There remains a semblance of order&continuity amidst chaos

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Whilst I think it would be great for Zim (and Bangladesh & Pakistan) sides to be involved in the CLT20, I just can't see it happening. The Mash Eagles would add precisely 0 monetary value to the competition, giving BCCI, CA & CSA absolutely no incentive to include them.

I think we shoudl start a petition to the CLT20 to include a Zim side in the qualifying round in future. On top of the advantages that you have mentioned above, it would be excellent experience for franchise players to play abroad, in a much more high profile and pressurised environment. I can only see positives...

Yeah, you are spot on. Sorry, I did mean the qualifying round. I consider that part of CLT20 anyway though so it's more than appropriate for a Zimbabwean team.

To be honest, I think the BCCI wouldn't mind Zimbabwean and Bangladeshi teams in the early stages of the tournament. All in the name of developing the sport of course. But seriously, it gives an easier path way to the group stage for their all important yet irrelevant IPL teams.

[eugene]

I realise most of the black players don't come from the ghetto but I was thinking of Brian Vitori in particular. I am I correct in thinking he comes from a poor background which was why he thought Zimbabwean players got paid well and didn't agree with Taibu's comments at all?

[bayhaus]

DoubleHM tha BLOG!

Umpires

The number of LBW decisions was excessive. After that shocker by 'leading' black umpire Owen. I am to a little extent made to question the standard of our umpiring altogether.

So what is a decent number of LBWs in an innings? Does this not say something more about our batsmen and technique, why should it be the umpire in question? Did you see the footage or did you hear half of those batsmen complain about the decisions handed to them? Anyway how are we going to get the umpires up to scratch if they don't umpire?

Country over Self

But what of Ireland, Ballance, de Grandhomme and Cameron? Were it not for selection to represent Zimbabwean junior teams would they be where they are now? I strongly doubt it. Yet they 'raped' the system to their personal benefit.

Flowerpower covered this quite well. I would just like to add that these guys didn't go to these expensive schools for free, so while they were there they made the most of their talents, facilities and resources. They didn't HAVE to give back to the school or the system because they paid their dues. For me cricket was compulsory, I would travel to Harare on sunday to play high school cricket and then sunday I was playing league. i PAID my dues and if I decided to continue to play cricket after school that was my choice to make. Its like using the experience you get from one job to get another job and do even better at that job. ZC just needs to make it conducive for players to want to stay and play, develop a system that retains players. I also think fans/forumites are also selfish as they just want to se the players perform on the field without considering some of the off field events that influence the players confidence hence affects their performance on the field.

Chaos
Most of our problems lie with ZC, hence any discussion about player retention and talent going abroad, changing sport and going to Hockey etc which does not mention the mall administration at ZC and lack of professionalism there will be ignoring the elephant in the room.

ZC is not run professionally therefore the players will not be treated professionally therefore the players will not act like professionals. The batch of youngsters who were taken out of school to represent Zim after the rebel saga ignoring all those who had been playing first class cricket, were done a great disservice. It was a calculated move to exploit and manipulate these youngsters who would have no voice and were compromised cos they had nothing to fall back on. They were filled with the euphoria of repping Zim that they didn't think about the future or look carefully at why others ahead of them with more experience were not picked. Thats why most of them cant say a single word against ZC cos it keeps reminding them that they owe ZC.

Inter-provincial Club structure
I agree with this bit, I was at the Mountaineers vs Eagles this week and met up with players from Mutare Technical practicing in the nets. They told me that they play with Africa University, Mary Mount teachers College, Mutare Teachers College. Thats a vast improvement from when I left Mutare, cricket was still very much elitist, Only Hillcrest college played cricket and a few primary schools in town only. Now all the High densities primary schools have cricket and its also in the tertiary institute level. But I don't know if its actually supported by ZC and if the franchises also feed from these institutes which I kind of doubt. But the tertiary institutes probably need an organized league to feed into a provincial club structure.

Team Update
No Tino in your test team and relegated him to a Zim XI ? Well Tino is there to stay, he will make the ODI team and become captain. If taylor made it to captain after his discipline issues, then Tino's will also be overlooked forgiven and he will be captain, and he will be a good captain as well. But team lists are really just wish lists so wont really go into that.

New Zealand Tour

New Zealand tour has just taken on greater significance as a measure of just how much work and progress was really made!

Most definitely though they might not have their quicks, and Vitorri, I think we should actually beat them. Our collective experience might actually be more than them we just have to believe that we can beat them. It would really make a good statement if we do and will also raise the ante for the return trip next year where they will HAVE to take us seriously. The game will be lost between the first 4 batsmen and how many runs they score on both side.

[ZIMDOGGY]

Nice counter argument there Bauhaus
Can see you thought deeply about alot of these issues. What experienced players were overlooked??


Also a side note about umpiring.
The only zimbo umpire I've seen is Russell tiffin.

Would people here agree he is horrible by international standard?
Maybe it's just rotten timing however when I have tuned in I have seen some horrendous decisions from Russ.

The most recent was in the tri series when I think it was Taylor got denied an obvious 4 runs - my memory escapes me but I remember wanting to molest tiffin on the umpire box at the time. Commentators weren't happy either.

I remember some recent tiffin incident, I think it was the above. Anyone care to correct or confirm?

Aussie commentators think he is inept.

[eugene]

Ian Robinson was another Zimbabwean umpire who had some real shockers.

[bayhaus]

Bauhaus

The Bauhaus Movement Germany, 1919-1933, had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.

[hhm]

I suppose it’s not so much lack of objectivity about Tino FlowerPower, but rather being practical. Even taking into consideration his resolute unbeaten 163, he is simply not up to scratch(yet) in my opinion, while the other usual suspects are!

In my ‘wish lists’, I’ve sent Taylor and Hamilton up to open in ODIs because, even while making runs in the middle order, they are both becoming more of a nuisance and a liability to the team’s chances of winning because of inability to execute their roles satisfactorily. For similar reasons, I prefer Hamilton to open, but because we can I’ll afford Taylor falling early due to lack of footwork (and with Duffin being my preferred choice), in Tests I’ve kept him at four. Anyway, I think Taylor prefers to open across all formats and I believe Hamilton is tentative when it comes to having to open, which is probably why he fails. Maybe in a few years, but right now Rainsford is streets ahead of Vitori - you're entitled to your view. For me the horses-for-courses notion only counts in considering whether to go with one/two spinners or deciding between a leggie/an offie. I stick religiously to a one-spinner and three-man seam attack in Tests, and I feel right now Price+Elton+Panyangara+Mpofu is best, but with time should be replaced by an attack of Cremer+Meth+Jarvis+Shingi respectively. The latter quartet is still another two or three years from being ready.

To shed light on the unsaid questions, I’m in Joburg because I’m South African actually, but born in Zim to an SA dad(Xhosa) and Bots mum(Pedi) – hence black, and both of whom come from extremely humble villages (think Zaka and Mahinye!). So despite my present above-modest circumstances, I can relate to poverty. My paternal family still largely resides in poor Qumbu (Eastern Cape) neighbouring over glorified Mandela’s equally poor village Qunu – his residence being probably the only ‘eye-catching’ structure in the area. Relatively better conditions and education during apartheid times meant being across the border for the most part, was more appealing than modest Qumbu. And a few of my maternal relatives still reside in the lowliest sections of Mat South. But no disagreeing with the gist of what you point out, after all, I did make the Eastern Cape to Gauteng migration for economic reasons – which is not too different from the Zim to SA-UK-Aus-NZ-US-Can migration.

I didn’t mention binding oneself to Zimbabwe for life or taking away anybody’s passports, neither am I in a position to forgive or deny anyone forgiveness. All things taken into consideration, everyone should be, and is free to do what they want. However, the exposure and future privileges for which national under-19 and First Class representation lay a foundation for, should only be reserved for those who in-turn will put Zimbabwe Cricket first. Except if you personally accepted to be enrolled at the Academy or High Performance Centre, or whatever it is that we have, it’s ok if although having initially committed, in future you fade away into commerce or pursue some other profession due to lack of interest in cricket or are short of the required standard. But if you’re still involved in the game, in whatever part of the world, at First Class level then should Zimbabwe Cricket come calling you should report for duty. It must take precedence and any contract you enter into must not compromise that. Although less radical, think of it in the same breath as compulsory military training for a limited period for youths of certain age, and ultimately compulsory military conscription for all able-bodied adult males in the event of a declaration of war on your country. Refusal meant a prison term or worse. In simple terms, if you don’t have Zimbabwe Cricket’s long term interests at heart, then no matter how good a school cricketer you might be, Zimbabwe Cricket should not have any of your short term interests at heart too – no under-19 or First Class cricket for you but you’re welcome to travel the globe with your school or club! See if that will be sufficient to catch the eye of Yorkshire or NSW. But if you do find yourself in County or State cricket for example, then you have the option to shun Zimbabwe Cricket because they didn’t contribute anything for you along the way. If Zimbabwe Cricket doesn’t look out for itself then who will! You may say I’m addressing symptoms and not the problem, but no matter how much you consider their administration to be unprofessional or incompetent, the prerogative must always reside with Zimbabwe Cricket for all affairs under their control. At the heart of things, the real problem extends beyond their powers. It lies in political, domestic, fiscal, monetary and industrial policies which they do not control.

BRM highlights an important point in that IPL or CLT20 will help keep players in Zimbabwe. The ICC sanctioned, administers and accommodated the CLT20 in their international cricket calendar, so in due course I think every Full Member will be entitled to participation or at the very least qualification. Economic power or TV rights, let alone the BCCI cannot exclude anyone. However, it serves very little purpose to include and also expect a Franchise from a lowly ranked Full Member, which cannot afford to import international stars, to be competitive in the CLT20. I predict the CLT20 was over before it began, and the IPL will be a thing of the past soon after that. Nonetheless, under my proposition we should be able to retain our ‘committed’ talent in spite of the IPL, not despite of it.

Well balanced response Bayhaus. You and I think takleg as well, are men on the ground so you are the best people to give us the most informed arguments. Without any evidence or having any need for it, and without considering how the batsmen’s technique factored into that, I personally felt the number of LBWs was worth mentioning in light of the standard of our umpiring, that’s all mate.

Above I've clarified what my proposition entails, and it's obvious I was grossly misunderstood. No doubt those school kids’ parents paid their fees and together with the school(private or public) funded and provided facilities and other necessary resources. Time and personal effort was sacrificed by the individual. Nevertheless, a distinction must be made between a student who partakes of the sport with a clear goal to take up cricket as a profession, and one who does it for fun/fitness and has no further intentions. If you harbour any intentions of going further in the sport then it’s obvious to you that the pinnacle is Test cricket, and you can only achieve that through your cricket board and via their respective channels. Those channels are in place for the sole reason to fulfil the board's agenda for International Cricket. So if you make use of those channels, then as much as you should profit, so should the board. Otherwise carve an independent path for yourself and leave that limited avenue or opportunity for those who are a little bit more certain of themselves in harmony with an entire nation's hopes and desires for success which these channels serve. That way no-one feels hard done by. I understand and to an extent recognise your take on the relations between ZC and the post-rebel saga batch of youngsters, but it takes nothing away from the merit of my proposition.

Thank you for updating us on the developments of cricket around the Tertiary institutions so aptly. An organized League of their own which will like High School cricket, will feed into the Provincial Club Structures, is a noble idea. I’m sure ZC is aware of all these areas which need addressing and investment, and as things get better they will be worked on. At least lets hope so.

Despite your view, as well as most Aussies Zimdoggy, I think Tiffin (and Robinson, and Chirombe) can take comfort in knowing that many senior and retired umpires on the panel spent many years putting on what I may rate as pathetic and below average performances. The list is endless. Thank goodness for DRS!! Shame we don’t use it. Heck we don’t even have a speed gun!!!

[bayhaus]

even while making runs in
the middle order, they are both becoming more of a
nuisance and a liability to the team’s chances of
winning because of inability to execute their roles
satisfactorily.

Its frustrating me as well and I am nervous now when these guys come out to bat.

To shed light on the unsaid questions... SA-UK-Aus-NZ-US-Can
migration.

I enjoyed reading your background!

If Zimbabwe Cricket doesn’t look out for itself then who will! You may say I’m
addressing symptoms and not the problem, but no matter how much you consider their administration to be unprofessional or incompetent, the prerogative must always reside with Zimbabwe Cricket for all affairs under their control. At the heart of things, the real problem extends beyond their powers. It lies in political, domestic, fiscal, monetary and industrial policies which they do not control.

I am not convinced that ZC have done the best in their power to do. I agree with the factors that may affect but they still need to maintain their integrity and fine-tune their operations.

Heck we don’t even have a speed gun!!!

We used to have a speed gun I am eager to see how fast our boys are bowling. A speed gun is part of the game!

[FlowerPower]

I suppose it’s not so much lack of objectivity about Tino FlowerPower, but rather being practical. Even taking into consideration his resolute unbeaten 163, he is simply not up to scratch(yet) in my opinion, while the other usual suspects are!

We definitely differ, but I respect your opinion

... For me the horses-for-courses notion only counts in considering whether to go with one/two spinners or deciding between a leggie/an offie. I stick religiously to a one-spinner and three-man seam attack in Tests, and I feel right now Price+Elton+Panyangara+Mpofu is best, but with time should be replaced by an attack of Cremer+Meth+Jarvis+Shingi respectively. The latter quartet is still another two or three years from being ready.

We agree, specifically the former, spinner or two spinners (but this is in contrast with your religious 3-1 formation you proffer). In the past we relied on Price, Utseya and Creamer, then Mpofu and Chigs. We had to, there was no pacemen of international standard (unfortunately including Rainsford), so whether we were playing in NewZealand (HSC) or Bangladesh (QSC) it would be same 3-2 split ODI. But now with the advent of pace (thanks to Heath and co), we now have a better balance and can tinker with this, according to pitch (everyone does this, even the Proteas these days, e.g. WC, will go with a 3-2 split Steyn, Morkel, Tsotsobe/Kallis and Botha, Tahir/Peterson, depending on the SURFACE, where the pitch is pacey, one of the two spinners is sacrificed. Finally we now can also do this, too, and need not religiously stick to any one formation, see how badly it went when we had 3-1 in Bulawayo? Fortunately Lamb played an spinning allround role but imagine if one of the pacemen had been sacrificed for say a fit Creamer, or even at worst if Vitori (who doesnt do so well at QSC) was sacrificed for Meth (for his control and ability on not so responsive pitches, that also is a form of horses for courses mind you), if he too was fit.

To shed light on the unsaid questions, I’m in Joburg because I’m South African actually, but born in Zim to an SA dad(Xhosa) and Bots mum(Pedi) – hence black, and both of whom come from extremely humble villages (think Zaka and Mahinye!). So despite my present above-modest circumstances, I can relate to poverty. My paternal family still largely resides in poor Qumbu (Eastern Cape) neighbouring over glorified Mandela’s equally poor village Qunu – his residence being probably the only ‘eye-catching’ structure in the area. Relatively better conditions and education during apartheid times meant being across the border for the most part, was more appealing than modest Qumbu. And a few of my maternal relatives still reside in the lowliest sections of Mat South. But no disagreeing with the gist of what you point out, after all, I did make the Eastern Cape to Gauteng migration for economic reasons – which is not too different from the Zim to SA-UK-Aus-NZ-US-Can migration.

Good to know, but in an ideal world that shouldn't matter, but importantly you get my point people are driven by relative economic safety/comfort...(we should hook up for the Wanderers and Supersport legs of the Aussie tour)

I didn’t mention binding oneself to Zimbabwe for life or taking away anybody’s passports, neither am I in a position to forgive or deny anyone forgiveness.

true that and apologies if you took me literally, no I was merely stressing the point, as for forgiven again, anyone has the right to do/say anything, again, this was to highlight the moral high ground you take in saying "you can't forgive", which I argue being people that benefited from the system, we can't hold a moral high ground to people who want to effectively do the same as we have done. To just further emphasize, you benefited from Zim education and infrastructure, and since things went well in SA you have "the ties" to find your way back to SA (just like the white cricketers to county", no one blames you nor "refuses to forgive you" for exploiting your SA ancestory to enjoy any form of BEE, or at the very least any job opportunity there.

All things taken into consideration, everyone should be, and is free to do what they want. However, the exposure and future privileges for which national under-19 and First Class representation lay a foundation for, should only be reserved for those who in-turn will put Zimbabwe Cricket first.

Its two way, and ZC should have them at heart as well....

Except if you personally accepted to be enrolled at the Academy or High Performance Centre, or whatever it is that we have, it’s ok if although having initially committed, in future you fade away into commerce or pursue some other profession due to lack of interest in cricket or are short of the required standard. But if you’re still involved in the game, in whatever part of the world, at First Class level then should Zimbabwe Cricket come calling you should report for duty. It must take precedence and any contract you enter into must not compromise that.

Would be the first to support such, but alas, in this world it doesnt work that way, actually at times I almost thought the county sides were out to destroy ZC, by offering such terms, but the same rule applies to Pakistanis and Bagladeshi, and Proteas as well, remember the issue with McLaren? etc...

Although less radical, think of it in the same breath as compulsory military training for a limited period for youths of certain age, and ultimately compulsory military conscription for all able-bodied adult males in the event of a declaration of war on your country. Refusal meant a prison term or worse. In simple terms, if you don’t have Zimbabwe Cricket’s long term interests at heart, then no matter how good a school cricketer you might be, Zimbabwe Cricket should not have any of your short term interests at heart too – no under-19 or First Class cricket for you but you’re welcome to travel the globe with your school or club! See if that will be sufficient to catch the eye of Yorkshire or NSW. But if you do find yourself in County or State cricket for example, then you have the option to shun Zimbabwe Cricket because they didn’t contribute anything for you along the way.

Noble, but how do you police that?

If Zimbabwe Cricket doesn’t look out for itself then who will! You may say I’m addressing symptoms and not the problem...

The bold line tells me you understand the issue crystal clear: If Zimbabwe Cricket doesn’t look out for itself then who will! and hence some walk away...

but no matter how much you consider their administration to be unprofessional or incompetent, the prerogative must always reside with Zimbabwe Cricket for all affairs under their control. At the heart of things, the real problem extends beyond their powers. It lies in political, domestic, fiscal, monetary and industrial policies which they do not control.

I think you will find things like, offering realistic contracts (which they then don't honour) may be one of those things within their control, giving a clear and positive blue print as to where they intend to go (thereby keeping all stakeholders, players and fans as well) is within their control, amicably resolving player issues is also under their control, I am not a negative person (although I listen to well known nag station, 702), and by no means lay all blame at ZC's doorstep, but they should do their part as well...

PS how do you see the Dr Mthuthuzeli Nyoka - Majola issue playing out?

[hhm]

The fact that Butcher, Grant, Heath and Ali etc, have chosen to work with Zimbabwe Cricket is proof enough that Zim cricket is on the mend. The presence of top foreign players and coaches is a vote of confidence in itself. Unless he's a hypocrite, Ali wouldn’t have taken that public position regarding Taibu and said what he said if he didn’t have faith in the system right now. So if all of this isn’t sufficient to convince some of the players to place trust in Zim cricket then how do you think the board and other people working together to patch things up feel. If these more experienced players come in it means better performances, which lead to longer and more frequent tours against top wealthy nations and ultimately better salaries and incentives for the players. I have no doubt that in the next 12 months the contracts issues will be sorted, but cash flow cannot be guaranteed. Not mentioning all the other national cricket boards who are in bad states, even the majority of the county sides themselves are running on huge debts and are suffering heavy losses so much that there’s increasing talk of consolidating some of them and reducing the number of sides.

The underlying point of my concern regarding the ‘chaos’, lies in the perception that is increasingly being created by the attitude and behaviour of the white under 19s who have been representing Zimbabwe in the last decade. The main reason is that they’ve been forming 30-40% of the composition of the side and if you casually look at the percentage of those who ditch Zim cricket, even though they are still brilliant cricketers, that’s almost 40% of the whites who made the team. Which is an incredibly high turnover!

In a highly charged political and affirmative-action environment like Zimbabwe, who can be surprised to hear, “listen the majority of these white guys a using us, our black guys seem to do better at these tournaments anyway, so we can do without them instead of giving them a stepping stone to greatness at our expense”. That is why I mentioned, initially, that some of these guys have a responsibility to think about some of the white youngsters still learning in Zim and have plans to play Test cricket in future, so that their hopes and chances and not indirectly taken away as a consequence of their actions.

Of the pathetic 2008 u19 WC batch, Kyle Jarvis is with the national team and Peter Moor hung around a bit in the domestic scene although I've heard little of his whereabouts or development locally of late, but will be interesting to know what will happen with the likes of Justin Gaisford and Daniel Landman. Of the hardly superior 2010 u19 WC batch, same for Peter Moor; Nathan Waller is producing the goods in the local scene, Dylon Higgins & Calum Price hung around a bit before heading off while Scott Daly, who if accurate has SA roots, clearly had a lot of options to weigh. Calum Price was playing club cricket in the UK and it was thought he would be with one of the franchises but nothing from there so far.

No doubt some of the guys have rightly chosen to put their studies ahead. Education is important, and I strongly encourage and hope these guys continue taking care of themselves in that department. However, if they are still involved in the game and progress to the higher levels of cricket, who's to say in 4-5 years’ time we won't be talking about them in same category as the likes of Cameron who, while not being stand out performers at their County sides, but perhaps good enough to push for a place in our national team, still opt to ditch their country for a county which can drop them at any point!

Zimbabwe Cricket might not be able to police it, but they can lay down the marker and set a precedent which will no doubt limit or eliminate the need to ever have to worry about a certain race being a 'bad investment' for them. They will simply ignore them which would be extremely sad. The fact that they are bad administrators or do little to create good working conditions for cricketers, hence white players leave the game, will not affect or count against them in any way because as far as they will be concerned there’s plenty of Vusis, Taibus and Mpofus to fall back on. The last thing we want to see happening is a policy of "we don’t need them".

I get increasingly uncomfortable when I consider the thought of Craig Ervine being permanently replaced by Mutizwa, Price retiring, Taylor falling out of favour and losing captaincy due to loss of form etc. I don’t want to see an all-black side. That will start planting some negative conclusions in the minds of some evil elements. After that it will be easy to set in motion their plans because it will be impossible for the international community to see beyond the fact that some regime has been put in place since white players will have lost their paces on merit and the administrators will be making it very hard for them to come back. Think about it, I would much rather go and pluck Greg Strydom from MacDonalds somewhere despite not having had a game in a year rather than play Zhuwao in a T20I(my Shona is not great but is it Zhuwawo or Zhuwao?).

Cricket administration in South Africa is very much in the hands of the whites and Majola is pretty much their pawn. They’ve all benefitted from underhand provincial, national and stadium rights dealings, and if it come to a vote, they make up the majority of the vote so things should go in his favour. As you know, unlike the irregular Shona-Ndebele political leadership ‘rotation’ in Zimbabwe, South Africa ‘changes’ from Xhosa to Zulu from time to time. So while the sports minister Mbalula, is like Majola a Xhosa, it’s unlikely that he will delve too deep into the affairs of CSA to assist in pushing aside Nyoka, while a Zulu president Zuma still around. The best is for them to call a truce. That’s just my take of things, I could be horribly off the mark and the opposite happens. After all, Nyoka has taken a moral stand and they have nothing tangible to build a vote of no confidence against him, while some of the audit findings made by a foremost organisation have found Majola somewhat wanting. With the players(Smith), rather unusually rooting for Majola, I think he will survive.

I’ll only be making an effort to see the Tests, and I’ll be catching some of the action at Newlands, but I think I can pop in for some sessions for Wanderers Test which I have down as a tame draw. We can PM to arrange. My money’s on Aus to take it 1-0, I don’t really like the SA sports teams, so I’m not in mourning for either the Boks or the comic Bafana Bafana. Wouldn't mind seeing the Aussies continue their rise at the expense of the Proteas. They do nothing besides bully us to get into shape!