Test Opening options

[jaybro]

I love it how Hhm would like to disregard Ervine's centuries due to them being played on the flattest track ever whilst hailing the brilliance of Hami & Regis who scored their runs on very batsman friendly pitches in Bangladesh. Remember pretty much every Bangladesh batsman scored a 100 that series and they were up against 'The Great Tinashe Panyangara'.

Also Hhm likes to disregard Williams century against NZ which was 12 months ago but keeps referring back to Hami & Regis great away stats even though neither player has past 50 in almost 3 years in test cricket !!!

In the last 12 months of test cricket it's been Ervine, Williams & PJ Moor passing 50 on more than 1 occasion.

[eugene]

Ervine is our best batsman at the moment by far. He is consistent, and performs well both at home and away. Also, there is no such thing as a weak NZ bowling attack. NZ at the moment has a factory of world-class pace bowlers.

[Jemisi]

In his last three series he has made a fifty or a century (and big hundreds too) every 2nd innings. Not consistent enough? What mystifies me about you Hhm is your desire to undermine some of your halfway decent thinking with random threads of one-eyed nonsense. You think Regis will surpass him? It would be lovely for Zim if he did because Ervine is actually heading somewhere.

It's very debatable if Craig should even have had another go at a Test career remember?

But credit to him because he's come back and done well. Plus he did face Boult and Southee. But one can't ignore the fact that NZ in Bulawayo, and SL in Colombo were actually the flatest, most lifeless pitches in Zimbawe's Test history since 1992. Everyone here will also tell you that Harare pitch was probably the worst it has ever been in 20 years.

Initially Craig failed badly as a low middle order batsman and was dropped from the Test squad twice in that period. That's very bad considering the kinds of platforms he got at times and the generous batting positions he was in for a "senior". Problem is Craig is already 32 years old, his Test career of "heading somwhere" as you put it is just 12 months old, thrives only in dead pitches, and has just one score over 50 in 12 innings overseas in his Test career! It's not for no reason that guys here doubted him ahead of that Test in SL.

Regis Chakabva should never have been dropped from the Test side. He proved in NZ and BD that he is genuine Test material, and has also done so for ZIM A/XI and in the domestic FC competition. Serious questions should be asked as to how that even happened because he was a captaincy option plus touted as such by a number of people for the future. Yet he has played just 10 matches and been horribly messed around a lot. Mutumbami and Moor could never be in his class in several lifetimes of trying - but have played 6 and 4 tests respectively. I can tell you now without batting an eyelid that 5 years ago Regis could have moved to South Africa and easily made it into one of the franchises and been selected for the Proteas - those two rejected by even Ireland.

In terms of succession planning Regis Chakabva is ZImbabwe's future as far as Test cricket is concerned. If Zimbabwe was a sane cricket nation, those in charge would have long realised that and built the team around him. Right now - whether bowler, bastman or keeper - no other player comes remotely close to him as a certain Test XI, except 26 year old injury-ridden Chatara.

Bolding and colour coding does not help when trying to explain away test runs. Like emojis it doesn't improve your faulty reasoning. Regis is young enough to improve and even surpass Ervine. If and when he does we will all celebrate and cheer his 170* in Ireland and we won't try to explain it away. We will include it amongst his failures and his starts and his fifties and look at the impact it has had on his average as a test player.

Rather than an essay trying to defend some foolish throw away remarks about Ervine, why not just concede that you erred? It wins more respect than a bunch of stuff asserting things about Regis. Have I said Richmond or Moor was better than him? No. He has 15 career tons to 4 and his keeping is at least their equal. Regis can claim to have earned a spot. That is not a point of disagreement. But being upset about Regis being mucked around doesn't mean using ridiculous arguments about our top test batsman of the past year is helpful to your case. It just undermines anything valuable you might have been saying in Regis' defence.

I don't mean to patronise too much. I genuinely would like to see the quality of your writing improve. Your throw away dissing of blokes always diminishes your arguments. I read along and think, "Oh! Hhm is making a thoughtful contribution...oh wait..."

[eugene]

Pariah really has some good points, too bad he is hell-bent on negating the achievements of some of our best performers. No one here is protesting Chakabva's place in the team or as our best keeper, I am really not sure who he is arguing with.

[TapsC]

Funny how we are talking about Ervine getting close to a 40+ average first when he is almost averaging 38 yet Raza averages 39.4! Both are class players and with our next 3 opponents probably being the 2 new full members and the West Indies, I'm backing both of them to cross that 40 mark. Williams on the other hand has dropped below 30 to 29.1 which is slightly above Hami on 28.4

[pariah]

I take it the thread has been settled then?

Craig and Raza to open in Tests?

That's unanimous right?

[ZIMDOGGY]

I'm not fussed who opens as long as it's between Regis, hami, chamu, tino, mire and musakanda.

[jaybro]

I take it the thread has been settled then?

Craig and Raza to open in Tests?

That's unanimous right?

Anyone as long as they're not black right ?

[pariah]

I'm not fussed who opens as long as it's between Regis, hami, chamu, tino, mire and musakanda.

You may not realise but you actually speak for over 90% of the guys here...and it doesn't have to based on anything really and you have to be highly commended for that

[Conant]

I'm not fussed who opens as long as it's between Regis, hami, chamu, tino, mire and musakanda.

Why is there no white face there? Pariah?