No longer blessed

[TapsC]

Don't really have a comment about everything but the rising stars in England point is true whether we like it or not. Blessing is black with no British ancestry and he was poached imagine we by some miracle find a white kid with British grand parents(like a lot of white Zimbabweans have) playing like Graeme Hick. What do you think would happen if he gets to smash county 2nds all over the park with ZC nowhere to be found?

Any really special talent will ALWAYS be poached because we are a very cheap option. Blessing is clearly a cheap option. He was a warning shot for us to move far away from the UK. I would rather move it to SA. Thats our safest bet or India where nobody will have some kind of genetic link.

Its also not just about the money. A kid from a poor background who has probably never even travelled within Zimbabwe is now seeing the luxuries of the first world and a functional economy. A chance to get away from dozens of relatives who will probably be begging him for half of what ZC offers him. Its not just about the money. Its a mental thing. There are many factors to his decision that people might not see.

Finally factor in exchange rates and black market rates and you will see that a £3000/month contract in the UK is worth a $7000/month ZC contract. Knowing Mukuhlani and co I doubt they offered him more than $5000/month which is worth a £2300/month county contract. My suspicion is they probably offered him around $3000/month which in reality is worth a £1300/month county contract which im sure even the worst county could offer

[NickG]

He’s alreasy shown he would rather have KFC vouchers tha strike with his teammates so the future Of ZC was more prosperous.

I doubt 5 counties were in a bidding war, 5 probably showed interest and one or two made an offer.

Besides, let’s just say all 5 wanted him, it’s silly to say that Northants couldn’t have won that race because maybe they wanted him more. 4 other counties may have offered minimum wage and 2 years and northants offer 3 years and a slick sales pitch. Or slightly more dollars.

They aren’t in a bidding war for Glenn Maxwell here, but a no name Zimbabwean who gets some bounce.

And now it's KFC vouchers...more disrespect. He didn't even have a contract to strike against. Once again you miss the point. The ONLY reason BM has even sought a career in England is due to ZC not getting their house in order.

And given your view of the player as a no-name Zimbabwean, doesn't that kind of back up my point (which is based on fact) that there was not a queue of counties lining up for him. The only offer was Northants and he took it.

1. Your point about ZC not having their house in order is not a conflicting point and it feeds into MY point. If he was offered good money (as opposed to a Zinger fillet and chips) to stay it may have made some sense not to strike, Would still lack courage on his part but at least ther would be a n inner conflict thats understandable.All the more reason he should have striked with the pseudorebels. He was affected too. Unlike the others, HE HAD A CONTRACT IN THE WINGS. Given that, he overlooked a good opportunity to have his say and point made, even then he chose not too. WEAK!

2. Your point is NOT based on fact its based on your own logical deduction. However I'm getting the impression that you think there would have been a huge bidding war. It probably went like this; Counties 1 and 2 said 'you have talent, come see us at the end of the season and maybe we might look at you'. County 3 said 'hey man you got some talent, youre on our radar, keep up the good work!'. County 4 said 'Lets give you a shot, heres a bare minimum starter contract, no guarantee of a bowl but your opportunity is here'. County 5, Northants, probably said 'We also want to give you a shot! Here's a modest contract, KFC AND Popeyes voucher, and we believe in you, we are a young team finding our way and we think you have it in you to be a superstar! You will get a genuine shot to bowl in counties I promised and we will help out with finding you a place to stay'.

He took 5 for an obvious reason. Even if Counties 1,2 and 3 both mirrored county 4. He wont give a fuck where Northants finished on the ladder last year. He got some love from Northants and thats good enough.

Players go to a multitude of teams for various reasons and teams recruitment strategies vary alot too. Some teams do the roosters thing, others play moneyball, othwers like to gamble on young cheap talent, others have an impressive sales pitch. We cant know what the hook was.

To say 'why would he choose Northants unless he had no other options' is so ignorant of Sports adminstration. There are so many factors to consider and some we dont even know about.

Either way, although good for Blessing and the players individually, it was dummmbbbbbbb having the Rising Stars based in England from a ZC perspective. They have allowed a situation where 1,2,10,25 counties and clubs can talk and build relationships with the players. Players to get English GFs, find sponsored work, whatever. It was driven from Taibu's selfish reason of living in the UK himself (this further entices players to emulate him). I like Taibu but this was a ZC tactical error.

The funniest part is Zimbabweans dont even play England in tests by political (dis)agreement.

I think I disagree with virtually everything you say...

Pray tell me where an academy can go to get competitive cricket out of season? Only option is England, where the head of the academy was based. It's not dumb, it's the best option and some would say only option.

The thought that English counties are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of touring academy sides from ZImbabwe, ready to pick off the cream of the crop for their playing staff, is frankly ludicrous. The perception of cricket in Zimbabwe from a UK perspective is that the standard is shit, and the players are shit. It is very difficult to get even a club deal for a Zim player. Clubs will go for an Indian player they have never heard of, or an untried Aussie kid, because they don't rate Zimbabwe/Zimbabweans at all. This is not based on anything other than my own experience in this field.

And Blessing only had one concrete offer - I know this for a fact because I know the people involved. Everything you say is pure supposition. What I also know for a fact is that he had a verbal offer from another county as their overseas player. He turned this down to take a Kolpak deal, which kind of shows just how much to blame ZC is in all of this.

[ZIMDOGGY]

Don't really have a comment about everything but the rising stars in England point is true whether we like it or not. Blessing is black with no British ancestry and he was poached imagine we by some miracle find a white kid with British grand parents(like a lot of white Zimbabweans have) playing like Graeme Hick. What do you think would happen if he gets to smash county 2nds all over the park with ZC nowhere to be found?

Any really special talent will ALWAYS be poached because we are a very cheap option. Blessing is clearly a cheap option. He was a warning shot for us to move far away from the UK. I would rather move it to SA. Thats our safest bet or India where nobody will have some kind of genetic link.

Its also not just about the money. A kid from a poor background who has probably never even travelled within Zimbabwe is now seeing the luxuries of the first world and a functional economy. A chance to get away from dozens of relatives who will probably be begging him for half of what ZC offers him. Its not just about the money. Its a mental thing. There are many factors to his decision that people might not see.

Finally factor in exchange rates and black market rates and you will see that a £3000/month contract in the UK is worth a $7000/month ZC contract. Knowing Mukuhlani and co I doubt they offered him more than $5000/month which is worth a £2300/month county contract. My suspicion is they probably offered him around $3000/month which in reality is worth a £1300/month county contract which im sure even the worst county could offer

Thankyou, you get it 100%.

[TapsC]

I saw on the Northants twitter page that Blessing has been officially signed but they say from 2019. So why exactly cant he play for us until next year?

This makes his announcement that he quit international cricket a bit ill-advised. How is he going to make a living until then? UK visa rules are qyute strict too. I doubt the can just spend the whole year there.

Sidenote: I have always wondered what tier visa Taibu is on in the UK

[Googly]

A surprising number get in on religious grounds, and he is a pastor. I’d say he probably has a passport by now.

[NickG]

Don't really have a comment about everything but the rising stars in England point is true whether we like it or not. Blessing is black with no British ancestry and he was poached imagine we by some miracle find a white kid with British grand parents(like a lot of white Zimbabweans have) playing like Graeme Hick. What do you think would happen if he gets to smash county 2nds all over the park with ZC nowhere to be found?

Any really special talent will ALWAYS be poached because we are a very cheap option. Blessing is clearly a cheap option. He was a warning shot for us to move far away from the UK. I would rather move it to SA. Thats our safest bet or India where nobody will have some kind of genetic link.

Its also not just about the money. A kid from a poor background who has probably never even travelled within Zimbabwe is now seeing the luxuries of the first world and a functional economy. A chance to get away from dozens of relatives who will probably be begging him for half of what ZC offers him. Its not just about the money. Its a mental thing. There are many factors to his decision that people might not see.

Finally factor in exchange rates and black market rates and you will see that a £3000/month contract in the UK is worth a $7000/month ZC contract. Knowing Mukuhlani and co I doubt they offered him more than $5000/month which is worth a £2300/month county contract. My suspicion is they probably offered him around $3000/month which in reality is worth a £1300/month county contract which im sure even the worst county could offer

Thankyou, you get it 100%.

No real point in even arguing the Rising Stars point. It's finished.

[Googly]

Well if ICC are going to play a more active role in resurrecting our cricket we do need an Academy. I know we’ve argued about the cost of the RS, well I heard from a very credible source that TT was given $200k for the RS. How much of that went into the pot I guess you will know.

There must be plans for an Academy and I’d suggest Bvute is probably positioning himself well at Country Club because it’s got fantastic nets, an indoor and a beautiful ground. The problem is games- even if they make room for them in our FC it’s nowhere near enough (hence our shit standard of FC)
That RS was a good initiative and exposed the players to a different world and a helluva lot of games.
I saw a promotional video posted by AC and his academy is advertising experiences outside of cricket, like game viewing and bungee jumping, so I would guess he’s shooting for an overseas market and may mean that he’s not a part of the Bvute set up.
I don’t see too many local takers because of the entry price, but he may well be in line for money from ZC for players they pick to attend.

[Googly]

There’s a shortage of quality personnel to coach at any academy here. I don’t see Campbell being personally involved at a coaching level so he’s not spoilt for choice here. The best guy is Brent, whom ZC inexplicably want very little to do with and he has much to offer. You don’t want to be advertising an academy and not be able to provide at least one or two level three coaches with actual international playing experience. Our cupboard is bare. If AC is shooting for international students I think he will struggle. Firstly because all the good guys go to the Lehman or Kirsten academies that are world renowned and secondly I think you need a big name coach to woo them.
Anyway it’s interesting and ICC/ZC should shortly be revealing some of their plans.

[NickG]

Well if ICC are going to play a more active role in resurrecting our cricket we do need an Academy. I know we’ve argued about the cost of the RS, well I heard from a very credible source that TT was given $200k for the RS. How much of that went into the pot I guess you will know.

There must be plans for an Academy and I’d suggest Bvute is probably positioning himself well at Country Club because it’s got fantastic nets, an indoor and a beautiful ground. The problem is games- even if they make room for them in our FC it’s nowhere near enough (hence our shit standard of FC)
That RS was a good initiative and exposed the players to a different world and a helluva lot of games.
I saw a promotional video posted by AC and his academy is advertising experiences outside of cricket, like game viewing and bungee jumping, so I would guess he’s shooting for an overseas market and may mean that he’s not a part of the Bvute set up.
I don’t see too many local takers because of the entry price, but he may well be in line for money from ZC for players they pick to attend.

Your source is incorrect, it was less than half that amount.