I have always maintained that ZIM have almost always only won whenever the openers/top order have done well. Hence the likes of Hami, Vusi, Matsi, Chakabva, Craig, Mutizwa and Vermeulen having great averages, despite very low or no Not Outs.
Even the previous generation with the likes of Campbell, Grant, Johnson, Goodwin and Wishart.
If Sean Williams' impact was really that great he would have the Strike Rates of Chigumbura and Blignaut to show that he really made the difference, but he doesn't, and his average is not even as good as theirs. Further to that, his modest strike rate is not accompanied by an average as good as Raza or Streak either, who have a similar one to his.
Essentially, in order for Williams the middle order batsman to have a semblance of having won matches regardless of the efficiency of those batting above him, he needed to have a semblance of consistency, which is what the great Andy Flower, Tatenda Taibu and Brendan Taylor showed.
Otherwise, he is comparable to a Doug Marillier(who opened too, and never had the luxury of HK, CAN, UAE & SCO), and less than a Matsi who at least batted in the top 3. Sean's 12 Not Outs severely inflate his stats as his AVG and SR show ZIM were most likely to win the match anyway (difficulty - smart stats).
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Matches Won in Series or Tournaments of 3+ Matches
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- ZIM Matchwinners in Series of over 3 matches.
- MOTM_ZIM_50+.png (88.21 KiB) Viewed 2069 times
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With the other Sean vs Guy thread you would have noticed the figures above, and tried to use that to say what about Guy? No doubt Taibu would have topped this 40+ chart below by an incredible distance had he not gone on assylum or retired prematurely, but there is not doubting that these true matchwinners were part of the most number of wins. Guy simply won more matches, against proper opposition. Even with the ball, Hami has won as many matches as Sean for ZIM with his bowling(Elton more).
Batting wise, Sean reminds me of a very poor man's Upula Tharanga(although he opened and could face seamers). Great to watch on occasion, does well against lesser sides/attacks and in inconsequential games. On the surface you will struggle to ignore them among the best players. But dare to look closer?
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Best Ever
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- ZIM Best ever ODIs
- MOTM_ZIM_Peerless.png (11.14 KiB) Viewed 2069 times
NB: In
bowling you can expect the likes of Paul Strang, Heath, Utseya, Price and Cremer, along with the alleounders Grant and Guy to be there at the very top 30+. As would Olonga, Hondo, Brandes, Blignaut and Raiinsford had they played more, just like Taibu.
Voice of reason.
