Match Thread: Afghanistan v Zimbabwe 1st Test (2nd-6th March)

[Mr Twig]

Yeah a great day overall. Would have been nice if the new guys were in the runs but Williams and Raza were fantastic getting us out of trouble.

I feel we really need a big 1st innings lead. Batting last on this pitch will be hard.

[ZIMDOGGY]

Any ideas in why PJ Moor was left out? A batsman with a test average north of 30 and not even in the squad. Seems odd. It's not like we have 7 or 8 batsmen averaging more than 45....

Injured, but even if he wasnt, hes been playing shit and doesnt deserve selection.
There has been speculation his heart isnt in it anymore.

[TapsC2]

I always felt a type of way when our guys were choosing Kolpak stints but if they all come back like Blessing then maybe 3 years in a mature system isn’t that bad after all. Even if you look at Madhevere, he only went to SA for 3 years.

[TapsC2]

Any ideas in why PJ Moor was left out? A batsman with a test average north of 30 and not even in the squad. Seems odd. It's not like we have 7 or 8 batsmen averaging more than 45....

Injured, but even if he wasnt, hes been playing shit and doesnt deserve selection.
There has been speculation his heart isnt in it anymore.

They are seriously loaded. He doesn’t need the stress if I’m being totally honest

[eugene]

Williams, Burl, Chakabva, and Tiripano all need to bat well tomorrow. A big first innings lead is crucial, I don't trust us batting second at all. Great to see Muzarabani doing well.

[sloandog]

Kazuza got an absolute peach, I watched that this morning before heading out.
Prince looked really scratchy and massively overweight for a test opener.
Tari looked wooden when batting but clearly has a lot of time against the pace bowlers. Needs to loosen his grip on the old willow when facing the spinners though
Tomorrow should be interesting. Burl looked good from what I saw and Williams has again shown why he's still arguably our joint number 1 batter.
He seems to be getting better with age and it's great to see. We need him around for another 3 years at least

[ZIMDOGGY]

Kazuza got an absolute peach, I watched that this morning before heading out.
Prince looked really scratchy and massively overweight for a test opener.
Tari looked wooden when batting but clearly has a lot of time against the pace bowlers. Needs to loosen his grip on the old willow when facing the spinners though
Tomorrow should be interesting. Burl looked good from what I saw and Williams has again shown why he's still arguably our joint number 1 batter.
He seems to be getting better with age and it's great to see. We need him around for another 3 years at least

A good player would simply block it, or drive it.

Notice how our guys always get delivered 'peaches'.

We make them look like stars everytime.

[Kriterion_BD]

Interesting side observation. Cricinfo now shows left arm leggies as "LWS" Left arm Wrist Spin, instead of "LHC" that they had earlir - Left hand "Chinaman"...

Cross verified this on the profiles of Kuldeep and Shamsi too.

And Prince has gone.

If there was even a need for Chakabva to stand up as a senior test specialist batsman, it is today.

Very interesting. Probably fallout from the George Floyd/BLM protests and awareness about racial sensitivity given that ESPN is a US company. An entire NFL team's logo and name have been erased (the former Washington Redskins) which is for the time being just known as the Washington Football Team.

And cricinfo's abreviation used to be "SLC" slow left arm chinaman.

[Kriterion_BD]

Btw, I am really liking this new Sean Williams. Massive respect for him. This is not an easy pitch to bat on judging from the scores, and these bowlers aren't scrubs either. Taylor, Ervine, and Williams with Raza, Madhevere, Burl would form a very solid lineup. The problem had always been that out of 6-7 top order batsmen, only 1 or at most 2 would fire. Although thats the case in this innings, with 3 dependable batters + Raza (who was dependable until a couple years ago), ZIM can start posting decent totals in Tests.

[TapsC2]

I saw a stat last year showing that Williams has been averaging over 40 over the last 3 or so years. I wonder what BT is averaging. They might be on equal terms now

Raza constantly gives away his wicket. It’s frustrating because he is one of our best by far but you always have that feeling that something is going to go wrong. Could easily be averaging above 40 as well