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Ervine's catch was spectacular. Surely it will go down as one of the highlights of the tournament.

I reckon keep an unchanged XI for the UAE game. Both Williams and Mire should be fine as frontline bowlers against UAE batsmen, and by stocking up on batsmen we mitigate the risk of any hiccups (like how Chigumbura destroyed them in the World Twenty20 after a few wickets fell, if I recall correctly) and potentially get a NRR boost.

Disappointed we didn't see SA off after dominating for about 70% of the game. Having said that, what a change Dav Whatmore has made in squad. A few months ago, at home or away, these very same guys struggled to put 200 on the board so there are lots of promises when you can post 270 vs 1of the top attacks in the tournament.

Chasing 340 vs SA was always going to be tough but we probably lost the game between 5 and 7, Ervine, Williams and Chigs needed to contribute a little bit more than sub 15 scores. Hopefully they'll tee off in the UAE match and get us some momentum for the bigger games.

Bowling wise, we are very thin and this strategy of playing 8 batsman calls for a team to be more resourceful which is not something unfamiliar to us. I would stick to the same XI for UAE

Death bowling is a real problem for us and has been for a while neither Chatara or Panga are suited to bowling at the end, you would have thought Mire would have been better considering he is t29 specialist although maybe it's more for his batting ......

I can't really remember anyone post rebel era of being a good death bowler, I think Bobby Mpofu and Ed Rainsford were decent ?

Chibhabha impressed me today he really looks solid against the quicks but still hasn't improved much against the spinners although he hit a few nice boundaries off them today ......

Hami looks in golden form watching him dismantle Steyn with ease was the highlight for me ......

Kamungozi also impressed me hopefully he continues to improve ......

I disagree about promoting Mire or Chigs the ploy of chasing and leaving these guys to the end to finish it off is designed exactly for that reason to have these guys there at the end, the fact is the plan almost worked we just lost our way in the power play ......

Considering the opposition and the expectation from literally everyone, it is not a bad result. The margin makes it look much worse. But some pointers...

1) Was amazing to see so much support in the stadium. Its clear Zim cricket is dear to so many, and still many peoples second team. Our administration needs to remember this and stop being so selfish. They ruin it for everyone.

2) Good start by the bowlers. Decent line and length. Need to work on our wides. Gave away too many of those. But now, the bowlers need to learn how to deal with the death bowling. Getting it in the block hole. Finding the right lengths when needed and mixing it up when the batsmen are going good. Trying to create a chance when nothing is happening.

3)Field placings was very disappointing. We had them on the rope, and rather than continue the pressure we allowed JP and Miller to get themselves in and build a partnership. We brought in the spinners, mid on and mid off went back, and all the fielders in the circle were standing on the circle line. We did not put any pressure on them. We were afraid to concede boundaries that they just worked ones and twos to get that run rate up to 5 p/o and get to easy fifties and build a partnership. We should have brought some guys in. Put the pressure on and forced them to do something drastic. Very disappointed with that from Elton.

4) Bowling changes. Knowing which bowlers to use. Hammy looked good with his line and length on this pitch. Probably should have got more of a go. I think we had a pre set bowling line up from the get go and it just didnt really work.

On this performance, we should beat the likes of UAE and Ireland, but we need to maintain this and keep it going. We have a good platform, now we need to build on it. I wonder if 280 is our limit though. Always seems to be that we cant get past a certain total in events.

And Ervine. What a catch. Already in the top five in the tournament and currently the best.

Today for the first time in a long time, I saw the old Zimbabwean fighting spirit.
They look different now, presumably under Whatmore.

They had the fighting spirit of the 90s blended with a certain modern gusto of machismo I havent seen before.
They came to the table for the most part. If only the death bowling was right.

ZIMDOGGY wrote:Today for the first time in a long time, I saw the old Zimbabwean fighting spirit.
They look different now, presumably under Whatmore.

They had the fighting spirit of the 90s blended with a certain modern gusto of machismo I havent seen before.
They came to the table for the most part. If only the death bowling was right.

True.
And I loved the way Chibhabha, Masakadza and Mire attacked Steyn.
I've got a feeling we have what it takes to make it to the super eight this time

Bowling all those low full tosses really jammed us up. Lefties somehow deal with them so much better though. We did not disgrace ourselves though. It spoilt my day, I thought we were in with a real chance. Did you guys watch the Momentum Final? Pretty scary what batsmen SA left behind.

grant wrote:I've got a feeling we have what it takes to make it to the super eight this time

After that performance I couldn't agree more!

Need to work on the death bowling, everything else is fine. 146 runs conceded in the last 10 overs is what cost ZIM the game today.

I liked Whatmore's reaction it seemed to say come on this is not what we planned. which means there will be a lot of reminders in the dressing room. Kinder sets it up the the UAE game. Is Chigumbura untouchable maybe he could sit out the next game for Mupariwa. At list he guarantees 10 solid overs and can hold a bat a bit.