast tracked, making his 1st Class debut of Zimbabwe 'A' on tour befor he had played for a franchise. His development has subsequently been hindered by injury and he is currently out until the end of January.

Price has still been at school as he was a year younger than the other 2 you mention. However, he has been selected for the Zim U19 tour to South Africa this coming January. It will be interstiong to see how he gets on.

That said, regardless of pace, Chitara is a rare talent. I watched all the under 19 WC matches and he and Waller were head and shoulders above the other Zim seamers.

The other stand out players in that team were Mutombodzi, Mushangwe, Mugava and Moor. All seem to be getting a good amount of cricket and their development handled well. Mazhawidza is the only one that I am surprised has not played first class cricket in Zim this season, but he has probably suffered from 2 of the franchises having overseas wicketkeepers (Wessels and Wheater). Higgins, who captained the team, and performed well in his Fist Class appearances for the Rhino's last year, hardly scored a run for the U19's and his bowling did not look as good as the other spinners.

With the increase in standards and the competition for places at the franchises, I don't believe we can expect all 15 or 16 of the U19 squad to playing regularly and to become first class players. If 6 were to make it from each year, the development system should be deemed a success. Last years U19's produced Chitara, Mushangwe, Mutombodzi, Moor & Mugava. They rate Mawudzi very highly in Mutare and we should see more of him now he has done his A levels. It will be interesting to see who raises to the to of this years U19's. Waller, Kaia and Sauramba are the obvious ones and then 2 or 3 from Enwerem, Mamhiyo, Price, Jaure and Chari. Maybe Van Rensburg will commit to cricket also.

[zimfan1]

The swing bowlers from U/19 such as N.Waller and C.Price were the two leading wicket takers on the U/19 world cup tour but it is Chitara that has been pushed through because of his pace.

Waller has been fast tracked, making his 1st Class debut of Zimbabwe 'A' on tour befor he had played for a franchise. His development has subsequently been hindered by injury and he is currently out until the end of January.

Price has still been at school as he was a year younger than the other 2 you mention. However, he has been selected for the Zim U19 tour to South Africa this coming January. It will be interstiong to see how he gets on.

That said, regardless of pace, Chitara is a rare talent. I watched all the under 19 WC matches and he and Waller were head and shoulders above the other Zim seamers.

The other stand out players in that team were Mutombodzi, Mushangwe, Mugava and Moor. All seem to be getting a good amount of cricket and their development handled well. Mazhawidza is the only one that I am surprised has not played first class cricket in Zim this season, but he has probably suffered from 2 of the franchises having overseas wicketkeepers (Wessels and Wheater). Higgins, who captained the team, and performed well in his Fist Class appearances for the Rhino's last year, hardly scored a run for the U19's and his bowling did not look as good as the other spinners.

With the increase in standards and the competition for places at the franchises, I don't believe we can expect all 15 or 16 of the U19 squad to playing regularly and to become first class players. If 6 were to make it from each year, the development system should be deemed a success. Last years U19's produced Chitara, Mushangwe, Mutombodzi, Moor & Mugava. They rate Mawudzi very highly in Mutare and we should see more of him now he has done his A levels. It will be interesting to see who raises to the to of this years U19's. Waller, Kaia and Sauramba are the obvious ones and then 2 or 3 from Enwerem, Mamhiyo, Price, Jaure and Chari. Maybe Van Rensburg will commit to cricket also.

Watch out for Ryan Bural thats my tip, he is a very good up and coming bowler.

Look like Van Rensburg has been signed up to play professional rugby in england for Harlequins.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Ah, that's a shame about van Rensburg. By all reports the buzz surrounding him was for good reason.

I agree with Robin that Mupariwa was a victim of circumstance. Rewind a few years to Gary Brent's retirement and it seemed too good to be true that there was a ready made replacement in Mupariwa. Then Cremer became a feature of the limited overs team and spin became the focus, and Mupariwa with his lack of pace was never going to be able to hold his place ahead of someone like Mpofu or Rainsford who could take the new ball. And then ZC made finding someone with raw speed a focus. All of these factors combined, there wasn't going to be enough room to carry a 115kmph bowler.

I still think Jarvis holds the key going forward. He is the most promising of the fast bowling stocks in my opinion and has the speed to back it up. S Masakadza seems to have all of the talent in the world (perhaps a touch slow when push comes to shove, but perhaps this can be developed) but is unbelievably expensive. He needs to prove himself economical before he is allowed anywhere near a Test team or any important ODI matches. Likewise for Nicolson. Haven't seen enough of Chatara to comment, but he deserves more opportunities having done alright against India.