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he has been making runs consistenly at first class level and has also captained the national side. personally i think he should be opening for our odi team with masakadza struggling and taylor being a right hander it would create a left and right hand opening stand with taylot creaming boundaries and duffin playing straight and olding up a end. yes masakdza and taylor have sucha good record but i think duffin is the man and would do very well at the top more so soild that dominating. masakadza could bat 3 incase of a early wicket seeing as he is used to opening. does anyone agree with me or disagree ? give me your thoughts

I think Duffin is a good opening option for test cricket. I think his strike rate is just too low for ODI cricket however. Plus I seem to recall he isn't the world's most athletic fielder. But for test cricket I think he could be Zimbabwe's version of Mark Richardson - the legendary New Zealand opener.

Test Cricket....nothing else.
He's got a very solid technique has duffin, but his shot making isn't too expansive.
I'd much prefer to have Mazakadza as Taylors opening partner...

sloandog wrote:Test Cricket....nothing else.
He's got a very solid technique has duffin, but his shot making isn't too expansive.
I'd much prefer to have Mazakadza as Taylors opening partner...

i recon he would do a much better job than what most people think . yes hes not flashy or a game breaker but he has a level head and a lot of determination soemthing our top order lacks , we have taylor our classy star batter (no heart or desire) then taibu so much talent but throws his wicket away , williams has the abilitly to be a world class batter but shits himself and has no self belief then theres craig ervine who is slowly developing nto a reliable steady headed bevan type of player which is looking good. DUFFIN could be the guy with experience , age and level head to bat the whole 50 overs and score what maybe 80 runs but have partnerships through the whole innings and guide the middle order, he could also take the shine off the new ball and not expose te middle order when we are 2 for 10 like usual. hes also a very good player of spin unlike most of the team. i seriously rate this guy and yes hes a test player but i thibk hes the sorta player our odi team is missing . prove me wrong once selected but i feel we needd this sorta job. like what katich used to do with gilly at the top of the order.

Openers should be Ballance +Mawayo, with Hammie at 3 and Taylor 4. One of Sibanda/Williams/C.Ervine/Mutizwa at 5, Taibu at 6, S.Ervine at 7 and Chigs at 8. 3 Bowlers at 9,10, jack. Simples.

Taylor or Hammie have not been opening regularly in 1st Class cricket for many years (I know Taylor has a little this season). Ballance and Mawayo have more talent and are younger than Duffin.

However we do need Ballance to commit.

Robin wrote:Openers should be Ballance +Mawayo, with Hammie at 3 and Taylor 4. One of Sibanda/Williams/C.Ervine/Mutizwa at 5, Taibu at 6, S.Ervine at 7 and Chigs at 8. 3 Bowlers at 9,10, jack. Simples.

Taylor or Hammie have not been opening regularly in 1st Class cricket for many years (I know Taylor has a little this season). Ballance and Mawayo have more talent and are younger than Duffin.

However we do need Ballance to commit.

nah robin ur wrong mate , yes ballance would be nice but we cant pick him at the moment and taylor has made ore runs ever since opening including 145 not out against south africa ... why would u want him at 4? thats taibu , ervine , williams ect job. hammy isnt in the team at the monet either thats why i said duffin at the top it makes more sense. mawayo is a talent but i would rather duffin because at te world cup u cant just chuck youngsters in like that , you need experience. taylor has to stay as a opener and its quiet obvious , think it threw next time

Does Gary Ballance even want to play for Zimbabwe though...

sloandog wrote:Does Gary Ballance even want to play for Zimbabwe though...

he hasnt made it clear yet i hope he does he is a real talent and would be very claassy top order batsman in all forms of the game. looks like ervine will make a comeback then imagine ballance, cameron and ireland all came back thet depth to choose from would be as good as ever . i dont like to think into to much because it always gets u down

if Gary B hasnt made it clear either way it can only be a good/decent sign that he DOES.

it means its on his mind and hes weighing sh*t up.

the other person to do this recently is Craigs big brother Sean...and you saw which way that pendulum swung. Whether Sean is back or not, its obviously its his intention that he wants too.


Sean also strikes me as more of a glitz and glamour city boy. The fact that he is back (if my assumptions true) after being like this shows his deep love of Zim and his baby brother.


God that craig selection nearly a year ago was a masterstroke on so many levels.