Some insights into Muzarabani Kolpak deal

[Googly]

Only he and his inner circle really know why he went the kolpak route as opposed to a national contract. I suspect he wants to secure residency in the UK and national cricket having precedence over county would mean he’d end up missing key county games which would not please them. Residency requirements are onerous and I don’t think he’d meet them if he was away for extended periods.
The big turnout for the qualifiers was a wonderful surprise for all of us. If we’d won that game HSC would have been a happy place. Free entry and 90% unemployment does help though. I’m not being facetious, I think it was an anomaly that we won’t see again. Our franchise games and other internationals we’ve had in the past, particularly tests, have record low attendances for a full member nation though.

[TapsC]

Another really frustrating thing. Didnt Elton play for the very same county as an overseas player?

If he wants to secure residency that means we have lost him for 5 years minimum. We might as well forget about him.

[Googly]

Yeah it looks that way. There are loopholes with marriage and such-like, but it’s not easy. ZC will think they’re ok in the bowling dept because our lads did well on bowler friendly decks and because Mavuta got good write ups. The test for him will be in Bangladesh, let’s hope he meets the big expectations now upon his shoulders. If he kills it he’ll be our next deserter
ZC are only there to survive for as long as possible with minimal direct cricket costs, not to turn this around.
Cricket has moved on to such a degree that were we able to wave a magic wand and have our best team from yesteryear suddenly playing for us I think we’d still be getting soundly roasted because all the other sides have improved so much. In Tests we might be ok, but the way the shorter formats are now played has really changed. We’ve been stuck in a 15 year time warp.

[sloandog]

I've met the guy, and he's arrogant. I think LJReily mentioned similar, when he played at Dukinield in the summer of 2016. I tried talking to him this summer gone and I was really just pied off by him when I tried to get a few words out of him. His teammates said he was an average bloke as well.
I understand the guy's come from a very humble background, but be humble about the way in which you carry yourself, especially when talking to the media. The way he said 'lets get one thing straight' sounds cocky to me, that he wanted to emphasize that ZC was never a long term option and he never had any intention of staying. He sounds ungrateful and his interview wasn't great at all; he's painted himself to be selfish, narrow minded and very short sited. I wish him well but I simply don't see him having the success he thinks he'll achieve.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Our franchise games and other internationals we’ve had in the past, particularly tests, have record low attendances for a full member nation though.

Domestic games everywhere get bugger all attendance. You'd be lucky to get a few dozen people at a Shield game here.

As for Tests, the attendances I've seen on TV for Zim games aren't atrocious by any means. Not saying they're great but Zim aren't alone:

Australia vs Pakistan in Dubai last week? NOBODY turned up.
Any Test match in the West Indies? Empty.
Even Sri Lankan home Tests can get pretty average turn outs.

[sloandog]

Dubai is embarrassing. They have that world class facility and can never ever fill it. It's weird because you can hear what the players are shouting without the use of the stump microphone, it's that empty and quiet. I guess it doesn't help that the stadium is built right in the middle of no mans land hey..
The wickets are always as flat as they come and the cricket is usually boring to watch unless you wait for the highlights package in the evening.

[eugene]

Yet back in the day Sharjah was host to some awesome cricket with great crowds.

[Kriterion_BD]

Dubai is embarrassing. They have that world class facility and can never ever fill it. It's weird because you can hear what the players are shouting without the use of the stump microphone, it's that empty and quiet. I guess it doesn't help that the stadium is built right in the middle of no mans land hey..
The wickets are always as flat as they come and the cricket is usually boring to watch unless you wait for the highlights package in the evening.

Asia Cup games were packed for all the Bangladesh matches. India and Pakistan also drew crowds and Afghanistan have generated massive crowds at Sharjah vs Zimbabwe. Apart from Sri Lanka, I think the other 4 Asian sides can fill UAE grounds for limited overs cricket.

[Kriterion_BD]

As for Musurabani, itss prolly just better to play the sour grapes game. He was an enciting talent and had some big moments in his short career. but I was a bit surprised to see his ODI bowling average was 40+ despite playing a good number of games against weak batting sides like Afghnaistan and Associates in the qualifiers.

[sloandog]

Dubai is embarrassing. They have that world class facility and can never ever fill it. It's weird because you can hear what the players are shouting without the use of the stump microphone, it's that empty and quiet. I guess it doesn't help that the stadium is built right in the middle of no mans land hey..
The wickets are always as flat as they come and the cricket is usually boring to watch unless you wait for the highlights package in the evening.

Asia Cup games were packed for all the Bangladesh matches. India and Pakistan also drew crowds and Afghanistan have generated massive crowds at Sharjah vs Zimbabwe. Apart from Sri Lanka, I think the other 4 Asian sides can fill UAE grounds for limited overs cricket.

It was regarding test cricket