Source: http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/index.php?o ... RCz3Ohzo19
After having spent most of his coaching career in the shadows, the time may finally come for veteran gaffer Steven Mangongo to take the reigns of the Zimbabwe national team and hopefully lead the side to greener pastures. However, the nation together with the lead contenders Mangongo, Heath Streak, Andrew Waller and Grant Flower will have to wait a while before Zimbabwe Cricket announce the name of the new gaffer.
Out-going coach Allan Butcher’s current contract ends when he takes Zimbabwe to the Caribbean for a date against the West Indies in a two-Test, three-ODI and two-Twenty20 tour.
Mangongo is expected to be the busiest of the four favourites, given the domestic league has just hit the home stretch and he still has to contend with the domestic T20 final, the Stanbic Twenty20 competition and, hopefully, resurrect a dismal Logan Cup campaign with his franchise, Mashonaland Eagles.
Our Deputy Sports Editor, Tinashe Kusema (TK), caught up with the Eagles mentor, Steven Mangongo (SM), for a brief chat during which they touched on Zimbabwe’s preparation for the West Indies tour, his thoughts on the team that begins camp tomorrow, and the soon-to-be-vacant coaching post.
TK: Firstly, lets talk about the tour to the Caribbean. Zimbabwe goes into camp tomorrow with a couple of new faces and some notable omissions, so the question is are you satisfied with the team that you have?
SM: Obviously the selectors put a lot of thought into the team that will tour West Indies, such that they had to make two sides for the Test matches and the shorter version games. I have total confidence in both the selectors and the players they chose for us.
TK: Okay. Looking at the team itself, why were the likes of Brian Vitori and Charles Coventry omitted from the squad and what is Timcem Maruma doing there?
SM: I personally believe that the omission of Vitori is the biggest surprise in the squad. Here we have a youngster who burst onto the scene on debut, took five wickets and put his name in the record books.
He remains one of the finest young talents we have in the country but the fact that he has not really lived up to his potential in franchise cricket this season may have led to him being dropped. He, however, remains a great find and provided he works hard and improves his domestic stats, he still has a bright future ahead of him and many other tours to play.
TK: What about Coventry and Maruma?
SM: Coventry has had a decent season but he has been out of international cricket for some time. I think this issue needs to be made very clear, he gave himself this so-called sabbatical from international cricket and, to me, it is his commitment that is now being questioned.
One cannot simply walk in and out of the national team willy nilly, especially in a professional set-up like this one. You risk sending the wrong message to the other guys who have been working hard for their time.
He simply needs to put more good games under his belt then and maybe then we will see him in national team colours again.
When it comes to Maruma, one cannot deny the young man’s talent and given he has been waiting in the shadows for a long time, I feel the selectors believe his time to show the world what he can do has finally come.
TK: Are you not worried that these changes may affect the team, as we have left some very talented and experienced players?
SM: A lot of thought was put into assembling this team and I think the selectors should be commanded for their bravery and vision.
Instead of always opting for experience, like we have done over the past couple of years, they went for depth.
The team is evenly balanced as we have both experience and youth in the squad. We cannot continue to test new young players at World Cups and the fact we have two years before our next big World Cup and a very heavy schedule this year, the time was ripe for the likes of Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai Mushangwe and Maruma to be thrown in there. We haven’t been winning games anyway, so you might as well look at trying to create depth in your squad.
TK: What is your game plan for the Caribbean?
SM: Obviously, West Indies are a very strong team and it’s going to be difficult playing them in their own backyard.
They have some internationally recognised players in Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle among others and we’re aware of that, we expect a very tough series too. That said, this is international sport and there is no such thing as an easy assignment.
It’s up to us to step up to the plate and go there not only to compete but also win. Our bowling is by far our best department with guys like Kyle Jarvis and Chris Mpofu doing wonders with the new ball, so we aim to improve the batting department so as to give the bowlers something to bowl at. We have been monitoring and working with our top-order and although progress is slow and steady we are getting there. The game plan is basically to perform the basics, improve on our technique and give ourselves a fair chance.
TK: Now, if we may confront the elephant in the room, so to speak. Information gathered has that the preliminary process for the coaching post is just about finished and when we spoke last week, you seemed very confident of landing the job. Are you still just as confident now as you were then, now that everything has sunk in?
SM: I am a very confident person by nature and to answer your question, yes, I am still just as confident of landing the job.
Simply put, I have done my time in the trenches, coached all the age-groups right up to the Zimbabwe A, where I was very successful and have a very sound knowledge of all the players.
It only makes sense that I should now want to coach the national team. I believe I am the best man for the job.
TK: Provided you do get the job, what can we expect from you?
SM: Zimbabwe cricket is not very far off international standards but what is needed is the improvement in work ethic and sense of responsibility from every player. Once we get that up to speed, we will be in a better place.
TK: There are obstacles you or anyone else who gets this job is likely to face and these obstacles have been a bone of contention for previous coaches. Things like the standard of our local cricket, which some believe is not really a good barometer to judge national team material, structures where players no longer go through the proper channels, namely age- group level cricket, Academy and Zim A, before they are even considered for the national team. How do you plan to combat some of these issues?
SM: I believe Zimbabwe Cricket has put in a fantastic programme and, to me, that is the most basic set-up you want. Zim A will be revived and I hear a couple of tours have already been lined up or are in the process of being done.
That team can be used to assess out-of-form and promising players, so that is not an issue.
Also, what I do recommend is that we revamp our franchise cricket. Take the tour to the West Indies coming up; we already know our batsman are going to come across very fast bowlers, people who average 140-145km/hour week in and week out, but here we only have one or two in Jarvis and maybe Vitori, the rest are medium pacers.
So what we can do is invite more internationals into our domestic league, and here I lean towards fast bowlers, so we can get accustomed to these kind of speeds everyday.
The South Africans did that soon after apartheid where they invited retiring fast English bowlers and West Indians. We can follow suit and the standards will certainly improve. This year, we have a very loaded schedule and it will show results as I aim to centre on consistency rather than a chop-and-drop mentality.
Players need time and patience to prove themselves and I think something like eight innings should suffice.
TK: Thank you for your time and good luck in your future endeavours.
SM: You’re welcome.
Mangongo is canvassing. Just like that illiterate dude, this is a personal non-verifiable witness account.
The only difference is Zim are #10, so they can't justify it.