Ireland Tour - Discussion

[jw2]

Even on the forum, the concensus seems to be the Ireland series is very important. Straw poll results so far:

Important: Kriterion, Crimsonavenger, jaybro, Donald, jemisi
Not as important: secretzimbo, TapsC2

Add me o the important list, please.

[Jemisi]

India is bigger than Ireland, yes.

I get that on the ground Ireland doesn't conjure up the same excitement as playing a big team.

But losing at home to peers or high ranking associates does us no favours.

So for me there's plenty of meaning in the contest even though there may not be a mass of fans salivating at an Ngarava vs Dockrell type of contest.

So your answer is yes, you are going to tell Williams & Raza et al, that they can't play in the BPL because they simply must play 3 T20I's for us, even when the opposing team is allowing its players to skip them?

I think my answer is the series matters and careful consideration of every player's contractual obligations should be considered whilst building the strongest team possible atm.

Not just let everyone head off because Ireland doesn't matter.

[zimbos_05]

I could understand it not being important if it was say SA/Ind/Aus/NZ etc vs Ireland. All those big nations would have a massive pool they could draw off of to allow some players to not play as they would still have good enough talent to call up.

So even a 2nd string side of theirs would probably win.

A 2nd string side of ours would not necessarily win. If we end up losing the series 6-0 (worst case scenario) then it works against us in more ways than one. Big nations will see that we have no depth, no quality and it makes our bargaining power tougher when looking to play them.

This series is important if we wish to show that the momentum we had early on in the WC was no fluke. It's important for us to prove that we are serious about the development we want to make, and that as a nation we are making our way back.

If the players are earning no more to play in the BPL or UAE league than what they get from ZC, then it's a no brainer. If they are earning above and beyond, then it's hard to say not to the elders as they may never get this opportunity again.

[Kriterion_BD]

If the players are earning no more to play in the BPL or UAE league than what they get from ZC, then it's a no brainer. If they are earning above and beyond, then it's hard to say not to the elders as they may never get this opportunity again.

Using Raza as an example…he would likely only miss 3-4 games in the BPL to play the entire ODI and T20 series, including travel time. Now Raza is highly valued in the BPL so he has a sizeable contract. He probably makes 50-60,000 USD from the BPL. That comes out to 5-6,000 per game or a total of 15-20k for the series, less when you factor in the 6 match fees he will get from ZC. So really the loss in $$$ isn’t all that high.

The reason people like Rabada or Holder may skip Tests is because the opportunity cost is way higher, on the order of 100-200k dollars being lost for a Test series, due to higher pay rate and longer duration of absence.

[Kriterion_BD]

If the players are earning no more to play in the BPL or UAE league than what they get from ZC, then it's a no brainer. If they are earning above and beyond, then it's hard to say not to the elders as they may never get this opportunity again.

Using Raza as an example…he would likely only miss 3-4 games in the BPL to play the entire ODI and T20 series, including travel time. Now Raza is highly valued in the BPL so he has a sizeable contract. He probably makes 50-60,000 USD from the BPL. That comes out to 5-6,000 per game or a total of 15-20k for the series, less when you factor in the 6 match fees he will get from ZC. So really the loss in $$$ isn’t all that high.

The reason people like Rabada or Holder may skip Tests is because the opportunity cost is way higher, on the order of 100-200k dollars being lost for a Test series, due to higher pay rate and longer duration of absence.

[jaybro]

Just looking at some dates, Logan Cup resumes on January 7th with the round obviously ending on the 11th. The 1st t20i is on the 12th of January so the players picked for the Ireland series won’t play Logan Cup.

I wonder if Ballance goes straight in without even playing for the Rocks at all?

[Googly]

I think there's going to be huge interest in this series if Ballance plays. He'll be coming off an extremely long lay-off and I'm surprised he didn't play in the last Logan Cup game.

There's a possibility that ZC will organise a couple of warm up games which would dramatically weaken the Logan Cup, and that would surely be solely for Ballance's benefit.
If they did that they may even postpone this next Logan Cup fixture.

[Googly]

Plus whenever there's a home series ZC seem incapable of keeping to the domestic schedule.

[Mueddie28]

I think there's going to be huge interest in this series if Ballance plays. He'll be coming off an extremely long lay-off and I'm surprised he didn't play in the last Logan Cup game.

There's a possibility that ZC will organise a couple of warm up games which would dramatically weaken the Logan Cup, and that would surely be solely for Ballance's benefit.
If they did that they may even postpone this next Logan Cup fixture.

Let's hope they form 2 team 16 squad and play 3 warm up games...
Ballance and Zhouwa opening on one team
Craig Ervine and Marumani another
Lineup
Ballance
Zhouwa
Kaia
Madhevere
Manyonga
PJ Moor

Lineup
Craig Ervine
Marumani
Kaitano
Shumba
Madande
Mutumbami

Raza, Burl Sean are not available for now..

[Googly]

You can hope that if you like.