zimbabwe vs pakistan

[Donald]

Apparently the Perth stadium has a lot of bounce, much more so than Hobart.

Do we drop Jongwe and maybe give brad Evans a chance??

Could even play and extra batsman and drop Chatara. ( Muyonga but deep at 8)

Thoughts???

[Mr Twig]

We will get to see Muzarabani shine.

But some of our batsmen against the extra pace and bounce are probably going to look like walking wickets out there. A really big test for the likes of Raza

Have to stick to the same side but Evans will probably come in for Ngarava.

[slcricfan1]

We will get to see Muzarabani shine.

But some of our batsmen against the extra pace and bounce are probably going to look like walking wickets out there.

Yeah, I`m pumped to watch Muzarabani here

[TapsC2]

As much as Chatara has been ok so far, I'm not so sure medium pace will work against the top 3 sides in this group. Rather go with Evans who can also bat. We need our number 9 to be able to last a few overs too.. I hope they make that switch. Ngarava is fine. He will play

[jaybro]

Yes despite cricket in Perth no longer being played at the famous WACA, the new cricket stadium Optus Stadium is quite quick & bouncy.

Yes Blessing & Ngarava should enjoy these conditions, but Pakistan have a much better pace attack than us, so our batsman will have their work cut out for them.

It’s times like this where we really miss BT, you just know if he were playing he be ramping (conventional ramp not Marillier type) over the keeper for 6s.

I really think the Zimbabwe guys need to adapt this shot, once the bowlers realise the batsman are countering the short ball they won’t bowl there anymore.

Hitting the ball over the keepers head is the safest place, other than the grand stands of course

[TapsC2]

Houghton was saying our target is to finish in the top 8 because you automatically qualify for the Super 12s next time. I think this is very achievable and should be our main target. We need 2 wins

[TapsC2]

And yes BT is greatly missed. I'm sure he is also kicking himself. He would have loved playing under Houghton with this philosophy. In fact that's how he had been playing for a while. What a loss.. for both parties..

[Kriterion_BD]

Houghton was saying our target is to finish in the top 8 because you automatically qualify for the Super 12s next time. I think this is very achievable and should be our main target. We need 2 wins

Is the top 4 from each group? Or will they combine both groups and then take the top 8? What if the 5th place team in one group has more wins/points than the 4th in the other group? The better team would miss out if they use the former method.

Afghanistan will very likely finish outside the top 4 in their group, and could thus be in the qualifers next time around.

Bottom line is its going to be very tight for all teams concerned.

[zimbos_05]

Optus Stadium has specifically been designed to try and match the WACA in terms of it's qualities. Hence, we will lots of bounce.

Pakistan definitely go into this with a more lethal attack. Not only do they get bounce, but they have serious pace.

Our guys may not be able to have the same pace, so a lot will come down to their line and length and how they vary that.

If Ngarava is out, Evans has to come in. Jongwe and Chatara are trundlers, but you want to try and extract as much of the bounce as you can early on, so you need that third seamer. I don't think we have anyone else in the wings who can do the role.

Our batsmen will need to be smart. We really really need to start playing with a straight bat. I don't want our guys adopting the ramp because they simply can't hit a ball down the ground properly. Get your basic shots right, then you can start adopting other fancy shots. Shumba attempts about 5 ramps an innings and 1 maybe comes off, the rest amount to a dot or a wicket.

Wasim Akram said it so well of Andy Flower. He never played into the short ball and instantly took that out of his and Waqars arsenal. He forced them to pitch up so that Andy could play on the front foot. Trying to ramp shots will do nothing. If anything it will encourage the Pakistan bowlers and then they will go for the head and our guys will try to smack it but will top edge and go out.

[tgk]

Ervine and Reggie opening are gonna have a fun time against Shaheen and co lmao. Hopefully we do better than I expect we'll do with the bat. Bowling though, Blessing and Ngarava with Evans coming in for Chatara would be us maximising our abilities imo. In any case I'm excited, we often give Pakistan a very tough time and Blessing has Babar in his back pocket