Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan | First Test | 26 December 2024 - 30 December 2024 | Queens Sports Club

[ZIMDOGGY]

I think it all had to do with access to coaching and training. In the early 2000s you had the likes of Hamilton and Taibu all basically coming from the same setup. Now you have a lot of black kids inspired by their story but at the same time have gone to good schools with decent setups.

Another way of looking at it is that u19 level you can't say any race is significantly outperforming the other when it comes to batting. To me the likes of Bennett, Myers Maru, Welch Jr etc are all around the same level when it comes to ability with Bennett and Myers being slightly ahead. The best batsman in their generation is Muyeye and he is black but he went to a good school which earned him a scholarship to get into an even better setup. That's why I don't believe its genetic

You have a good point that these guys are doing better at under 19s lately, but what alarms me is how they dont improve with age, like most bats do.
Campbell for example was useless a few year back and wasnt even food enough for under 19s and now hes one of our best. Ervine was in and out until his thirties. Williams had that reputation of not being able to turn 50s into 100s in his 20s and now look at him. Raza is IPL level now but was also a bit part cricketer.

Whereas the African guys always seem to stagnate or go backward after showing promise. Hamilton was looking like a world class player before his 20th birthday, then went a decade of being in and out of the team. Didnt make the WC 2011 squad even. Wes is a perfect example today. Even Muyeye hasnt kicked on yet and he was smashing school records in england.

[Googly]

Personally I think fathers, uncles and brothers play the most significant role. Most good batters come from a cricketing family, for me that's THE fundamental difference. As I stated earlier there are always exceptions to the rule, but this is the big one.
The next big one is the coach. The good guys have had a coach that spends hours, days and years bringing a good player along, working on the strengths and weaknesses and understanding the kid's game and what to work on and how to work on it. Personal one on one time for years. Black kids generally don't get that. If they do it's often from someone that doesn't understand the nuances of the game and how to coach that particular individual, because everyone is different. They'll pitch up to a group environment and won't usually get the necessary personalised attention that you need. Three personal one on one practices a week is merely maintenance. That's the golden rule, you need more to be excellent. Who gets that here as a schoolboy? Nobody now, that era is finished. Amongst the seniors who does that?
Thirdly you have to find a kid that's motivated to do that. They need a hero from their national team and they need to want to play for that team and get rich and famous. How many of those boxes do we tick? None, zero, zilch, zip.

A guy like Muyeye who got some personal attention from Tinker at high school would have been even better than he is if he'd got that at junior school and even better again if he'd had an old man or uncle that was fully involved from day 1.
Incidentally he would have gotten nowhere in Zim because ZC studiously ignored every good black player that Tinker identified and coached. In UK he's got opportunites because he's black not in spite of it. They're just as desperate for a black batting superstar and yet with their money and facilites theyre also coming up short. He only needs a couple of really good innings and he's in the team and he's currently not doing it. They've broken a bunch of rules for him so far as well.
ZC don't care who they burn to follow their destructive agenda. It doesn't matter how poorly we do, the magic fairy keeps sending more and more money.

We're suddenly a bit more results oriented because we can't make a world cup unless we host it, but if you slam the stable door closed after the horse has bolted....They're still not getting it, Rhodies are still to blame, it's just ridiculous. They perceived whites to be the problem. Well yes and no, mostly no. They're mostly gone and we've collapsed, and we have absolutely collapsed, they just don't see it. They don't think whites are part of the solution either despite having had 25 years to produce their own. Obstinacy and racism has put us in that final spiral down the plug hole. 2027 tick tock. Our last world cup by default and then we're in Mozambique territory. Better to be king of the dungheap though.

[zimfan1]

To prove your point, I didn't know that Brian Bennett is the nephew of Brian Murphy. Just saw it on twitter.

[Kriterion_BD]

Its a culture thing first and foremost.

Being good at anything and cricket is no exception requires being immersed in a culture of it.

The white guys come from a much richer culture of cricket vs the black guys.

[TapsC2]

Its a culture thing first and foremost.

Being good at anything and cricket is no exception requires being immersed in a culture of it.

The white guys come from a much richer culture of cricket vs the black guys.

It has changed. It will show sooner rather than later but I have been in those big crowds at HSC. They know their stuff. Professional sport is not as easy as people think. That's why they are rewarded that much. There is absolutely no difference. In fact a lot of these former players kids will be something. Just watch this space. Just because it was done first by a different race doesn't mean it can't be replicated.

[Googly]

Who's well rewarded here, Taps?

Any former player who's kid so much as looks at a cricket bat I'm sure gets soundly thrashed and told to go and do their homework. Maybe half a dozen players just make a living here.
The black community don't want to be copying the whites, they need to go full Asian, that's the formula for success.

[aydee]

Its a culture thing first and foremost.

Being good at anything and cricket is no exception requires being immersed in a culture of it.

The white guys come from a much richer culture of cricket vs the black guys.

It has changed. It will show sooner rather than later but I have been in those big crowds at HSC. They know their stuff. Professional sport is not as easy as people think. That's why they are rewarded that much. There is absolutely no difference. In fact a lot of these former players kids will be something. Just watch this space. Just because it was done first by a different race doesn't mean it can't be replicated.

100%

Family culture like that takes at least an entire generation. Masakadza's generation didn't have elders who knew the game at all, let alone had it in their blood. But the kids of that generation will to an increasing extent.

[Pat_Bee]

Crazy test match hey. Bazball batting, sloppy catching, absolute road and Benny boy with a ton and 5-fer. The local fans complaining about the lovely old manual scoreboard saying Smith would have sorted a digital one was the highlight though

[zimbos_05]

Funnily enough, Afghanistan have benefited from the Taliban being in a control. They don't train in their country where they obviously have no infrastructure. So they get to train in world class facilities in UAE and India. They get access to top coaches and infrastructure. BCCI have invested millions in them. Their players only ever play in leagues outside of Afghanistan.

Our players have had their infrastructure destroyed. When people have tried to set up academies, TM and Bvute close them down because they don't have control.

We can't let them overtake us. We know that the ZANU faction are stealing the money, so there is no reason why they cannot invest in all the things that we need to have the facilities and infrastructure to compete. We really should not be allowing Afghanistan to compete with us like they do.

[Kriterion_BD]

We really should not be allowing Afghanistan to compete with us like they do.

To be honest, they don’t. Afghanistan have left Zimbabwe in the dust. The last “competitive” series between the two was probably in 2017 or 2018, and they’ve never lost a series - in any format - to Zimbabwe.